How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Big Change Moment

Big and bold. That's Mike Lux's recipe for sweeping, transformative change. That's the way for progressives to achieve a Big Change Moment, as Lux calls it in his new book, "The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be." Lux likens progressive ideals to American ideals, and calls for progressives to pressure cautious Democrats hesitant to spend political capital.

I'm not talking about President Obama specifically. As Lux wrote yesterday on Open Left, Obama has taken tremendous strides to get past the hurdles of centrist cabinet picks and stay on the progressive track. You could hear calls for a Big Change Moment in Obama's congressional address last week, and you can see audacious ambition in his economic recovery bill and budget. While Lux is right when he says we shouldn't hesitate to disagree with the President on everything from the banking crisis to the war in Afghanistan--particularly when Obama respects plurality of opinion. But this ought to go double (or I guess increase exponentially depending on your math skills) for every Democrat in Washington right now.