In the beginning of May in 2007 MSNBC's Chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd declared that the GOP no longer agreed on the definition of Conservative. Todd cites the inconsistencies between Barry Goldwater, George W. Bush and every Republican in between as the reason for the question that now bewilders most Conservatives: What do we stand for? In the months following Barack Obama's election many on the left side of the political spectrum seem to be having a political identity crisis of their own.

Bill Maher recently said it best: "The Democrats are the new Republicans"; and many liberal voters may just agree. Take a look at the American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009. It requires only 15% of energy to come from renewable resources by 2021, despite strong scientific opinion suggesting the requirement should be 25% to 40% in order to avert consequences of global warming that may be catastrophic. The latter requirement being the strong, science-based legislation those who voted for President Obama were promised. Lets not just blame this on the re-election obsessed Congress either. Todd Stern, Obama's envoy to the climate change talks held in Mexico City, rejected the 40% standard proposed by the U.N. stating that those levels are "not feasible given where we're starting from." Maybe its because we're starting from the pockets of the utilities industry?

This typifies the dilemma facing those on the left. We got on the direct flight to progress, so what's with all of these stops? Can we support our captain when he supports the mutiny happening on board the ship? Special interests convinced Congress to give away 85% of carbon emission credits; money that would be used to offset rising energy prices for Americans. A fact that is now the crux of the Republican party's national energy tax argument. The Democrats may have been better off negotiating with the Republican party on nuclear energy and oil than wheeling and dealing inside their own while hanging Progressivism out to dry.

Today's real left doesn't have their head in the clouds. It is aware that to move forward negotiation is inevitable but why are the Democrats negotiating with special interests and not with the other half of the country? A reduction in carbon emissions by 25% or more by 2020, a larger push to begin using renewable resources (say 20% by 2020), and a tax on carbon emissions would have appeased the Democrats. The Republicans would have gotten a piece of the pie too: limited offshore drilling and construction of oil refineries and nuclear power plants. Not only would we have tackled climate change but energy independence as well. Not to mention create plenty of jobs.

That is the goal of today's progressive left: real bipartisan support for a progressive cause being accomplished to its full potential in the interest of the nation and the world. Progressivism should not be the goal of any one party but of the congregation and certainly not of any one political ideology.

It seems as though another shot will be dealt to the progressive cause in the guise of health care reform. With the momentum for expanded Medicare coverage already there it would be foolish to let special interests undermine the Obama Administration's message but it is already too late. One can only imagine what the hospital industry and pharmaceutical companies will get for the cost cutting measures. The message of hope and change in the future, a message that would appeal to the legislation's pioneering nature, has been lost in bank accounts of special interest on its way to the Congress.

But Congress is not alone in its beguiling ways.

Politico.com published an article in December of 2008 that summarized the worry that had begun to plague the left-wing community: that then president-elect Obama would not hold true to many of the pledges that had won him the hearts, minds, and most importantly, the votes of liberals. Disappointingly, many of its predictions have come to pass.

Mr Obama has not repealed the Bush tax cuts. His no-nonsense, straight-forward declaration of objection to Don't Ask Don't Tell has now been brought into the realm of the political middle way: avoid alienating someone by alienating someone else. Within months of his election, he receded on his pledge to enact windfall profit taxes on oil companies and it seems to many that governmental transparency has come with some fine print.

But can we blame him? The Democratic party never had the essence of progress that got Barack Obama elected and made sure to bring him back down to the reality of the government's "You do this for me, I'll do that for you" existence after his election.

And that leaves liberals in a quagmire; who is representing the left's interest? One can only hope that President Obama is just navigating the political mire until the nation realizes that a progressive presidential branch needs to be supplemented by a progressive legislature. Still, even the definition of progressive is vague and rising unemployment may spur voters to punish the Democrats instead of look to the future. Until then, liberals are left with a party impersonating them and giving them a bad image.

And we can only hope that real change is just slower than we expected.