Guest Opinion: What is Progressivism?

By Mike Ebert

Progressivism is a nebulous moniker used by a variety of people and organizations. We have heard Hillary Clinton tell us that she is a ”progressive, not a liberal”. Raul Grijalva is a member of the Progressive Caucus. Progressive is a magazine, several blogs claim this name and it is a frequent mention in Socialist International. Bill Clinton is a progressive and is quoted saying that the “nation has entered a new era of progressive politics that could last for decades” in a speech in 8/14/2009 in Pittsburgh to a group called Netroots Nation .  In the speech  to about 1,500 leftist bloggers and activists, Clinton mentioned that the progressive agenda needs the help of the online community to support Obama and his agenda.

Today, progressives are in support of social justice, economic justice, open borders, Occupy Wall Street and they just love big government. We have our own best example of a progressive with Raul Grijalva; how he got in to politics is a miracle in itself. Grijalva wants to make the Barry Goldwater Artillery Range into a national park. Why? Safe passage for migration was his mission so he used environmental groups to initiate lawsuits (open borders). Grijalva is upset to see that Pima Community College is introducing an entrant’s exam. Shame on them! They want applying students to have at least a 7th grade reading ability (social justice). Raul Grijalva is staunchly opposed to SB 1070 (open borders). Raul Grijalva supports the Occupy Wall Street Movement (economic justice). What an outstanding citizen is he.

Social Justice is a curriculum at the University of Arizona. In his book “One Party Classroom” David Horowitz goes into detail about the courses and the instructors at the U of A. Some course names as follows: “Gender and Politics”, “The Social Construction of Whiteness”, “Oppressing the Natives: American Indian Studies and Collective Behavior and Social Movements”. Oh, and best of all at the U of A; a course labeled “The Fundamental Skill of America Bashing”.

Yes folks, progressivism is alive and well today right here in Tucson. Tucson Unified School District is struggling with their “Ethnic Studies” program and are, in fact, in court over it. La Raza, as it was called earlier is a perfect example of where some of the negative attitudes about America are generated. This curriculum at the U of A gets help from groups like MEChA . Please take a look at this link, a Hispanic group promoting sedition. We are accepting this indoctrination of children in TUSD with the help of our University by not standing against it.

Progressivism runs deep and has been with us for quite some time. There are at least 3 council members and 2 member of the board of supers who believe this way. They call themselves Democrats. Progressives use the new moniker quietly to blend with Dems who believe that the party is the way forward for socialism and best marketed by calling their ideology progressivism. Why call themselves progressives? I truly believe it comes from the notion that our U. S. Constitution is considered out of date by these people and the word progressive means “moving forward” with political and social reform (according to your handy Webster’s Dictionary). When you hear Hillary, or any one of these people say they are progressives, they are basically telling you that they no longer believe in our constitution; that it is an archaic document. This is not my mom’s Democrat Party.

About Letter to the Editor 171 Articles
Under the leadership of Editor in Chief Huey Freeman, the Editorial Board of the Arizona Daily Independent offers readers an opportunity to comment on current events and the pressing issues of the day. Occasionally, the Board weighs-in on issues of concern for the residents of Arizona and the US.