Congressional Progressive Caucus
The Bear on Feb 08 2010 at 9:09 am | Filed under: Culture, Politics
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest caucus within the Democratic caucus in the United States Congress with 83 declared members, and works to advance progressive issues and positions.
The CPC was founded in 1991 and currently has more than 80 members. The Caucus is co-chaired by Representatives Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). Of the 20 standing committees of the House, 11 are chaired by members of the CPC.
List of United States House of Representatives committees
SideBear: Let’s be clear about the name “Progressive”. It simply is a new but old name for Liberals because liberalism has become an unacceptable tern in our society. It is the same old group of Marxist-Socialists-Commies trying to hide their spots.
According to its website, the CPC advocates “universal access to affordable, high quality healthcare,” fair trade agreements, living wage laws, the right of all workers to organize into labor unions and engage in collective bargaining, the abolition of significant portions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the legalization of same-sex marriage, strict campaign finance reform laws, a complete pullout from the war in Iraq, a crackdown on corporate welfare and influence, an increase in income tax rates on the wealthy, tax cuts for the poor, and an increase in welfare spending by the federal government.
Modern American progressivism includes political figures such as Barack Obama who calls himself a progressive, as do Joe Biden[29], Hillary Clinton[30], John Kerry[31] Bernie Sanders, Russ Feingold, Al Franken, Debbie Stabenow, Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, Cynthia McKinney, John Edwards, Sherrod Brown, Kathleen Sebelius, David McReynolds, Ralph Nader, Howard Dean, Peter Camejo, Al Gore, and the late Paul Wellstone and Ted Kennedy. Also in this category are many leaders in the women’s movement, cosmopolitanism, the labor movement, the American civil rights movement, the environmental movement, the immigrant rights movement, and the gay and lesbian rights movement. Other well-known progressives include Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, George Lakoff, Michael Lerner, and Urvashi Vaid.
Progressivism in the United States
Raúl Grijalva
[…]
He attended the University of Arizona and earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. While at the university, he was a member of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA).
MEChA
M.E.Ch.A. (Spanish: Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, “Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán”) …
[…]
Criticism
A passage from MEChA’s national website reads: ‘As Chicanas and Chicanos of Aztlán, we are a nationalist movement of Indigenous Gente that lay claim to the land that is ours by birthright. As a nationalist movement we seek to free our people from the exploitation of an oppressive society that occupies our land. Thus, the principle of nationalism serves to preserve the cultural traditions of La Familia de La Raza and promotes our identity as a Chicana/Chicano Gente.’[7]
Aztlán
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Use by the Chicano movement
The concept of Aztlán as the place of origin of the pre-Columbian Mexican civilization has become a symbol for various Mexican nationalist and indigenous movements.
The name Aztlán was first taken up by a group of Chicano independence activists led by Oscar Zeta Acosta during the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s. They used the name Aztlán to refer to the lands of Northern Mexico that were annexed by the United States as a result of the Mexican-American War. Combined with the claim of some historical linguists and anthropologists that the original homeland of the Aztecan peoples was located in the southwestern United States, Aztlán, in this sense, became a symbol for mestizo activists who believe they have a legal and primordial right to the land. In order to exercise this right, some members of the Chicano movement propose that a new nation be created, the Republic of Aztlán.[7]
Groups who have used the name Aztlán in this manner include Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, “Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán”), and the Nation of Aztlán (NOA).
Lynn Woolsey
[…]
Recognition of Ramadan
On December 11, 2007, Woolsey, along with 8 other Democrats, voted ‘nay’ on a resolution to recognize the U.S. as a Christian nation, but did vote to “recognize the commencement of Ramadan,” an Islamic religious observance, and Diwali, a Hindu religious holiday, earlier in the year.[4]
[…]
Scouting for All Act
In September 2000 Woolsey sponsored H.R. 4892, The Scouting for All Act, to revoke the charter held by the Boy Scouts of America, which had been held since 1916. The charter was issued by Congress to the B.S.A. for its efforts to promote “patriotism, courage, self-reliance and kindred virtues” for young boys …
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