Subject: [big campaign] A Progressive Triumph: Election Day Delivers a New Direction
From: "Daniella Gibbs Leger" <[email-masked]>
To: "big campaign" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 09:50:04 -0500
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

<http://www.americanprogressaction.org/>

*For Immediate Release*
November 5, 2008

*Contact*
Jason Rahlan, 202.481.8132
[email-masked]

RELEASE: A Progressive Triumph: Election Day Delivers a New Direction

November 5, 2008

Our nation today is only now realizing the extent of the resounding victory
for progressive ideals registered on election day. Progressives triumphed in
all regions of the country and won overwhelming support from individuals of
all different backgrounds. President-elect Barack Obama defeated Sen. John
McCain (R-AZ) decisively, winning the most votes in
history<http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/>and the largest share of
the popular vote of any presidential candidate in
two decades. Candidates running on progressive platforms helped Democrats
expand their majorities in both houses of Congress. Democrats now have the
most elected members of Congress any party has held
since<http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/partyDiv.html>
1995<http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_and_teasers/partydiv.htm>
.

Now comes the hard part. Our country faces enormous challenges, many the
direct result of eight years of hapless conservative governance. The worst
financial crisis since the Great Depression is only the latest blow
delivered to the American people after years of stagnant
wages<http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/10/redistribution.html>and
the worst job-creation record since
Herbert Hoover<http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/two_conservatives.html>.
Our increasingly costly health care system leaves out more and more
Americans every year.

Years of war in Iraq have left Americans less safe at home and abroad
despite the incredible sacrifice of our brave fighting men and women there
and in Afghanistan, where the Taliban and the Al Qaeda terrorists who
attacked us on 9/11 are mounting a comeback. And our planet is now eight
years closer to catastrophic climate change.

Sen. McCain and other conservatives supported these policies, and they ran
this election year on ambitious conservative plans that would have gone even
further. The American people rejected these stale ideas yesterday,
understanding the dismal consequences of conservatism these past eight
years. The urgency of our problems was central to the decisions of American
voters, who were significantly more likely to say that the economy, taxes,
heath care, and energy were "very important" compared to four years ago,
according to the Pew Research
Center<http://people-press.org/reports/questionnaires/462.pdf>
.

That's why candidates who embraced progressive solutions to these problems
won. Obama ran on the most progressive platform of any presidential
candidate in at least 15 years, including a promise of universal health care
coverage, a dramatic transformation to a low-carbon economy, and a historic
investment in education. Winning congressional candidates also embraced
progressive policies. And
polls<http://people-press.org/reports/questionnaires/462.pdf>showed
that voters supported progressive solutions by wide margins.

In a few short months, leaders who support progressive ideals will take up
the reins of government in Washington. We must rise to the occasion. We must
move beyond the false choice of left versus center to embrace solutions as
big as the challenges we face.

We need investments now to jumpstart our economy while laying the
foundations for sustained economic growth. Restoring confidence in our
economy will require a new direction for the economy, health care, clean
energy, and education. And we must be willing to set priorities on
government spending to restore budgetary responsibility in the coming years.

If we do these things, then we can translate yesterday's victory at the
polls into a victory for health care, clean energy, national security, and a
stronger and larger middle class. The American people are ready. Now it's
time to deliver.

*The Center for American Progress Action
Fund<http://www.americanprogressaction.org/>is the sister advocacy
organization of the Center
for American Progress <http://www.americanprogress.org/>. The Action Fund
transforms progressive ideas into policy through rapid response
communications, legislative action, grassroots organizing and advocacy, and
partnerships with other progressive leaders throughout the country and the
world. The Action Fund is also the home of the Progress Report.*

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