When I tell people that I am running against a Blue Dog Democrat and why we need a Progressive, I now have a recent case – FISA. As a former intelligence analyst, I could use this diary to talk about FISA, but I’d rather talk about a greater danger – the politics of fear
I fundamentally believe that there are only two kinds of politics – the politics of fear and the politics of trust (courage, hope and love in my lingo).
On page 43 of Al Gore book, The Assault on Reason, Gore quotes Senator Ed Muskie of Maine the night before the 1970 election.
There are only two kinds of politics. They’re not radical and reactionary or conservative and liberal or even Democratic and Republican. There are only the politics of fear and the politics of trust.
Read on and chime in if this discussion interests you...
If someone were to define me as a political candidate, the best label might be "economic populist and progressive." My primary opponent chose to call himself a Blue Dog Dem. In the Daily Herald:
Foster said he’d be a blue dog Democrat, a coalition of moderate and conservative mostly Southern lawmakers. Rep. Melissa Bean of Barrington is one of them.
"There’s not much they’re pushing for I don’t agree with," Foster said.
It seems to me that there is only one common thread that links blue dogs – they cave to fear and conversely, there is only one common thread that links progressives – they’ve got the stones to stand up for what is right.
A Blue Dog will cave and vote to give Bush unchecked war powers in Iraq and the authority to spy on Americans.
The Progressive Caucus voted against the "blank check," standing up to Bush and saying, "no." Many progressives voted against the Patriot Act and a growing majority support de-funding the Iraq occupation.
A Blue Dog will hem and haw over an uncomfortable issue like immigration or in my opponent’s case, just endorse Newt Gingrich’s plan for a national ID card for immigrant workers.
I on the other hand have the guts to tell the "right" that we have a challenging task ahead and you may not agree with my position, but comprehensive immigration is the only reasonable approach to handling this challenging issue. I also delve into a conversation about NAFTA because unfair trade agreements have left Mexico with 28% unemployment. That is a lot of people looking for work north of the border and at the end of the day it is all about big businesses looking for cheap labor.
Speaking of NAFTA, you might all remember the deciding vote on CAFTA. Our own Melissa Bean (D – IL8) voted in favor of CAFTA because she was afraid of the Chamber of Commerce. After hundreds of union workers flooded her district to go door-to-door in 2004, Bean caved under the politics of fear.
The one thing I love about DailyKos is the absence of fear, the prospect for hope and the courage that you all have to stand up and fight for what is right.
Progressives have the courage to read, learn, re-frame and challenge the assumptions of the fear machine in Washington. Historians will someday write about the progressive movement of the 21st Century because you stood up to defend Democracy.
Keep fighting for what is right!
Respectfully,
John Laesch
www.john08.com