The politics and cultural life of the US has increasingly been dominated by “the vast right-wing conspiracy” – the Bush Presidency is the culmination of formal processes underway for several decades and historical phenomena rooted in the earliest moments of the country.

These are difficult times for those of us who believe:

• the separation of church and state (one of America’s great gifts to humanity) is fundamental to the health of our society and religious groups within it

• our economy should produce jobs that pay a living family wage for everyone

• health care and housing are rights for everyone

• providing for the health and education of all children is an important duty of society as a whole and an investment in the future

• the total costs of private enterprise activities must be kept private (for example, pollution, waste management, workforce health and injuries, etc.)

• costs of public life should be shouldered fairly by all parties (including the rich and corporations)

• the role of the US on the world stage is best served by a clearer focus on multilateralism, disconnecting from the neo-imperialist policies currently guided by the needs of corporate interests

We need a long-term program and platform to reenergize the progressive elements of our society. The present Democratic Party is not structured to capture the interests of the large majority of Americans who could support, out of their own self-interest, a more progressive vision.

Just as the right-wing elements have coalesced around the Republican Party and made it their vehicle over the last two-to-three decades, we need a long-term program and a platform to change the terms of the debate and move public processes in our direction to achieve our objectives.

This raise all sorts of questions. In the next few entries here I will tackle some of them.