John Murtha just appeared on Fox News to talk about Iraq, long-term military readiness, and overall national security. He's phenomenal, I love it. He speaks Progressive every time he opens his mouth. I know everyone says he's a moderate, and it would probably be hard to call him a Progressive across the board. But Progressivism is about
progress, and I'd like to think that no color on the left-right spectrum has a
monopoly over progress.
That being said, Conservative and Progressive are at least as antonymous as Conservative and Liberal, so we need to take special care that the things we call Progressive are not just Liberal, or new-and-Liberal. Well Murtha's stance on the war isn't your typical Liberal line, so the independently Progressive aspects of it float to the top for ease of examination. In short, he looks back, he looks forward, he bridges the parties.
I'll tell you how he did it on the flip.
So let's look at what he does:
- He looks back: He reminds America that the Saudis asked us to leave after the war in Saudi Arabia was over, but of course, we stayed. Osama bin Laden cited our continued military presence there as a reason for the attacks of September 11.
- He looks forward: Murtha's primary concern is the long-term health of the American Military. The dangers of over-extending the armed forces cannot be underestimated, and continued occupation of Iraq greatly reduces our capacity to defend ourselves in the future.
- He bridges the parties: This isn't just bipartisan, it's non-partisan. The enormous financial burden of this war threatens the future of America, regardless of political affiliations, and the graves at Arlington National Cemetery do not say "'Democrat' or 'Republican'. They say 'American'."
The Republican machine empowers itself by keeping the masses focused on
narrow horizons, their imaginations limited to yesterday, tomorrow, or the next tax deadline at best. But Progressivism needs to be about
broadening these horizons to encourage
progress for all of America through good government, not just the 80% or so I think benefit from the Democratic agenda. I don't want to win the class war, the culture war, or the war on Christmas -- I'd rather such wars not be fought at all. The same can be said for these as for the Iraq war: that
ending the war is a victory greater than simply winning it.
Apparently I've run myself in a circle, from Murtha, to Progressivism, and back to Murtha, because this was one of his biggest points on Iraq. Our victory is not measured by killing Iraqis but by giving them peace, and our occupation there seems now be the cause of more violence than peace. So next time you contemplate Progressive ideas, look back; look forward; bridge the parties. I know that sounds like a fairly axiomatic three-step program to good government, but if you're going to accuse Progressives of good government, well, I won't fight you about that either.