The coming progressive schism

There’s big trouble in little Progressivetown, folks. That’s trouble with a capital T, which rhymes with We, as in We (meaning Daily KOS) won’t be going to Netroots Nation next year because it’s being held in Arizona.

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Netroots Nation announced two days ago that Phoenix, Arizona would host its 2015 conference. I wish the conference the best, but it will unfortunately take place without Daily Kos’ attendance or assistance.

I made very clear in the wake of Arizona’s passage of SB 1070 that I would not be setting foot in the state, nor spending a dime in it until the law was revoked. The law, however gutted by the courts, remains on the books, as does systemic harassment of Latinos, so my pledge still stands.

This seems to be yet another example of a trend noted in the media this week, in which liberals were fighting an internecine battle over immigration policy and the President’s response to the situation at the border. Clearly Markos came down on the nay side of the question, or perhaps “neigh” (sorry…) leading to the opt out. This shocking announcement comes on the heels of the current Netroots Nation, which actually seemed to be picking up some steam this year with the addition of Elizabeth Warren as a featured speaker.

Warren defined the conservatives’ “internal motto” as “I got mine, the rest of you are on your own.” By contrast, she said progressives are guided by the “principle” that “we all do better when we work together and invest in building a future… not just for some of our kids, but for all of our kids.” …

“Oh, and we believe that corporations are not people, that women to have a right to their bodies,” she said to escalating cheers. “We will overturn Hobby Lobby and we will fight for it!”

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This is more unusual than it sounds at first blush. I’ve written repeatedly over the years on the subject of liberal cohesion and how it often outshines conservatives in that area. The progressive movement is actually made up of a far more splintered, eclectic groups of single issue voters than you typically find in the three legs of the conservative stool. Various strains of feminists, abortion rights groups, multiple racial equality columns, environmental activists, societal safety net socialists, outright communists and others all have traditionally seemed to put aside their various differences or jockeying for top billing and work together to elect the most left leaning Democrat they can enlist.

But this is something different. The hard boiled, further left activists are close to outright rebelling against Hillary, starting the Ready for Warren movement, and the cornerstones of progressivism like Markos are boycotting their own keystone events. There’s something in the air, and all you can really do is get out the popcorn.

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