Fianna Fail and its ally, the Progressive Democrats, were expected to form a government.
At the same time his coalition allies, the Progressive Democrats, have been in turmoil.
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At Westminster he has developed a close working relationship with the Liberal Democrats, and with the Progressive Democrats in the Irish Republic.
So, too, with the combination of Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats.
He was also instrumental in reining in progressive Democrats to keep them on board during the debate over 2003's Medicare prescription drug legislation.
But I think it's important to note that the members of the Gang of Six represent in many ways progressive Democrats and very conservative Republicans.
The Progressive Democrats, its junior partners, are unhappy about the idea.
"We are clearly pro-worker, progressive Democrats, " he says.
He will probably lead a minority centre-right coalition, backed by independents, in partnership once again with the Progressive Democrats, a small liberal party that managed to lose both its leader, Michael McDowell, and three-quarters of its deputies.
Though Fianna Fail's vote went up by just 0.2%, clever tactical voting produced a sharp rise in seats, while the tactically dimmer Progressive Democrats held their vote but halved their seats (though a resentful recount is going on over a Dublin seat lost to a Green).
The Fianna Fail candidate, Brian Lenihan, was sacked as deputy prime minister by his old friend Charles Haughey at the insistence of his coalition partners, the Progressive Democrats, in a row over whether phone calls had been made to President Hillery asking him not to dissolve the Dail in 1982.
Democrats and progressive (Teddy) Roosevelt Republicans swept many state elections.
The centre-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in Europe (PASDE) is the second largest bloc with 183 MEPs, followed by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) with 84.
Think about helping progressive, or at least mainstream, Democrats win seats vacated by GOP incumbents in Missouri, New Hampshire and Ohio.
The Democrats cannily nominated their own progressive candidate, Woodrow Wilson, and he won the election in a landslide against the divided Republicans.
Bonus: monetary reform is an uncontaminated issue where Democrats, whether Blue Dog or Progressive, can, without violating principle, participate as equals.
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The Progressive Change Campaign Committee also has run ads against Democrats as has Health Care for America Now, an umbrella group that represents 1, 000 organizations, including major unions and liberal-leaning groups.
First, it allows Democrats to say that the health care overhaul that is emerging in the Senate has bipartisan support. (In practice, this is hardly true.) Second, it means Democrats will have to keep the more progressive wing of their party from pushing the debate too far to the left in the coming weeks.
But it could deal a mortal blow to Mr Blair's project to form a progressive anti-Conservative coalition at national level with the Liberal Democrats, and to portray the Scottish coalition as a shining precursor.
Whether Lieberman wins or loses is irrelevant to the meaning of Lamont's challenge, independence, and loyal Democrats are disgusted by the lack of a program, especially a progressive program coming from the Democratic leadership.
If the anti-union vanguard is comprised of neoliberal Democrats, can we really be surprised if Republicans follow in their wake unopposed by an unenthusiastic progressive base?
And it may help the Working Families Party, a progressive political party largely made up of labour unions, which already has more grassroots support than the fragmented Democrats.
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