http://www.rawstory.com/2015/04/rise-of ... ressivism/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Rise of far left policies signals Democrats’ embrace of Bernie Sanders progressivism
“There is a reason why it’s called economic populism: it’s because it’s popular,” says Charles Chamberlain of Democracy of America, whose 1 million activists support both Sanders and the more reluctant Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, whom they are also encouraging to run.
“It’s a real stretch to say [Sanders] is out of the mainstream; he is very much ahead of the curve when it comes to a lot of politicians in Washington,” argues Chamberlain. “It is Washington DC that is out of touch with where the average American is really at.”
For this reason, many progressive activists rankle at the description of their members and favoured candidates as leftwing.
“I don’t call ourselves ‘left’ and part of the reason is the centre of the country agrees with us,” claims Adam Green, co-founder of Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
He argues that the surprise decision of Clinton to champion many of the same themes as Warren and Sanders shows such views are now mainstream among Democrats, and the only question is how forcefully Clinton will follow through with policy.
Related: Elizabeth Warren on Hillary Clinton’s embrace of her populist message: ‘Eh’
“The shift in direction of the Democratic party is now coming to a close with the victory of the Warren wing,” claims Green. “It is now about a scale – do we go big or settle for smaller changes?”
It is certainly true that Clinton’s apparent conversion from avowed centrist to critic of the economic elites has caught many by surprise.
Americans may not always care to admit it, but they like their socialist safety nets, roads, fire departments, state fisheries programs, military, schools etc.
It sounds like Hilary and the Republicans are already being forced to campaign a bit on economic populism. Despite being completely full of shit (Obama style), can Hilary differentiate herself enough from them on these issues to make a difference?










