Retro-Progressive

Kevin Drum is pimping a collection of articles from Washington Monthly writers which they jointly entitle "The New Progressivism." If you read those articles, I hope you will be under-impressed. I was. Not only do they dance around what could be imaginative and creative new proposals, they bite off so little of the issues which are confronted that one wonders if these "New Progressives" have lost their teeth? Perhaps this phase of progressive brainstorming is some sort of retrogradation. Maybe progressives are forced to remove all the power-grabbing tools they once helped sharpen, and strip down to their naked souls before they can be allowed to rise again. I don't know. But this is some of the worst idea generation I've ever seen in my life. Let me get this straight, the new progressive/populist battle cry is "I want my Nickelodeon?" I'm not kidding when I say my four year old daughter could come up with a better, more mass appealing idea: "free ice cream for everyone everyday!"

I'll be commenting more at length on each of these. But for now, let me just say, I hope to God this isn't the "New Progressivism". If it is, I might just go to sleep for the next three or four elections.