Is Obama a Socialist?

[denuseri]

Progressives is that they seek to work in the shadows and hide their true intent.

No more so than any other political entity.

That intent is clearly describe thus; "While the Progressives differed in their assessment of the problems and how to resolve them, they generally shared in common the view that government at every level must be actively involved in these reforms.

If it is not then how does one expect anything to get done? And exactly which reforms are you speaking about?

The existing constitutional system was outdated and must be made into a dynamic, evolving instrument of social change, aided by scientific knowledge and the development of administrative bureaucracy.

Which is exactly what the founding fathers intended. That our government be able to change from within without the need to have a blood spilling confrontation at every turn. No one is saying anything about abolishing the Consitution eaither or the entire system of government...only following the elastic clauses that our Founding Fathers put into it on purpose so that it could grow without threatening the abolishment of the state. There is no Biblical warning for fear of revelation in the Constitution saying that we all go to hell if we change anything. The founding fathers never ment for the document to be unchangeable or become stangnent. Sounds like common sence to me.

At the same time, the old system was to be opened up and made more democratic; hence, the direct elections of Senators, the open primary, the initiative and referendum. It also had to be made to provide for more revenue; hence, the Sixteenth Amendment and the progressive income tax.

Hence all amendments, the Founding Fathers themselves even saw the need to be able to change right from the get go, any close study of the Constitution and or the Federalist Papers or written history can tell anyone that.

Presidential leadership would provide the unity of direction -- the vision -- needed for true progressive government. 'All that progressives ask or desire,' wrote Woodrow Wilson, 'is permission -- in an era when development, evolution, is a scientific word -- to interpret the Constitution according to the Darwinian principle; all they ask is recognition of the fact that a nation is a living thing and not a machine.'"

And that was aplicable back when Wilson said it...it may or may not still be aplicable today that remains to be seen. We are just as mindful as any other American of the need to avoid lapsing into somthing that is not desirable. We do not want a totalitarian state. We do not want things that will be bad for our country or it's people for we the people are the state.

Surely Progressives believe these things are good. But even the simplest of their ideas, throwing away the Constitution and let the Government do what it will can be seen as a bad row to hoe. If one is honest that is what Washington is now trying to do. Also I have never identified Progressives as associated with either major political party. They are in fact neither.

No I a will stop there.

Blinks....no one wants to throw away the Constitution least of all the Progressives!

The main problem with all this anti-progressiveness that stems from the more consevative side of the party is that instead of listening they are too busy pushing or spouting their agenda. They seem to refuse to step back from the fear mongering for just a second and see that the people they are debating with are indeed fellow Americans.

So for a change why don't you set the example for your constituents and actually listen without pre-judging what is said; that way instead of trying to put words into the other persons mouth or use sophistry to twist what was said into somthing that was not after the fact we can actually move forward.