It's true that it takes two sides not to be divisive, but just 1) like Obama with the Republicans, you could make clear that your side is not the source of the divisiveness and 2) while there would very be likely be some significant pushback, especially at the beginning, the center camp would have different incentives than the Republicans, since the latter actually benefit from the divisiveness. It's possible that they could end up taking the high road - that's largely what they did in 2008.
On Wed, Nov 3, 2010 at 4:17 PM, Jim Devine <[email protected]> wrote: > Robert Naiman wrote: >> If organized correctly, a primary would build progressive power rather >> than be divisive, would register and educate voters, would encourage >> and boost progressive candidates for Congress, and would strengthen >> the base of organizations that do progressive electoral work. ... > > it takes two to tango: the opposition to "progressive power" could > make the primary extremely divisive whether progressives want it or > not. > > (An example: Obama's no progressive as far as I can tell (though the > definition of the key word seems infinitely elastic). In any event, he > seems to go out of his way to avoid even the appearance of > divisiveness. But the GOPsters make the electoral process divisive > nonetheless.) > > by the way, what does "progressive" mean? Bull Moose? Robert > LaFollette? Henry Wallace? what is "progress," anyway? doesn't its > meaning depend on one's values? > -- > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own > way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
