A more progressive America is emerging, but Republicans won’t go down without a fight

By Michael Cohen, The Guardian
Sunday, January 5, 2014 12:58 EST

Popular opinion is moving towards more progressive policies, though Republicans won’t go down without a fight

Oh to be a liberal in America today. In New York City, a Democrat has finally been elected mayor after a 24-year absence from City Hall – and he’s a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. Gay marriage is legal in 18 states including, most bizarrely, Utah, one of the most conservative states. The minimum wage is going up around the country and you can even smoke a joint in Colorado. Obamacare, for all its speedbumps over the past few weeks, is the law of the land; the Senate filibuster just took a big hit (and along with it Republican obstructionism); a nuclear deal with Iran is in the works and even Obama is talking about the scourge of income inequality.

Everything, it seems, is coming up roses.

But before progressives start donning their Che Guevera T-shirts and popping their artisanal champagne corks the liberal moment is coming face to face with a difficult reality: conservatives are not going down without a fight.

In fact, just over a year since President Obama was re-elected and it seemed the country was moving in a more progressive direction, Republicans have thwarted much of his agenda and 2014 (as well as 2015 and 2016) promises more of the same.

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/05/a-more-progressive-america-is-emerging-but-republicans-wont-go-down-without-a-fight/