Jan S. - Sarasota, FL

A progressive is a person who puts people first. We seek incremental advancement ('progress') toward realistic goals to promote the common good. The focus is on better conditions and for all, rather than narrow partisanship and cronyism -- the many, not the money. In current political terms, this usually translates to supporting moving toward a national health insurance system for the last industrialized country without one, restoring quality public education, preserving Social Security and other people-oriented goals. In some ways, to be 'progressive' these days is to be backward-looking -- favoring a return to the root concept of 'representative democracy.'