Progressives?

I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal written by Ronald Pestritto, the author of a book that aims to link the original progressives with modern-day progressives and liberals. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435942829722602.html?KEYWORDS=glenn+beck+progressives

I've been trying to decide for myself for a long time whether there was a worthwhile comparison between these two groups, and if there were, what that would mean.

I've come to the following conclusions:

Did progressives do some good things? We would all be intellectually dishonest if we answered "No." Some of the regulations they made in regards to child labor, food contamination, and safe work environments are vital parts of a thriving industrialized society.

Did they only do things that overstepped the constitutional framework? No. However, where they went wrong was where they overstepped their constitutional powers for the "greater good." In my mind, putting Japanese people in internment camps, strong-arming protesters (during each world war), and other limits on basic rights were where the progressives went wrong. Additionally, changing the way the government operated generally, including making a central bank that prints money and endeavors to control the market, taking power and representation away from the states in the name of "democracy" (the 17th Amendment), stripping states of sovereign territory (National Parks system), and the legacy that these interferences left with the National Government continuing to usurp power from the states and individuals for the "greater good."

In this way there is a definite link between the original progressives and modern-day liberals/progressives. They seek to increase the centralized power and authority of the government in order to create a society that fits their own idea of the "model society." In order to do this, they may subvert the Constitution or anything else for the "greater good." To them, the ends justify the means, as could be seen through both world wars and the squelching of protests and political prisoners, and then today with the passing of Obamacare "Chicago style."

Even so, did they have some good ideas that we could learn from? Sure. Even Hitler came up with a couple good ideas, like the autobahn. Do these ideas mean we should give them a pass and embrace everything they believed in? If that be the case, then we might as well embrace Hitler's ideas as well.

I don't begrudge them at all for the good they did in making the market safer. I do begrudge the legacy of the federal power grab and continual efforts to out-step their constitutional bounds.