Member-only story
Leftists Need to Reclaim the Progressive Label.
The word has been hijacked, so let’s take it back.
The word progressive used to mean something.
It used to mean standing for progress, fighting for and enacting policies that would actually benefit the majority over the few. It meant taking bold action, and being unafraid of political consequence because the policies and principles mattered more. It’s a label that was shunned and dismissed as fringe, radical, or unrealistic. It used to mean something until it was hijacked by the very people who dismiss everything it actually stands for.
As a progressive, all too often it feels as though we’re screaming at the top of our lungs, just hoping someone will finally listen and pay attention, only to have those who are in a position of power turn a blind eye to our views. So it goes without saying that seeing those who have done nothing but ignore and dismiss us claim the term they once mocked.
If Nancy Pelosi and other centrists feels that progressive ideas and policy proposals are too unrealistic and the people who propose them are unelectable, then why, WHY are they suddenly calling themselves one? If our ideas are so fringe, then why claim the label that supports them? A simple question with a very simple answer: she wants the positive associations with the…
