Progressive Values

George Lakoff frames the Democratic progressive message in terms of the fundamental American values these policies represent:

We are the 55 million progressives who came together in this election, voted for Kerry and rejected the Bush agenda.

We came together because of our moral values: care and responsibility, fairness and equality, freedom and courage, fulfillment in life, opportunity and community, cooperation and trust, honesty and openness. We united behind political principles: equality, equity (if you work for a living, you should earn a living) and government for the people--all the people.

These are traditional American values and principles, what we are proudest of in this country. The Democrats' failure was a failure to put forth our moral vision, celebrate our values and principles, and shout them out loud. (emphasis in original)

Even if you are skeptical of the "Democrats have trouble taking about values" analysis, I hope you can see the benefits of framing our issues in the context of these fundamental values.

People in the red states care about "care and responsibility, fairness and equality, freedom and courage, fulfillment in life, opportunity and community, cooperation and trust, honesty and openness."

So, it would not hurt if our candidates and party leaders started talking about how our policies are far better examples of these values than what the Republicans offer.