This is the question that wracks my mind. As I listen to the way in which ardent Obama supporters talk about progressives, I find myself completely baffled as to what they're trying to accomplish. In the last three years, I've heard progressives characterized as the "progressive left" (i.e., as hacks who have nothing to say), as immature (all the lectures about incrementalism, pragmatic realism, wishing for ponies, magic wands, etc), as "white progressives (translation, "racists"), as not truly belonging to the base, and so on. Examples could be multiplied. Earlier today I read a diary discussing a memo from the DLC that argues that progressives are to be ignored because the electorate is "moderate" and that's where the votes are.
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