Progressive Carnevale

Campus Report ^ | July 17, 2009 | Mytheos Holt

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Progressive Carnevale

by: Mytheos Holt, July 17, 2009

On July 8, 2009, the Center for American Progress (CAP) hosted their annual “Campus Progress National Conference” at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Headlining with such speakers as Obama Administration Green Job Czar Van Jones, Daily Show Correspondent John Oliver, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Former President Bill Clinton and featuring panels on subjects such as “Am I Hip Hop” and “Keeping the Faith: Moving Religious Communities From Tolerance to Advocacy on LGBT Issues,” the progressive gathering gave young activists the chance to bond with their elders. And while talk of central planning, subversion of traditional values and emotional expressions of hope were widespread, concrete political strategy was in short supply.

Despite the recent roadblocks which critics say the Obama administration has run into, the overall tenor was one of overwhelming triumphalism, as well as a drive to come up with further steps towards “change.” At one seminar on health care, participants were encouraged to write their ideas for how to sell health care reform on the tables in crayon before discussing these ideas with the help of “facilitators.” One participant, a self-proclaimed professional community organizer, continually stressed the importance of “personal stories” and “moral arguments” in promoting health care. Another activist, originally from Swarthmore College, argued that the government should adopt an approach of central planning for all scarce resources. “Government’s role is to decide resources when they’re limited,” she said...