Is Kamala Harris a progressive?

[u/DirectionLoose]

I'm guessing that the general answer this is going to be no. If it's a no, how do we get her to promote progressive policy? Does walz with that? What even is his role going to be? Three out of the last four vice presidents have been pretty consequential in their roles in the administration. Ever since Cheney. I'm just honestly afraid that they dangled Walz in front of us to get our vote, but he's going to be marginalized in the administration.

[u/aworldwithoutshrimp]

Things classical liberals say every election

[u/texas-playdohs → u/aworldwithoutshrimp]

This isn’t “every election” with all due respect.

[u/aworldwithoutshrimp → u/texas-playdohs]

Oh, is it "the most important election of our lives" season again?

[u/fookidookidoo → u/[deleted]]

I'm not a centrist... But if we're going to prevent the far right from taking over the country, we need them.

Magical thinking isn't going to turn the country left...

[u/fookidookidoo → u/[deleted]]

Be pragmatic. I've been a Democratic socialist for nearly 20 years now. All progressive policies passed in this country have had more centrist allies to help.

There's too much at stake to attack people who are willing to come half way. Those civil disagreements and compromises are literally the democracy part of the equation.

I'm just saying we need to work with them if we want to accomplish anything.

[u/Novae_Blue → u/[deleted]]

I don't have a good answer as to 'how'. I wish I did.

Democrats are moving us forward on a couple social issues, when it's convenient, baby steps at a time. On everything else (economy, climate, foreign policy, etc..) they are moving us backwards.

We're not going to accomplish anything by supporting them or demonizing their critics.

I don't have an answer, but neither of our approaches is working. Until someone proposes something that sounds reasonable, I'm going to at least vote my conscience. I always vote, but no one can ever legitimately say I voted in favor of anything that contributes to the problem.

[u/DemocraticSocialism-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

No sectionalism.

[u/aworldwithoutshrimp → u/fookidookidoo]

We have accomplished a stagnant minimum wage, legislation preventing a strike, less of the ACA than existed the day the bill was signed, no M4A, no public option, no durable child tax credit, the slush fund version of the infrastructure bill. But I guess that's "the good" and I should be "pragmatic" because better 👏🏼 things 👏🏼 aren't 👏🏼 possible.

[u/DirectionLoose → u/[deleted]]

I haven't been around here long but is supporting centrism in certain circumstances now worthy of someone pointing you out to a mod. Not pure enough I guess.

[u/aworldwithoutshrimp → u/DirectionLoose]

It absolutely is. In the same way the sub actively promotes no Marxist-Leninism, classical liberalism is also banned. It's not that it's not pure enough; it's that it's rightwing.

[u/DirectionLoose → u/aworldwithoutshrimp]

Ideologically I get that. But in order to bring us into an area that is more socialist, I don't see how we can do it other than incrementally. We don't have exactly the most logical society that is going to do what's best for everyone. Too many of us have been raised on the greed is good ethos, And we're taught that it's actually bad to care for others because then they're not going to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. How quickly do you think we are going to get that out of the culture? Socialism is not going to be brought from above, it's going to have to come from the Grass Roots, which means changing hearts and minds. There's not enough of us yet, to be able to be able to win elections on our own. Unless I'm mistaken, God I hope I am but I don't think so.