#progressiveism

[tomorrowusa]

Norman Lear died at the age of 101 this week. Jimmy Kimmel's tribute to him captured brilliantly what Lear was all about – and was appropriately funny as well.

Lear may be best remembered for making sitcoms which resembled real life a bit more while innovatively integrating social commentary into them.

But Lear was also a lifelong progressive who founded People For the American Way (PFAW).

Home - People For the American Way

A notable offshoot of PFAW is Right Wing Watch.

Homepage | Right Wing Watch

Right Wing Watch is a must for keeping an eye on extremists like House Speaker Mike Johnson.

House Speaker Mike Johnson Will Be Honored Tonight at Christian Nationalist Gathering

So a big Thank You to Norman Lear for the laughs and for his efforts in trying to nudge America in a progressive direction! ❤️🗽

[nevertooldforcartoons]

progressive has been made into a bad word by some people, that its the far left agenda.. but its better than being regressive and has done a lot more good than bad in terms of women/lgbt rights

[tomorrowusa]

Let’s be blunt here: The modern version of "only Nixon could go to China" may be "only an old white guy can sell a new New Deal."

Paul Krugman at the New York Times.

It helps when large numbers of people don’t vehemently despise you. And it’s a plus if you give off an aura of down home calmness and competence.

Given Joe Biden’s past record, Republican charges of him being a radical socialist just don’t stick outside of the Trump-QAnon fringe. Biden’s reputation, in turn, allows him to pursue policies which are some of the most progressive since the 1960s.

Being a firebrand outsider may charge up the base but it creates apprehension outside that base and causes more people to oppose you out of fear.

Politics is more personal than many policy purists are willing to admit. Most voters do not spend hours comparing the position papers of different candidates. And once they’ve settled on a politician, they are willing to give him or her some slack.

Of course it doesn’t hurt to have a predecessor who is a total douche as well as a failure. Even Biden’s more modest successes look bigger when compared to the previous administration with its record of science-denial and public health disasters.