i take your point about marginal vs median.
if you had to rank, of the large states you mentioned where do you think progressives have the most influence over policy?
I would give it to Mass. just off them getting some sort of universal healthcare policy through when the rest of the country was failing to deliver much of anything
Dems organized on the issue, won a supermajority on the issue, got something done, stopped Romney from sabotaging it, and end with Romney taking credit for it and it is the template for the ACA. That is good effective left-wing governance, and the country needs more of that.
I think it is that kind of politics that leftists to centrist need to learn from. Sure those healthcare plans were far from perfect, sure they were too susceptible to conservative meddling, but however imperfect it was something tangible voters could look at and differentiate one party from the other. The reason national Dems win the election now when healthcare is a salient issue is that they say "look at what we did, and those people want to take it away" . The GOP can't even form a propaganda campaign against universal healthcare now, they have to straight-up lie about their and the Dems positions.
I mean Joe Manchin now runs on being a "Defender of the ACA"
That start because of Mass. Dems, so I think that still puts them above the pack.
I am all for having ideals and ideas of how to make people's lives better. Those are important because if you are gonna coalition build, the standards should be established up front.
But voters need an easily digestible way to know you have their best interest. Nothing does that more than you doing things and then telling voters "see look at what I did for you. Look at this tangible thing I did to make your life better"
www.bbc.com
