General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: President Obama can easily satisfy and silence liberal critics [View all]starroute
(12,977 posts)Progressives are people who want progress. They want a society that is more fair, more just, and more equal. They want to take action against poverty and deprivation. But they know these things take time, and they're willing to accept small increments.
On the other hand, progressives are dead set against giving up the gains of the last 80 years. It's not being a purist to want to hold onto what already exists and is working properly. If anything, that's small-c "conservatism."
But that's what the GOP is asking. They have a radical agenda of creating a free-market, oligarchic, banana republic in the heart of the United States. And their idea of compromise is to dismantle the legacy of the New Deal a little more slowly than they would prefer.
Opposing that with every breath in our bodies is not purism. It's at best maintaining the status quo -- and hoping for better times to come.