'Progressive'

choi

Ben Zimmer, Moving Forward from 'Bull Moose' to Bernie. Wall Street Journal, Aug 3, 2019
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pro ... -bernie-11564688487

Quote:

" 'progressive' seems to have become the new normal for leading Democrats, displacing 'liberal' as the default descriptor.

"Modeled on the [Middle] French [adjective masculine] progressif (in turn derived from a Latin root meaning 'to advance'), 'progressive' in its early use simply meant 'moving forward.' Astronomers used the term as early as the 15th century for the forward movement of heavenly bodies in the sky. Animals were said to have 'progressive motion' if they advanced by walking, flying or swimming.

"The 19th century saw 'progressive' become a key political term, used for British and American movements with reformist agendas. As an 1849 article in the Hartford Courant put it, 'the very idea that predominates in the minds of modern "progressives" is a radical change in the institutions of society.'

"The 1890s started a period that historians have called the Progressive Era, when a succession of parties took the 'progressive' name. The most successful was the Progressive or 'Bull Moose' Party formed by former President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 after he lost the Republican nomination to his onetime protégé William Howard Taft.

"When Hillary Clinton was asked in a 2007 presidential debate if she identified as liberal, she responded, 'I prefer the word "progressive," which has a real American meaning, going back to the Progressive Era at the beginning of the 20th century.' Twelve years later, Democratic candidates have gravitated toward 'progressive' as a label of choice [compared to 'liberal'].

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest. I highlight this article of etymology and use of progressive, because this word cropped out frequently after Democrats retook the House in the 2016 general election. At the time, I asked librarians where this word lies in American political spectrum: to the left or right or liberal. They did not know. This article says they are the same.
(b)
(i) 1912 United States presidential election
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19 ... esidential_election
("Democratic Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey unseated incumbent Republican President William Howard Taft [1909-1913] and defeated former President Theodore Roosevelt president 1901-1909], who ran as the Progressive Party ("Bull Moose") nominee"
(ii) Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Party_(United_States,_1912) (
("The Progressive Party was popularly nicknamed the "Bull Moose Party" since Roosevelt often said that he felt 'strong as a bull moose' both before and after an assassination attempt on the campaign trail")