Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and I sat down at a coffee shop near his congressional office in Minneapolis to talk. I wanted to find out his take on healthcare reform, what's coming up in Congress and see "the goatee" for myself.
"I started it over August Recess last year," Keith said. "You know, just didn't shave for a couple of days. Then shaved my cheeks. Nobody said anything about it, nobody said 'it's gotta go' so I've kept it." Including his wife, Kim.
After getting the discussion of facial hair out of the way, we got to the biggest question on everybody's mind regarding Congress: healthcare reform.
"You can't arouse people's imaginations for a year straight and then not do something," Keith explained. "I think we're going to do something. I think we're going to use reconciliation."
"Look, social security and medicare were smaller at first," he continued. "They expanded it after they passed it."
After the fold, there's more about healthcare reform, plus the climate change bill, his views on the progressive movement, stimulus and a mid-flight impromptu birthday party featuring then-President George W. Bush and Karl Rove.
I'm a member of TakeAction Minnesota. This is a grassroots organization that believes in progressive politics. One of our projects is the reNEW Minnesota Campaign. On January 31 we will choose three DFL candidates who we think meet our vision.
See who my choices are after the break.
Here's what we believe.
Our Future Together: A Vision for a reNEWed Minnesota
We have inherited so much good from the people who came before us and we will continue building on that foundation. We also inherit a legacy and ongoing practice of injustice that must be addressed. The decisions we make today will dictate the quality of our lives together and those of generations to come. We create the future for our children's children.
We make these decisions at a crossroads. Minnesota has a proud tradition of community, of helping one another, and of understanding that "we all do better when we all do better." But in the last 20 years, a damaging ideology has gained increasing power in Minnesota government. It has strained our families, divided our neighborhoods, and created needless suffering throughout our state. The future on this path promises further isolation, deprivation and pain.
The ideology we reject:
We reject the ideology of "you're on your own" - the idea that we are better off when competing against each other for our individual lot in life.
We reject the ideology that says markets can solve all problems and that our government can solve none.
We reject the ideology that denies the ongoing impacts of racism in our society.
We reject the politics of "except" - a politics that says some people are not deserving of full participation in our society.
We reject the idea that people should get as much as they can for themselves with no thought to their neighbor.
These Are The Beliefs We Are United On.
This is the Minnesota We Want To Live In.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN a Minnesota Where We Are All In This Together.
We recognize that we do not live in isolation. We are an interconnected and interdependent people. From our family farms and rural towns to our suburbs and cities, we rise together or fall together as a state, not as individuals. We believe community is vital to rebuilding and revitalizing our state. Our problems are experienced together. Our solutions must be created together.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN a Minnesota Where We Make Decisions Now to Improve the Lives of Our Children's Children.
We believe our land, natural resources and social values were passed on to us and are the legacy we leave for future Minnesotans. We must leave a better world for those who come after us.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN a Minnesota Where the Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Person Is Recognized Without Exception.
We all benefit when every person has the opportunity to fully participate in every part of our society: from marrying the person they love in a civil ceremony, to participating in our democratic decision making structures. We believe we all have a responsibility to contribute our love, talents, energy and creativity with our family, friends and community without exception.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN a Minnesota Where We Embrace a Politics of Inclusion and Justice for All.
Racism is experienced every day in Minnesota through unequal access to material and social resources. We believe every child born and every newly arrived resident should benefit equally from our quality of life and have the power to make our state better. We believe in a Minnesota where the values, traditions and contributions of Native Americans, Hmong, African Americans, Somalis, Latinos and all immigrants and people of color are valued and respected. We commit to eradicate racism in our society today and to undo the continued impacts of past racism.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN a Minnesota Where There Is A Fair, Equitable Economy That Benefits Everyone.
Minnesota is a wealthy state financially and in our material, social, and natural capital. We believe that workers should be able to meet their basic needs through the wages they earn. We are also responsible for those unable to work, for we are truly free only when economic insecurity and social anxiety are alleviated for all of us and each of us can live our lives to our fullest potential. Alone, each of us is vulnerable. Together we bring boundless creativity and passion. And, if we use them well, we have abundant material resources to tackle the challenges we face as a society.
The Role of Our Elected Leaders in reNEWing Minnesota
We believe that the point of winning elections is to enact positive change in the lives of Minnesotans. We need bold visionary leaders whose mission is to advance our shared values.
We need a governor who will not govern alone. We need a governor who will work with a powerful economic, social, racial justice movement to implement our shared vision. We need a governor who will strengthen our collective democratic institutions - our government institutions as well as our labor and community organizations. We must also change how we act in our relationships with elected officials and among ourselves. Our next governor must cogovern with us, the people of Minnesota.
Conclusion:
The path toward a more just society and a more inclusive and vibrant Minnesota is ahead of us. One hundred years from now, our children's children will live their lives based on the decisions we make as a state now. We commit ourselves to reNEWing Minnesota so that we will all rise together. The choice is ours. We have the power.
A couple of years, I caused a room of indrawn breaths when I said that the commitment to being a peacemaker was a lifelong commitment. People hoped that a year or two of activism would bring peace then life would get back to normal. After the news of permanent climate change, we have no "back" to go back to. After the extraordinary debt caused by banks and derivatives, we have no "back" to go back to. When the economy recovers, we will find demand for fossil fuels is outstripping supply and again, we have no "back" to go back to.
Never before has the future looked so uncertain. The trials are the most difficult that this country and even the most difficult this world has faced. Yet we have best tools that we have ever had. Ordinary people like the people writing on this blog have found their voice and found each other. It is the time of ordinary people becoming the greatest of heroes.
Sure, we encounter people who walk in self delusion no matter what we say and no matter what happens. The self delusion of "pro life" that condones innocent people killed by the death penalty, that condones millions of innocent civilians killed by the collateral damage of war. The self delusion of "free market" that allows a few giant corporations to charge any price for goods that market will bear, while the deluded wonder why Canada has the same drugs at half the price. The self delusion of the "evils of socialism" where the same people who love their medicare would deny government managed health care for all. The self delusion is so compete that I wonder how the deluded do not actually walk into walls.
The real pain of progressives and peacemakers everywhere is when all of hard fought efforts seem to result in the same decisions yet again. When our President Obama is adding 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, thinking that somehow the applying the same solution this time will have a different result? Across the universe of progressives and peacemakers, I heard the lament of how can we go on!
The answer is that we go on because that is who we are! Whether I parade in success or whether I am the last voice speaking, I will remain true to who I am. I will not give up. Indeed I will celebrate each setback as just one more hill to climb before we succeed in our dream and in our vision of who we are and what our world should look like. All of you walking beside me is my greatest support. The strength of humans is our ability to bond and create new visions. So I am proudly holding the banner up once again. Together, we can make a difference. We are changing the world. Let's go!
Although I'm not a Catholic, I understand how, in the context of Catholic practices, their funeral procedures help mourners through a difficult time, toward a new state of normalcy which does not include the deceased.
On a separate but tangentially related note, I think it's ridiculous to view a funeral for such a storied public figure as Edward Moore Kennedy with no connection whatsoever to his massive influence on American political discourse over the past half-century. The funerals of political figures are political themselves. Reagan's was, Wellstone's was, and Kennedy's was too. Kennedy's funeral this weekend was a quiet and somber affair, but there was still an air of politics -- and that was a good thing.
Especially when it came to the intercessions offered by Kennedy's closest family members. Those intercessions, in the form of prayers for the principles and ideals for which Kennedy spent his entire adult life fighting, offer us a way forward, reminding us of what we really need to seek in our politics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For my grandfather's commitment and persistence, not to out worn values but to old values that will never wear out. That the poor may be out of political fashion, but they are never without human needs, that circumstances may change but the work of compassion must continue. We pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
GRACE ALLEN, SEN. KENNEDY'S GRANDDAUGHTER: For my grandpa that we will not in our nation measure human beings by what they cannot do but instead value them for what they can do. We pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
MAX ALLEN, SEN. KENNEDY'S GRANDSON: For what my grandpa calls the cause of his life, as he said so often, in every part of this land, that every American will have decent quality health care, as a fundamental right, and not a privilege. We pray to the lord. CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
JACK SCHLOSSBERG, SEN. KENNEDY'S GREAT-NEPHEW: For a new season of hope that my uncle Teddy envisioned, where we rise to our best ideals, close the book on the old politics of race and gender, group against group and straight against gay. We pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
ROBIN LAWFORD, SEN. KENNEDY'S NIECE: For my uncle Teddy's call to keep the promise that all men and women who live here, even strangers and newcomers can rise no matter what their color, no matter what their place of birth, for workers out of work, students without tuition for college and families without the chance to own a home. For all Americans seeking a better life and a better land, for all of those left out or left behind, we pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
KYM SMITH, SEN. KENNEDY'S NIECE: For my uncle's stand against violence, hate and war, and his belief that peace can be kept through the triumph of justice and the truth justice can come only to the works of peace, we pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
ANTHONY SHRIVER, SEN. KENNEDY'S NEPHEW: As my uncle Teddy once told thousands and millions, may be said of us in dark passages and bright day, and the words of Tennyson, that my brothers quoted in love that have a special meaning for us now. I am part of all that I have met though much is taken, much abides. That which we are, we are. One equal temper of heroic hearts, strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield, we pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
RORY KENNEDY, SEN. KENNEDY'S NIECE: For the joy of my uncle Teddy's laugher, the light of his presence, his rare and noble contributions to the human spirit, for his face that in heaven, his father, and mother, his brothers and sisters and all who went before him will welcome him home. And for all the times to come when the rest of us will think of him, cuddling affectionately on the boat, surrounded by family as we sailed in the Nantucket Sound. We pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
TEDDY KENNEDY III, SEN. KENNEDY'S GRANDSON: For my grandfather's brave promise last summer that the work begins anew, the hope rises again, and the dream lives on, we pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
Compassion for the poor. Health care as a right. Civil rights for all. Welcoming immigrants to our shores. Quality public education. For those things, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
These are not difficult ideas to grasp, only to achieve. We would do well to remember Ted Kennedy's lifelong struggles for them, and to keep that struggle alive as long as it takes to achieve them.
Wikopedia defines progressivism as a political movement as: Progressivism is a political and social term that refers to ideologies and movements favoring or advocating changes or reform, usually in a statist or egalitarian direction for economic policies (government management) and liberal direction for social policies (personal choice). Progressivism is often viewed in opposition to conservative ideologies.
The link to egalitarian take you to this: Economic egalitarianism is a state of economic affairs in which the participants of a society are of equal standing and equal access to all the economic resources in terms of economic power, wealth, and contribution. It is a founding principle of various forms of socialism.
Since liberal has become a four letter word, the new fashionable word is progressive. Oh, I'm not a liberal or a Democrat, I'm a progressive. Why not just say you are a socialist then. Just say what you and what you believe and be honest about it. If socialism is so great, people will agree with you and like you.
Poetry by Thomas J Marlowe, printed with permission.
The corporations for our good, need full deregulation;
The rich need all their taxes cut, to benefit the nation.
If the poor are starving on the street, or freezing in the snow,
Well, those people have their problems-it's not our fault, you know!
The summer's getting hotter, the ice is melting fast,
The winds are blowing fiercer, and judgment comes at last.
All who have been poor stewards, will have to bear the curse,
Of traitors to the planet, who made bad into worse.
The coal is burning dirty, cheap oil is nearly done,
For money, wars and poverty now threaten everyone.
Wind, solar, geothermal, have long been kept in check,
The ship's adrift in stormy seas, with no captain on the deck.
The seas are getting higher, the island kingdoms drown,
The deserts they are spreading, whole nations sinking down.
But if we pull together, it isn't very strange,
Then we can build a movement, and we can make a change.
The winter's getting colder, the storm is coming strong,
It's all a part of climate change, we haven't got too long.
We've got to change our habits, and take care of the earth,
Make lives for our grandchildren, and love with all our worth.
The people they are rising, with anger in their voice,
Governments and companies have got to make a choice.
To heed the voice of Mammon, and let many creatures die,
Or pursue the path of reason, and hear the planet's cry.
We all must pull together, be careful how we live,
We all must work together, and together we must give,
To keep a home for every kind, a future for our kin,
A harbor in the stormy seas that life can shelter in.
From notes received lately, it is obvious that most people do not know that I post regularly about religion and politics. Values, whether from religion or not, is at the heart of politics. We on the progressive side, ought to start engaging in the discussion. Here is a repost of where I think the discussion should start!
The United States is one of the most religious countries on earth, but Americans know nothing about religion, their own religions or the religions of other people.
Why is this so critical? Because the Christian philosophy is very liberal progressive philosophy. Every political activist should know enough about the basic Christian core beliefs to know and to be able to show that the Christian philosophy is a very liberal progressive philosophy. Remember that the natural religious experts, are prohibited by law from making these political connections clear. I, however, being of no particular faith can say this clearly.
My difficulty in assessing the state of the progressive movement is because it is not a single-issue movement. I think it is better described as an ever-changing and flexible coalition. For the most part, you're a progressive if you want to be ... I think we're a big enough movement. We share values of good government, justice, transparency and the motto "we all do better when we all do better."
Then again ... there are some candidates that caused me to roll my eyes when they claimed it. Yet, I'm fine when they do, because if the progressive movement helps them, we can hold their feet to the fire once they're elected.
So what brings us together?
That's obvious. The single most important figure for the progressive movement is George W. Bush. The lawlessness, greed, hypocrisy, blindness and incompetence that he epitomizes galvanized us all into action. We all realize that separately, we can be ignored. We realized that that acting separately, he and his allies would prevail. We realized that in the aftermath of the disaster that is the Bush Administration, we have a chance to make real changes to the fabric of America. We all see the opportunity to improve the lives of Americans.
So what have we actually achieved here in MN in 2008? Is Obama whomping McCain in MN enough to consider this year a success? While Al Franken's chances of winning the recount got better, Ashwin Madia got beat and Michele Bachmann and John Kline were reelected. We only gained 2 House seats and failed to gain a Pawlenty-proof margin in the House. We'll need a few Republican cross-overs to override any Pawlenty veto. Can we claim an electoral victory?
Is overriding Governor Pawlenty's veto on the transportation bill a big victory for the progressive movement? Or should we attribute it more to a bridge falling down as a result of lack of maintenance at the Republican-run MNDOT?
Dave Mindeman who writes at mnpACT! adds his insight into the ongoing discussion of where the progressive movement stands. As always, Dave cuts right through. This time to some key failings we need to address.
Some liberal blogs and media have been assessing the meaning and the state of the progressive movement. We are probably entering an era where change is actually possible and probable.
But, for the moment, I would point to another side of the discussion. Let's talk about where the progressive movement has failed some core collaborators.
A recent Yahoo News article caught my eye: "Liberals voice concerns about Obama". I had to see. Who dared to call themself a "liberal?" To my disappointment I only found our old friend, the word "progressive."
...the new boss looks like the old boss...
and
"He (Obama)has confirmed what our suspicions were by surrounding himself with a centrist to right cabinet. But we do hope that before it's all over we can get at least one authentic progressive appointment," said Tim Carpenter, national director of the Progressive Democrats of America.
Wait a minute. Is Obama another Clinton? A moderate who, in the long run, was almost more Republicanesque that liberal Democrat? But I thought Obama was... progressive.
In fairness, perhaps Clinton had to compromise until it seemed pretty Republican and we don't really know what he desired. One thing for sure, since Congress is largely held by Democrats, we'll know what Obama intends to do and we'll probably see it enacted. Right now I'm hearing:
Obama has reversed pledges to immediately repeal tax cuts for the wealthy and take on Big Oil. He's hedged his call for a quick drawdown in Iraq. And he's stocking his White House with anything but stalwarts of the left.
Obama may not repeal tax cuts on the wealthy? Apparently the new plan is to let the Bush cuts expire in 2010, which doesn't sound like spreading around the wealth to me. It sounds more right than left, and more than moderate.
So, who did we elect? I have high hopes for President Obama. I hope he'll come through, and I hope I get what I voted for.
We've had a couple of posts today on high-level thinking about politics. This point in the election cycle, especially as the Progressive Project gets off the ground, is a good time to ask: what does "Progressive" mean?
We have a good deal of disagreement and a wide range of opinions on this topic even on a site with the word "Progressive" in its name. Here's what I think, however:
Progressive is not about Democrat or Republican, although progressive thinkers tend toward the Democratic Party. Progressive is not about conservative or liberal, although the progressive thinkers I've met tend leftward on big issues.
"Progressive" is connected directly to issue and personality politics, but not inextricably so. Rather, "Progressive" means an open, honest, and just approach to government that puts people first and is concerned with the true common good.
Where's the middle of the political spectrum? In my opinion, the only reason we want to identify the middle is so we can avoid catering to the extreme.
It is logical to think there has been a shift to the left. The right is always asking for less regulation and most of us now realize we need some regulation in order for the middle class to prosper.
There should be no debate on this. All we need to do is say there has been a shift based on the need to protect the middle class. Sometimes saying it makes it so, and we really don't need to know exactly where the "middle" is or whether we are a "right of center" or "left of center" nation.
At the polls it boils down to Republican, Democrat, Independent, and what each party represents. Voters align based on a perception of shared values and common goal.
Obviously it's important to have a clear message and a readily identifiable platform. After all, people like to know what they are getting. Sadly, Democrats have been so wishy washy about the issues they ultimately end up letting Republicans define "Democrat."
Let's look at gun control. That term now has negative connotation due to radical right slant. This slant is readily identified by Republican voters. In the recent Michele Bachmann race, the NRA sponsored radio ads which rang: "Vote for Michele since she'll protect our rights. Vote against gun control." (I'm not sure of the exact wording.) Most Republicans immediately know what's going on, while many Democrats aren't sure what the ad means.
Republicans have set the frame. They publicly think: "Gun control mean No More guns. Democrats will take my guns and it's my right to have one."
Democrats hear the NRA ads and publicly state: "Which rights are we talking about? The Right to Bear Arms? But isn't that Right to Bear Arms already protected under our current law system? Aren't there bad people out there who shouldn't have guns? Do people eat what they hunt? Will the deer population be reduced to nothing? The militia idea is old and an unorganized group would fail against our super army. What is anti-American? Who would be limited from having guns? What does my party want to do about this...."
On the unification of two blogs, we again ask what our mission is about. To provide my answer to our mission, it seems appropriate to republish one of my best articles written before. Illustrated by Shystee on Corrente. The Overton window is a concept in political theory, named for Joe Overton, who developed the model to help describe the purpose of a think tank, like his own Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The Overton window describes a "window" in the range of public reactions to ideas in public discourse, where basically politicians have to work. The degrees of acceptance of public ideas can be described roughly as:
Unthinkable
Radical
Acceptable
Sensible
Popular
Policy
Politicians work in the "acceptable, sensible, popular, policy" range, for their constituency. So Keith Ellison is working in a different range than Tim Waltz. One of the great flaws of social movements is that the focus of letter writing has been on the political representatives, when the focus should be on changing people's minds first. By the way, in using the above picture, I would describe there existing many lines in n-dimensional universe, not simply a line. Even the words "push" and "pushback" are coming from this Overton window concept.
It should be the purpose of think tanks and blogs to be pushing that Overton Window.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and I sat down at a coffee shop near his congressional office in Minneapolis to talk. I wanted to find out his take on healthcare reform, what's coming up in Congress and see "the goatee" for myself.
