12 Things Progressives Can Be Thankful For This Year
by Linda Thieman

Thanksgiving can be a bit of a touchy subject in the progressive community.  One can never assume that everyone will simply gather ‘round the turkey or the tofurkey and join in a celebration which reminds many of the decimation of the Native American population.  On the other hand, there are many who believe that to express gratitude for the good things we share serves to increase that abundance.

In trying to reach a happy medium, Blog for Iowa (with much cribbing from American Progress) has compiled a list of 12 things that we progressives can be thankful for this year.

1) We’re thankful for outspoken leaders like Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich who keep the progressive torch lit.

2) We’re thankful for George Lakoff and his dissection and exposure of the GOP meme factory.

3) We’re thankful that the Democrats finally broke the stranglehold that the destructive neocons had on the Iowa Senate.

4)  We’re thankful that the Green Party’s Cobb/LaMarche campaign has used their legitimate position on the Ohio ballot to pursue the proper course of action for an Ohio presidential recount.

5) We're thankful for Jon Stewart for using comedy to highlight the essential truths – about the media, politicians, and – especially - Tucker Carlson.

6) We're thankful for California's trailblazing on stem-cell research.

7) We're thankful for Rush Limbaugh, Bill Bennett, Jack Ryan, and Tom DeLay for helping us understand conservative moral values.

8) We're thankful for Costco, for showing Wal-Mart that you can offer rock-bottom prices without paying rock-bottom wages.

9) We're thankful for Canada, for picking up the slack and providing affordable drugs to America's seniors.

10) We're thankful for Republicans like Senators Dick Lugar and Chuck Hagel for putting principles over partisanship.

11) We're thankful for Air America for taking on conservative talk radio…and winning.

12) And last but not least, we are very thankful for the policy wonks who read the fine print of the omnibus and stopped the turkeys in Congress from reading our income tax returns.

And a personal thank you to Trish Nelson for stepping up to the Blog for Iowa plate and doing such an outstanding job.

Happy Thanksgiving!