"And Progressivism, as in the early-twentieth century movement, had a white populist tone on race, ethnicity, and immigration with which today's American center-left just shouldn't be comfortable."

How could turn of the century progressivism have a "populist" tone when it was primarily composed of the leisure class and churches, especially leisure class women working in the social hygeine movement that was precursor to 2th century social work and sociology departments in universities?

Just wondering how it is that these things always get written off on underclass and rural populations.

Well, other than ignorance and the convenient demonization of labor and the rural poor, right here and now.

Right. That's right. So we need to vote for Hillary, and not go on the poverty tour, because we know how naturally progressive the middle class white woman is just sitting there, doing what comes naturally.

First it was Socailist, and when others understood what that meant, the new label was liberal. Now that people understand what that means, a new label is needed and Progressive seems to fit the bill.

In contrast, conservatives don't wear out labels and aren't constantly changing names. They seem proud of their label.

Dana,
You'll never find a political term that doesn't have "a white populist tone on race, ethnicity, and immigration" unless you create a new one. I think progressive is better term than liberal because liberal has been villified and whether or not we like it the progressive movement produced some meaningful social change: it changed public health in a variety of positive ways (there were some negative ones) and created meaningful workers comp. systems in a lot of state. It basicly laid the ground work for the new deal.

"You'll never find a political term that doesn't have "a white populist tone on race, ethnicity, and immigration" unless you create a new one."

Well, yeah, including "feminist," "liberal," "individual," and "self actualizing."

Leave it to Dana to prefer the blandest and most squishy of the four...

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"In contrast, conservatives don't wear out labels and aren't constantly changing names. They seem proud of their label."

I don't know. I recently read Edmund Burke and was shocked at stupid we all are.

They also seem to have claimed "republican," which I find really outrageous (and even offensive).

I do not consider Hillary a progressive, but rather a corporatist. John Edwards and Dennis Kucinich come close to what I see as progressive at this point.

I have started a new political party called the Liberal Democratic Party of the United States. You can read the web page at http://www.dmocrats.org and you will find that this party works differently from other political parties. Take a look and help enact progressive legislation and end the war where you work as a legislator and you vote on legislation.

Well, the progressives only laid the groundwork for the New Deal because the evil populists were right about the banks, and we ended up with the Great Depression.

You'd think we'd learn.

Conservatives don't change labels?

Fraud W Bush used the term compassionate conservative in the 2000 campaign because people rightfully tagged the conservaties as mean spirited misanthropes which they do appear that way today to a large degree.

8 years of a conservative Republiklan administration has turned off many middle of the road oriented people and they will reject regressive conservatives in 2008.

The Republicklan party has itself turned conservative into a very dirty word.

Promising start for the Liberal Democratic Party of the United States. The "Republiklan" Party may well be the home of most racists today, but until the 1960s, the KKK in the South was just full of sheet-wearing Democrats. A certain sitting Democratic Senator was even a Grand Imperial Wizard or some such crazy thing. Come to think of it, Democrats were the ones responsible for 100 years of Jim Crow. Just sayin' so to provide the historical context, you know. I'm glad that it only took the Dems 150 years or so to change their tune on race.

I think it won't do you any damned good as long as they can hit you with "Liberal" and you don't punch back. Moving to "progressive" is tacitly accepting their criticism of liberalism while remaining bound to it.

"Well, the progressives only laid the groundwork for the New Deal because the evil populists were right about the banks, and we ended up with the Great Depression.

You'd think we'd learn."

And we wonder why it's so necessary to demonize these people. Especially today.

Did I hear someone say "sheet wearing Democrats"?