Progressive. And Proud Of It.

I. Love. These. Ads.

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I love them so much my brain nearly fizzled with indecision about whether to cheer or blub with joy.

The ads are part of a new Center for American Progress campaign called "Progressive. And Proud Of It," developed in in conjunction with the Glaser Progress Foundation. They're just completing a three-week run in the Columbus, Milwaukee, and Indianapolis markets, as part of the first phase in a multi-year effort to "increase public understanding of what it means to be a progressive" in historical and contemporary America.

The first part of the campaign involves a pilot experiment to begin defining progressivism in the public's mind through a series of distinct advertisements that explain the progressive movement's core values and policy ideas, its historical accomplishments, and its philosophical differences with conservatives.

Progressive reformers in the 20th century paved the way for a more humane society that ensured decent working conditions; fought corporate abuse and corruption; provided support for the elderly and unemployed; protected our natural resources; and expanded democratic opportunities for all citizens. Our ad campaign is a first attempt at bringing these progressive values and accomplishments to light for modern audiences.

This campaign reminds me of my now-ancient post Liberals Will Save America, in which I noted that conservatives have "been on the wrong side of every issue since the Revolution—including the Civil War, the New Deal…even rural electrification," and said that as soon as progressives learned to effectively communicate the message "The Conservative view ultimately benefits a very small minority; the Liberal view benefits us all," we'd save America.

I'm going to try not to get my hopes up too much that we may finally be standing at that threshold.