The word is that the progressives on the left are expecting too much, that their positions, issues and stands are too extreme.
Are they?
Is it extreme left to see as immoral the USA's health care system-- the only one among developed world countries to not provide health care to every citizen, so people die for failure to seek diagnosis, treatment or medication, or they go bankrupt and lose their homes?
Is it extreme to want to make sure that workers here in the USA are treated fairly and given living wages, even if it means a few dozen transnational corporations wouldn't make as much money as they would if cancelled our participation in global trade agreements like the WTO, NAFTA and CAFTA?
Is it extreme to expect equal justice for all colors and creeds, genders and kinds of people?
Is it extreme to expect elections to be completely honest and transparent, verifiable and recountable, instead of electronic experiments that mock true democracy?
Is it extreme to expect reasonable regulations that prevent the kinds of unbridled greed and irresponsible experimentation with the economy we have seen recently?
Is it extreme to want to trust the Judiciary system and all the other government departments to be free from partisan corruption?
Is it extreme to want our legislators to lead and guide the nation's industries to develop technologies that reduce our dependence upon foreign oil-- a dependence that hurts our economy and drastically makes us a less secure nation.
Is it extreme to see our military industrial complex-- the one Republican president Dwight Eisenhower warned us about-- as an out of control cancer on our economy that has grown so big, so unresponsive to oversight and regulation that TRILLIONS of dollars have disappeared without being accounted for? Is it extreme to want to rein it in and make if fully accountable?
Is it extreme to want to see our democracy represent all the people and not just the wealthy lobbyists who can give huge amounts of money to help doddering incumbent legislators stay in office? Is it extreme to want to see a change in congress so that the odds of someone defeating an incumbent are not twenty to one?
Is it extreme to want to have laws and regulations that protect workers so they can work in safe environments and are treated fairly?
Is it extreme to want the media to give voice to the full range of the political spectrum, not just the range from extremist right wingers to centrist and moderate democrats? There are greens and others further left, even socialists (like Senator Bernie Sanders) and communists who deserve at least an occasional voice on mainstream media.
Is it extreme to believe that our food supply should be safe-- not just from viruses and bacterial problems, but also from genetic experimentation and manipulations that we don't really know the long term effects of? And why should a handful of companies be allowed to eliminate lower costs natural seeds and food crops so they can control the market for growing food just like some companies have attempted to privatize water in third world nations?
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