As Washington undergoes its long overdue facelift and the hopeful disposal of Republican incompetence and greed, the media and the nation should be equally aware that the Democratic Party is undergoing significant changes as well. Not resulting from scandals and deceits like those plaguing Republicans. The Democratic change is an inside job... a colossal dissatisfaction of Progressive Democrats with their own feckless representatives and a growing effort to replace them with actual leaders.
Forging this Party transition is the mass infiltration of progressive thinkers whose enlightened policies toward domestic and global issues engage a larger and more energized membership within the Democratic Party each day. It's a Progressive Renaissance, a changing of the guard from the staid undecided to the boisterously decided... vociferously demanding change. They're gaining clout and momentum daily... more likely, hourly. And they are doggedly determined...
Progressives are so determined that they've besieged every Democratic member of Congress at the local, state and federal level with ringing phones, rolling faxes and endless emails demanding clearly defined policies on the war in Iraq, voter fraud protection, environmental safety, clean money campaigns and on every domestic and global issue of any worth and matter. It's a clarion call for valor, independence and taking an absolute stance. There's no place for flip-floppers amongst Progressives. No cowards or undecideds allowed.
Mainstream and cable broadcasters routinely provide their viewers with an archaic representation of the Democratic Party that WAS. Not the real Democratic Party that IS in the throes of a major Progressive revolution. This is an egregious public disservice, fueled by the media's laziness and lack of vision.
Were TV broadcasters to feature esteemed Progressive Democrats in place of their stone-age talking heads, it would spawn a clearer understanding of how complex, straight talking and self-assured the new Progressive Democratic party is. Instead, by using their typically stale depiction, the Democratic party is portrayed as a never changing, never evolving single cell amoeba; too underdeveloped to offer a fresh perspective on any issue, topical or otherwise.
Instead of offering the Progressive perspective, via respected Progressives like John Bonifaz, David Swanson, Mimi Kennedy or John Nichols, TV broadcasters haul out Paul Begala, James Carville, Donna Brazile, Bob Shrum and a host of other benign "Democrats" who've lacked inspiration for decades. That's like offering Shecky Green as the fresh face of comedy. Green might be a comic but he's no master of new material.
Because of mainstream and cable television's deliberate misrepresentation of the Democratic party, Americans are left holding an empty-knowledge-bag. They are robbed of real insight into the present changes in the Democratic party, including information on the valiant Progressive candidates currently running for office, like Marcy Winograd, the deeply respected long time grassroots activist and educator, challenging mega-rich incumbent Jane Harman in California's 36th Congressional District, or Ned Lamont, the highly successful entrepreneur challenging Joe Lieberman's Senate seat in Connecticut. Instead of seeing Democratic heroes, viewers are forced to endure the constant onslaught of lackluster equivocators whose "good counsel" swift-boated John Kerry right out of the Presidency in 2004.
Progressive Democrats are the antithesis of these compliant prevaricators. Progressive Democrats don't bite their lips, muffle their voices and hold their tongues. They smile broadly, amplify their voices and promote their positions with a resoluteness that would sink every swift-boater at sea.
