>From: "John Thornton" <jthorn65 at mchsi.com>
> >Kerry had his weaknesses but he also had his strengths. He ran on a very
> >progressive platform-- pro-union, anti-death penalty, pro-choice,
> >pro-education-- with concrete goals to improve the lives of people we all
> >care about. (Nathan Newman)
>
>-"Very progressive"? Dude you made me blow iced tea out of my nose laughing
>-at this line. Give us a humor warning next time. Progressive next to Bush's
>-almost ultra reactionary platform sure but Kerry's platform was moderate
>-not "very progressive". (JT)
>
>* Universal health care
>* Freedom to form unions, card check recognition
>* $5000 per student for college education in addition to Pell Grants
>* Ending workplace discrimination against gays and the disabled
>* Strong pro-environment record and policy
>
>Folks repeat that Kerry isn't progressive, but his domestic policy was
>notably more progressive than what Clinton ran on and better than Gore's in
>many areas. And while history makes it hard to compare, it stacks up well
>with McGovern. Frankly, most of the left is as shallow as the voters they
>complain about. Because Kerry didn't have such a sterling presentation of
>self, they didn't bother to pay attention to what he was saying.
>
>I guarantee that the DLC types will be mounting a campaign to say that the
>problem in 2004 was that Kerry was too liberal and the Dems should have
>nominated Lieberman or some more conservative governor or Senator.
>
>Nathan Newman
We just define "very progressive" differently. Very progressive to me includes but is not limited to:
Free health care provided to every RESIDENT in the US. Free university education for every RESIDENT in the US. Minimum wage indexed to inflation and brought to 150% of it's historically highest rate and/or Guaranteed minimum income of 35% of the median income, not a negative income tax.
This would be a good start for a very progressive platform as opposed to Kerry's moderate platform. I'm glad Kerry is less conservative than Liebermann and has a more progressive platform than Clinton, I really am but that does not make it "very progressive" because it is still less than the minimum we should expect from a country as wealthy as this.
John Thornton