Alan L. Maki
Please note: The real reason why this “unity” theme is being pushed is because Wall Street is deathly afraid of the resurrection of the historical and powerful coalition of liberals, progressives and leftists capable of winning real change. This is the bottom line.
@Jeremy; I appreciate your perspective but my response was not so much in response to what you have articulated here which was very clear... I intentionally chose not to respond to this portion at the time because I was expecting you to answer the question I raised first.
However, since you are looking for a response to this part of your comment now, I will oblige (hoping you will also address my original comment and question).
I do not believe there is anything upon to which such "unity" around issues and solutions to problems is possible because liberals, progressives and the left (while there are disagreements of one kind or another [perhaps I am understating the differences]) have a pretty much mutual agenda that no conservatives would agree to... an example: health care reform... I know of no liberals, progressives or leftists who believe the private sector, the health insurance industry or the profit gouging pharmaceutical industry industry should remain in private, corporate hands... every liberal, progressive and leftist that I know believes that single-payer universal health care with public financing, public administration and private delivery (there are disagreements here on private delivery since many of us--- liberals, progressives and leftists support public delivery of health care services, too... or at least a vastly expanded public health care sector with public delivery).
Now, come on Jeremy, there is no way you are going to support such reforms... you believe in "free market" "private enterprise" solutions... please correct me if I am wrong.
This is but one of dozens of examples I could provide... chances are, you don't believe in minimum wage legislation while all liberals, progressives and leftists that I know are for the minimum wage becoming a real living wage (and I have my ideas on how to accomplish this and I am sure among liberals, progressives and leftists there are divergent views on how to accomplish this--- but, we all support minimum wage legislation being used to enforce living wages).
Need I continue?
There is a basis for liberal/progressive/left unity in action through the forging of a massive coalition around a "progressive agenda" (after all, progressive refers to the point at which liberals and leftists agree to act around attaining common aims even if philosophically we aren't always in agreement).
Now, where would you say your views fit in here? And, I mean no offense to you personally; nor do I mean to exclude you on anything you might want to work with such a coalition on... but, what is it that you see liberals, progressives and the left working together with conservatives on? Do you have an issue/s in mind?
The left/right division in politics is a very clear reality... in fact, in his recent Cleveland speech, most liberals (and progressives and leftists) who had been supporting Obama who have read and studied this speech and his Milwaukee speech a couple days before... are now concluding that Obama has everything in common with conservatives except for the twisting and perverting of his use of the English language to try to conceal his very conservative and rightist agenda with liberal, progressive and even left rhetoric.
We will now be seeing a completely different kind of political development taking place as more and more liberals, progressives and those on the left call upon Obama to step aside in order to prevent even more losses to Republicans than what will be taking place come November 2.
Come on; get real, Jeremy... can you name (and forget party labels here because there are many Republicans of an Abe Lincoln bent who cannot stomach Boehner), but, name one single liberal, progressive or leftists who would join you in welcoming Boehner into his new position?
Fist things come first and the first order of business for liberals, progressives and the left is now how do we get these conservative Democrats (including Obama) off our backs. Obviously, the Congress is now going to be controlled by conservatives--- but, since when hasn't it been? Even when FDR was president we had a majority conservative House and Senate but, we also had the most powerful liberal/progressive/left coalition pushing a progressive agenda down their throats rather than these politicians forcing their Wall Street agenda on the people.
It is important who gets elected to public office and their views; but, even more important is that this massive liberal/progressive/left coalition be forged around a progressive agenda and that again, like in the 1930's and with the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements... this mighty and powerful progressive coalition gets restored to look after the needs of working people and the racially oppressed victims of racism. Only massive government intervention with the government becoming the employer of CHOICE is going to get America back to work and force an end to these dirty wars so these resources being wasted on these wars--- instead of becoming "tax-cuts" like you want--- are turned into financing universal social programs like public health care and public childcare wit a program of "tax the rich" being used to make up the funding the cuts in militarism and war do not completely satisfy.
By now, Jeremy, you must be re-thinking your position that there is any possibility of the "unity" which you speak of but without any specifics.
And, like I say, this is nothing personal against you; you have obviously arrived in your thinking from your place in life where you see tax cuts and an end to government with its fingers into everything as a problem.
You know, Jeremy... I think I speak for the vast majority of working people here in this country and around the world in saying, "we don't give a damn about how much the government taxes us provided we have what we need to live good, decent, healthy lives with adequate jobs, housing, schools, healthcare, good mass transit systems, clean water to drink and some time and space for a little recreation." I don't know of one single working person who wouldn't be happy to have the government take their entire paycheck in taxes provided the taxes are going to provide people with decent lives... and furthermore, we couldn't care less how big government gets--- whatever it takes to get the job done.
Unless you have had a complete change of ideology in the past few minutes; I doubt you can really find much to agree with on with liberals, progressives and the left--- so, why bother?
Let me just add... the real reason we are being bombarded with this idea at this time that there is something that conservatives and liberals, progressives and the left can work together on if we can just set aside the divisive labels and focus on the issues is because Wall Street is deathly afraid that the historic coalition of liberals, progressives and the left is about to be resurrected and Obama is going to find himself out on hiss butt with someone like a true progressive like George McGovern coming into the mix of things--- a replay of sorts of 1972... only this time we (liberals, progressives and leftists) are going to WIN! The handwriting is on the wall, so-to-speak.
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