Barack Obama is the first Democrat that’s figured out that a winning Democratic Party strategy needs to make use of the solid progressive majority that exists in almost every state in the Union. This includes the South.

Since the Reagan electoral victories of the 1980’s, Democratic candidates have used one of two strategies in their attempt to regain control of political power in the United States. Candidates like Bill Clinton successfully won the White House by moving to the right on issues such trade policies, dismantling social programs, and the economy. Candidates like Al Gore and John Kerry attempted to take the White House by winning in “blue states”, trying to flip “swing states”, and largely ignoring most of the rest of the country. Bill Clinton had to move to the right on economic and foreign policy issues. And in the most blunt and straightforward indictment of the Gore/Kerry electoral strategy, one analyst rightly said: “Democrats just don’t seem to be able to count.”

Even though the majority of the South identify as Democrats, their own party refuses to court their vote. In fact, has Bob Moser routinely points out, in order to win Southern Democrats, the Democratic Party would have to move left on economic issues, not right as many coastal Democrats often assume. In the Southland in particular, but also across the entire country, lies the opportunity for tremendous growth of the political Left.

The ideology of the Democratic Party has consistently prevented it from moving to the left on a wide range of issues. The Party is a center-right to moderate grouping with some slightly liberal leaders (though mostly on only a few issues each). It is thoroughly pro-capitalist and is organized is such a way so as to prevent any challengers from coming to power within the party.

The ideological commitments of the Party prevent it from building power in the central way a progressive political party can: by moving politically to the left and actually relating to people on the issues that matter to them.

The Left can gain tremendous ground by capitalizing on this fundamental weakness of the Democratic Party. In the coming decades, if Democratic strategists learn anything from the Obama campaign and the shifting demographics of the American Southland (especially the Southwest), they will begin to attempt to compete in so called “red states”. If a progressive political party actually started building power in the South, it could force the Democrats to move to the left on certain economic and military issues or risk being permanently irrelevant. Like all dilemma situations, this could lead to two positive outcomes for the Left: the Democrats could actually improve their positions (a win) OR a new progressive party or political bloc could gain ground and adherents in a new geographic location (which could happen either way, and also a win).

As revolutionaries serious about winning the struggle for political power in this country, we can learn a lot about what the Left would need to do in order to compete in the South by reading Bob Moser’s new book Blue Dixie: Awaking the South’s Democratic Majority. Much of the same advice Moser tells Democrats can be applied by progressive organizers interested in organizing a left alternative.

The stagnation of the American Left can be ended if we actually begin to map out our nation, region by region, state by state, community by community, figuring out where we can gain ground, on what issues, and how. When we start to think how we can strategically build a new world, we’ll actually start to get there. It seems simple enough, but its worth repeating often.

I’ve been wanting to read “Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way” for a while.

From the people who wrote the book on running progressive electoral campaigns:

“We’ve put together all our campaign know-how into a practical, hands-on guide for progressive grassroots candidates and their campaigns on how to win.  This latest offering was written by Jeff Blodgett and Bill Lofy with Erik Peterson, Sujata Tejwani, Ben Goldfarb and others at Wellstone Action.”

Pakistan is pronouced “Pahk-ee-stahn”, or so my Pakistani friends have consistently told me. Tonight during the debate, Barack Obama correctly pronouced the country’s name.

In case you aren’t familiar with the process, after every presidential debates, one of the types of experts that give their analysis are “body language experts”. They tell you how each candidates’ body and verbal language might be received by voters.

After today’s debate, one such “expert”, Lillian Glass, a (white) body language analyst from Beverly Hills, gave her opinion on the Senator’s language. The LA Times reported that:

“She also thought his inflection might be a turn-off to some voters. “He’d say, ‘Pahk-ee-stahn,’ or ‘Tolly-bahn.’ You need to say Pakistan and Taliban like everyone else [sic].”"

Of course she’s probably right. Obama’s inflection might be a “turn-off” to some voters. The major issue is that the implications of Glass’s comment - namely issues of race and racism - weren’t brought up, as has been reguarly the case in this election. There was no question of who would be “turn[ed]-off”, and more importantly, who would be turned-off if he purposefully mispronouced “Pakistan” in his public appearances.

Jason Linkins of the Huffinton Post made a similar comment, throwing homophobia into the mix (because, I mean, why not?), comparing Obama’s inflection to marching in a Leather Pride Parade. (Really now?):

“10:10 - Jason Linkins: Obama hasn’t gotten the memo from every right-wing blog in the universe that pronouncing the word “Pakistan” PAHK-ee-STAHN is the dialectical equivalent of spreading arugula on your body and marching in the Folsom Street Fair.”

Will Obama change his inflection? We can only wait and see. He hasn’t thus far. But we can’t predict the future. We can prepare to call him out on his obvious BS if he does purposefully shift his inflection. And more importantly, we can call out the types of people who bring up such non-issues.

Obama is widening his lead over McCain. Every move McCain has been making is costing him more votes. Obama is playing a near-perfect game. States like New Hampshire are going from the “toss up” category, to “lean Obama”. States like North Carolina, Indiana, and Missouri are going from “lean Mccain”, to “toss up”. Most of the swing states are leaning towards Obama - states like Ohio, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, and Virginia. Even states like Montana, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia and West Virginia are no longer “safe” for McCain. They only lean his way.

Unless something drastic happens, Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. The political context of Glass’s and Linkins’s comments makes them even more disturbing. They aren’t suggesting that Obama needs to use racist language in order to win the White House (not that that would make it any less repulsive). They’re just saying it just because that’s what traditional electoral strategy “wisdom” says, despite the fact that if the election were held today, Obama would win in a landslide of over 364 electoral votes (you need 270). But (white) voters get turned off by non-English words. Best to appease them and be safe the pundits say.

We can do better I think. We’ll see what happens at Hofstra.

Check out this great post by my good friend Aric: “Election 2008: Why not just ignore it?” about seizing the opportunity presented to us by our current political moment and the political fault lines that mark it.

And here’s a video by Robert Kennedy that he recently posted on his blog. RFK challenging the nature of the GDP. Extraordinary inspiring.

“Some people see things as they are and ask ‘Why? I dream things that never were and ask ‘Why not?’” - Robert Kennedy

From The Nation magazine: “Labor’s War on Global Warming” by Jeremy Brecher, Tim Costello & Brendan Smith:

“Figuring out how to respond to global warming has been difficult for organized labor. The issue can pit union against union and unions against environmentalists. Now, however, a new alliance is developing around the idea of “green jobs”–the jobs that will be needed to rebuild our economy and drastically reduced greenhouse gasses.

Seemingly from nowhere, “green jobs” have emerged as a key issue in the presidential election. Barack Obama calls for a $150 billion investment in green-collar jobs. Hillary Clinton refers to renewable energy employment as “jobs of the future” that can create five million jobs. Even John McCain calls for research and development of green technology, calling it the “path to restore the strength of America’s economy.”

The stealth “green jobs” issue did not emerge from nowhere. Its prominence in the presidential debates results in good measure from the commitment of some, though by no means all, environmental and labor leaders to building an alliance for jobs that fight global warming.”

Green Jobs. Green Pathways Out of Poverty. Green Collar Jobs. A movement for a Green Economy. A Green Revolution. These terms are all starting to enter the corporate media - a very good sign. I can’t thing of anything more important or inspiring than what amounts to the growing foundations of a national anti-poverty movement.

How can this be pushed even further? Well, simple. What would a Clean, Green, and Democratically-Planned Economy look like? That’s the next series of questions progressives should bring to the movement debate. Americans will always love democracy and the democratic tradition. Using democratic language, and language of equality, liberty, human dignity, control of your own life, and justice will allow us to bring fundamentally transformational politics to the national scene. The sooner we begin the better.

Quote for Thought:

“For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Headlines for today:

1. Spain’s Socialists win election - Yep! That’s right. Here’s Al-Jazeera’s article on the subject. You can also check out the article at the Guardian and the article on BBC.

2. President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling UMP conservative party is trailing [the socialists] in the first round of French local elections - Damn straight. Sarkozy’s party is getting themselves handed to them. Check it out. Great developments in Western Europe!

3. Colombia: From insults to handshakes - The Real News Network reports: “At Rio Group summit an isolated Colombia backs down and apologizes for military raid into Ecuador.” Country after country in Latin America condemn Colombia’s illegal invasion of Ecuador’s sovereignty. President Uribe stands down and crosses room to shake hands with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. War is averted in Latin America.

4. Israel may reoccupy Gaza - The Real News Network reports about Israel’s possibl re-invasion and re-occupation of Gaza, after an escalation of Israeli violence in the region which reportedly killed over 120 people in the Gaza region of Palestine.

5. Climate change may spark conflict with Russia, EU told - Anyone up for yelling and screaming in deluded state-capitalist drum circles as the world burns down around us? I haven’t seen an article this ridiculous in a while. The world is falling apart, and the EU is threatening a conflict over materials in a part of the world that should be FROZEN. How about we talk about how to STOP it from MELTING! The wise Cree proverb is adept to describe this article: “Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we cannot eat money.”

AND

6. What is Revolutionary Democracy? - by X and Keith from New Brunswick. A great article and introduction into building revolutionary dual power and a popular movement for a new society.

This is priceless! Bush says he’s endorsing McCain because he thinks McCain won’t change anything! Don’t worry, McCain and Bush are happy to bring their message to America! What would a McCain presidency be? Four more years! Four more years!

From the Huffington Post:

“Tom Brokaw appeared on Morning Joe this morning to discuss the state of the Democratic primary. While discussing Hillary’s long odds he mentioned that a source “very close to the Obama campaign” claimed the campaign had around 50 additional superdelegates “ready to go public before too long.”"

If this is true, it would be very relieving and good. The age of the Bushes and Clintonian Democrats seriously needs to end…

The presidency of George W. Bush, at its infancy through peak, represented the conservative movement’s crowning achievement. After 40 years of building, it looked as though their movement was unstoppable. But while the Republican Party marveled in its own glory, others were quietly and patiently planting the seeds of its demise.

While nothing is certain, all the signs of a coming realignment are beginning to take root. Rightwing analysts, such as David Frum at Financial Times, and others are talking about their worst nightmare being realized: a strong realignment of progressive forces which enables the left to control our society for decades to come - maybe longer. In Frum’s article in Financial Times entitled “Beware the coming Democratic sea-change”, he says whoever the Democratic Party nominee is, if they win the Presidency, we can expect:

“A greater government role in healthcare, higher taxes, tighter regulation, more social welfare, an increased flow of low-skilled migrants with amnesty for those already here, a cut-and-run from Iraq…”

All of these things are promising. Luckily for him he doesn’t know the extent of the coming progressive realignment.

So what are the signs? And, more importantly, what does this mean for progressive forces committed to pushing America further and faster to the left?

THE CONTEXT

World Events, Situations, and Trends

The Climate Crisis

Along side weapons of mass destruction, global climate destabilization is the greatest threat the world has ever faced. As the globe continues to warm and the climate continues to destabilize - fueled mainly by the West’s addiction to fossil fuels - we will face greater consequences ranging from rising sea levels (which could cause millions of deaths, and possibly billions of refugees), a rapidly increasing rate of species and habitat extinction, runaway pollution levels, erratic and catastrophic weather patterns, resource scarcity (the latter of which could lead to increased incidents of water wars, ethnic cleansing, and the like), and much more.

Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction

After the fall of the Soviet Union and its satellite states, a gigantic number of weapons of mass destruction and materials went missing, were sold to unstable or hostile nations, and have been kept in unsafe storage. More alarmingly, the United States has taken actions which, if unchecked, could escalate into another Cold War. One key factor in this new escalation is America’s “missile shield” system which is planned to be built in Poland and the Czech Republic, based on a recently brokered deal with Poland. The “missile shield” which claims to be for protection against “Iranian missiles”, has much more sinister and grave implications. The Iranians are universally considered a threat by almost no one and questions arise as to what the purpose of such a system could be. As many have pointed (see Brian Dominick’s “Media Distorts Missile ‘Defense’ Plans” on ZNet & “European Missile Defense: The Technological Basis of Russian Concerns” by George N. Lewis and Theodore A. Postol in Arms Control Today), since such a system isn’t really for use solely against the Iranians, nor would it be effective in protecting against a Russian first-strike nuclear attack, one can only conclude that the “missile defense shield” is actually an offensive first-strike, weapons system designed to protect against missiles not taken out by a first-strike American attack - with major opponents in the region being Iran and Russia, and elsewhere - China.

The War in Middle East - Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Lebanon

The U.S. occupation of Iraq; the U.S.-Israeli occupation of Palestine; the U.S.-Israeli attack against Lebanon; the U.S.-backed dictatorship in Pakistan; U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan; perhaps more than any other place in the world, the Middle East is quickly spiraling out of control into a regional war (or conglomeration of wars), caused by a battle(s) for resources, wealth, power, and influence. The regional conflicts are fueling increasing fundamentalism and violence alongside prodding grassroots resistance and pro-democracy movements (i.e. Pakistan). After over a century of colonial rule, artificial boundaries and borders set up by colonial powers are threatening to rupture and fragment - with secessionist and nationalist movements growing in size and commitment. The Middle East is a region in turmoil. Like everything else in our current context, there is tremendous threats, juxtaposed with tremendous opportunities.

The Possible Recession (or Depression!)

Peak Oil and The Cost of Petroleum

The Blackwater Effect: The Rise of the For-Profit, Private Military (and Private Prisons)

SIGNS IN OUR MOVEMENT

The Movement

Elections

Shortly after John Kerry’s loss in the 2004 election, Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org, sent out an e-mail to MoveOn members saying:

“For years, the party has been led by elite Washington insiders who are closer to corporate lobbyists than they are to the Democratic base… But we can’t afford four more years of leadership by a consulting class of professional election losers. In the last year, grass-roots contributors like us gave more than $300 million to the Kerry campaign and the DNC, and proved that the party doesn’t need corporate cash to be competitive… Now it’s our party: we bought it, we own it, and we’re going to take it back.“

What he meant by this e-mail, I think, is that the Democratic Party could no longer ignore the grassroots and expect to win campaigns or stay in power. He and others at MoveOn and other organizations have said this repeatedly. Whatever you think of MoveOn, or their efforts to engage with the Democratic Party, it’s fairly hard, I think, to discount the role they’ve played in pressing the Party to move away from the center-right politics that they have leaned towards in the past. They’ve raised many crucial issues to national prominence - all very good signs and actions.

In 2004, many prominent liberals and progressives put out an incredibly informative book called Start Making Sense (which I talk about in an early blog post here), which discusses many things that progressives need to do to start winning (electorally) again. Almost every lesson can be applied to how grassroots movements for longterm transformative change can give entrenched interests a run for their money - and win. It also has many lessons that a Left Electoral Campaign should take to heart in the future.

New Brunswick, progressive danes, green party

The Obama Campaign

Huge portions of the American Left has ignored these positive signs.

And you can see tremendous progress in huge parts of the progressive community:

Youth1

Despite Thomas Friedman’s proclamation that the youth of the nation are “Generation Q” or “The Quiet Americans”, my generation (learning from both history, experience, and world-class mentors) is organizing to take America to new heights. That Friedman didn’t see was that, while Facebook and Myspace (and the Internet in general) can be a distraction for young people, it is also being used in a exciting new ways - linking groups who have never interacted with one another, popularizing dissent, and breaking down barriers to activism.

During many previous periods of social upheaval, groups in society - especially young people - have often had raised hopes and a sense of entitlement. It happened right before the civil rights movement when black soldiers came back from war. It happened before Venezuela took a turn town its path towards liberation, when there were decades of raised hopes around both capitalism and representative democracy - which are now being abandoned in terms of “socialism for the 21st century” and participatory democracy. And its happening again in America. Generation Change is was raised with parents who often had social security, unemployment insurance, and other social safety nets. The last remnants of the New Deal are being dismantled before our eyes. We will be the first generation in half a century which is worse off than our parents were. And on top of that, as the first generation to be raised during the age of information technology, we have extremely high hopes and a strong sense of entitlement. Whatever sense of hope cynicism still held onto, reality will shatter. If history is any indicator of what might occur, our objective conditions as a generation will soon lead to mass rebellion and upheaval.

A few projects to watch: Baltimore Algebra Project, Sustainable South Bronx, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC)

Environmental Justice

Green For All, Apollo Alliance, Energy Action Coalition, Student Environmental Action Coalition, Powervote

Peace

Iraq Veterans Against the War, Winter Soldier, AFSC, WRL, shifts in UFPJ

Religious Left

The Network of Spiritual Progressives, Tikkun

Messaging

In the world of messaging and learning to tell effective stories and narratives, there are already those in progressive circles working hard on figuring out new ways to communicate our values with the public. The smartMeme project is one of the groups pioneering a field they call “story-based strategy”; an exciting initiative which challenges progressives to reframe the debate using alternative narratives to counter dominant myths around social programs.

Another small collective, Beyond the Choir, is also doing innovative work on how progressives can communicate our values using strategic and well-planned organizing, education, campaigns and actions.

George Lakoff’s Rockridge Institute is also paving the way in taking back language from the rightwing.

Media

Z Communications, The Real News Network, Democracy Now!

Negative trends in progressive media include a lack of support and consistent funding for these organizations. Where solidaristic attitudes and federations of progressive media outlets would prevent any one organization from falling apart or closing its doors due to lack of funding, we’ve seen an opposite trend occurring. With the rise of the internet, which has opened countless new doors for our movement, many of us have started to think that media is “free” - that no one should have to pay for it - or the labor that made it. This is a fantasy. Our movements should drive towards more relationships of solidarity, cooperation and community. No quality progressive media organization that has proven itself should have to close its doors due to financial hardship. Progressive media is the backbone of our knowledge base.

Democracy

Liberty Tree, New Brunswick

The Bolivarian Revolution

One of the most hopeful developments in the last 40 or more years, is undoubtedly the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, lead by President Hugo Chavez. Its aims? Transcending capitalism and representatative democracy. The alternative? “Socialism for the 21st Century” and Participatory Democracy. I’ll write more later, in the mean time: http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/

TASKS FOR THE LEFT

Mentors

If there is anything my generation needs right now, it’s smart mentors. We need folks to tell us what worked and what didn’t worked in the past. We need to be able to tap into the collective experiences of the last 40 years. We don’t want to repeat your mistakes; we want to learn from them. The youth of American are setting out on the journey of our lives. We are setting out to recast our country from the fires of own creativity, passion, and hope. I’m not talking about dozens of mentors. I’m not even talking about hundreds of mentors. To set ourselves on a winning path, we need thousands of you to start stepping into that role. Not just teachers (though they are invaluable). Not just older activists (though we need plenty of activists of all ages). What we need are mentors. We need folks who will help us through a learning process. We need to have the space to make mistakes, be creative, and push the envelope. But we shouldn’t have to make the same mistakes over and over again. We need to learn from those in the past who were victorious. And we need to learn from the (non-cynical) organizers of the past who lost - and know why they lost. Commit to supporting younger folks in our journey to save our country. Do it consciously as a progressive. Don’t hide what you are doing - our future depends on urgent, overt action. Your conscience (and your Social Security checks) will thank you for it. So will I.
Capacity and Infrastructure

Z Media Institute, Training for Change, the Change Agency, Midwest Academy, Project South, Beyond the Choir, smartMeme, Ruckus Society, the Highlander Center, War Resisters League, New Tactics,

A TRAJECTORY OF CHANGE

Will finish off later!

–

1. Note, by sectioning-off various sections of the Left, I don’t mean to place artificial barriers where they need not be placed, but rather do this to highlight some exciting developments. “Youth”, for example, are working on dozens of issues, including peace, human rights, and environmental justice.

In an Valentine’s Day article in Time Magazine yesterday, Karen Tumulty reported on what appears to be a failing Clinton fund-raising and field team. In a strategy that wasn’t prepared to take Senator Clinton past Super Tuesday, her campaign is now scrambling to fundraise and set up field operations in Texas and Ohio. One striking part of the article read as follows:

“Clinton has shaken up a campaign team whose top rung often seemed to function like the permanent membership of the U.N. Insecurity Council, with each of its often feuding members holding veto power over any move that diverged from his or her plan. Gone is campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, the former scheduler whose primary qualification seemed to be her long history with the candidate. Some of Clinton’s closest advisers had argued against putting Doyle in such a high-wire role, but it was a characteristic move for a candidate who, like Bush, is known to value personal trust and loyalty above all other virtues.”

I found it striking because of what it means for our grassroots movements. Many of the organizations and movements that I’ve been a part of were (are) completely chaotic. There is infighting. There is bickering. There is a lack of unity on the simplest of issues. Here we had an Establishment campaign that is having minor internal fighting - and its losing. There are certainly other elements of why Clinton is losing, though not having a cohesive campaign team must be one of them. It says wonders about our movements getting their attitudes in better shape and doing what it takes to win.

In article in The Swamp, Mike Dorning outlines what the Obama Campaign has been doing to win - specifically what it took to win in Iowa, but also what it takes to win in other states too (and why he’s ahead of Clinton in many respects):

“It’s an old-fashioned counting system redolent of yesteryear’s precinct walks that rates voters based on personal contact, usually face-to-face meetings or one-on-one conversations over the telephone.

The “ones” are the candidate’s strongest supporters — by Iowa tradition, those who have signed cards pledging to show up on caucus night and back the candidate. The “twos” are supporters who have declared their backing less formally.

Count correctly. Keep adding. If the number rises high enough, the outcome is victory.

That is, if the same army of campaign workers and volunteers that has called, coaxed and cajoled for months also can get those supporters to turn out on a bitter-cold January evening at 1,784 precincts across the state. And if those supporters will stay in place for two hours, standing their ground in front of friends, neighbors and business acquaintances.”

Many people who consider themselves lefitsts don’t do this type of organizing. And to win we’d need to have thousands of communities organized on a longterm basis - not just for a single electoral campaign. They don’t do it for issue-based campaigns, let alone electoral campaigns (even if they aren’t national). We don’t do this in cities and we don’t do it in rural communities. And we wonder why we don’t win? I often am thankful that the Democratic Party didn’t keep a permanent campaign like this going. We’d be in deep shit.

Again, progressives get it wrong (Obama knows strategy though!). It isn’t about facts - you can pile facts to the ceiling (though we have truth on our side and must show it). Without a clear vision, an emotional vision, a spiritual, cultural, epic vision of the future - you won’t get the votes. Here’s Frank Luntz - Republican Party Strategist and Message Maker doing a focus group of Democrats after Super Tuesday. He asks “name one accomplishment of Barack Obama”. Almost none can do it. While Obama might have a ton of them. that’s not the main part of his message! (Also see my post: Language Warriors)

====

After the polls closed on Tuesday in Super Tuesday States, Hillary and Bill Clinton injected $5 million from their personal fortunes into Hillary’s campaign. As a challenge, the Obama campaign asked their supporters to match that number. In under 24 hours, that happened - mostly from small donors giving small amounts from their pockets. That number is up to over $7,600,000.00 in a little under two day. TWO DAYS. He reached $6.5 million in a little over a day. Incredible!

The Left should ask WHY this is happening, instead of merely critiquing Obama’s politics (and theres plenty to critique). Below are six of Obama’s speeches. All are incredibly inspiring. The left should learn from his rhetoric, his lack of stupid dogmatic language, his imagery and story-telling skills, his charisma, and his message. We take that message roll with it - using real organizing, and real analysis behind it. We should stop whining and start winning!

====

Here’s an letter to the San Francisco Chronicle talking by Rabbi Michael Learner. He talks about how Obama is basically one of the only spiritual progressives on the national scene:

“Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun magazine, chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, rabbi of Beyt Tikkun synagogue-without-walls in San Francisco and Berkeley, and author of the 2006 national best-seller ‘The Left Hand of God: Taking Back our Country from the Religious Right.’

I enthusiastically support Barack Obama, the first serious spiritual progressive candidate for the presidency. Once in office, Obama’s discourse of hope, challenging narrow technocratic consciousness, will open the possibility for serious social movements to push him beyond the constraints of Democratic Party spinelessness.

Spiritual progressives want a New Bottom Line so that institutions, social practices, even our own personal behavior is seen as efficient, rational and productive, not only to the extent that they maximize money and power (the Old Bottom Line) but also to the extent that they maximize love and caring for others, kindness and generosity, ethical and ecological sensitivity, and enhance our capacity to respond to others as embodiments of the sacred and to the universe with awe, wonder and radical amazement.

In our Spiritual Covenant with America ( www.spiritualprogressives.org ), we apply these ideas not only to support single payer health care and taxes on carbon emissions but also to replace our foreign policy Strategy of Domination with a Strategy of Generosity, recognizing that our well-being as Americans depends on the well-being of everyone else on the planet. Hence we call for a Global Marshall Plan to dedicate 1-2 percent of the GDP of the United States each year for the next 20 to once and for all eliminate domestic and global poverty, homelessness, hunger, inadequate education and inadequate health care. It will be up to us ordinary citizens to create the pressure that will allow Obama to fight for the spiritual progressive agenda he actually believes in, but is unsure can be realized at this historical moment.“

====

Finally, I have been looking through Obama speeches. His speeches in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Chicago (Super Tuesday) had something really interesting about them. None of them mentioned God. In the past, Obama has talked about “an awesome God”, giving moving speeches in Churches and other religious institutions. He’s a member of the United Church of Christ, but it seems as if he doesn’t need to wear it on his sleeve. He finishes most speeches with talk about an epic mission to build a better America. Again, if the Left wants to win, we should take notice of why this man is winning…

The language, imagery, rhetoric, and communication skills that every member, organizer, leader, and speaker on the American Left should be using if we want to win in America… Whatever you think of Obama, this is really inspiring. The left must build the capacity to be infecting the media with radio spot after radio spot, ad after ad, song after song, pushing a progressive vision for America’s Future, including showing people how to organize, how change is made, how power is built, and that yes, there ARE alternatives to our current problems.