Video excerpt of Commonweal Institute Fellow Dave Johnson's presentation about building progressive infrastructure at the 2006 Yearly Kos Convention.

U.S. Sen. Al "Landslide" Franken kicked off a national meeting of progressive leaders in Duluth earlier this month with an opening declaration that "moral indignation is great!’’

Then he added, a little sheepishly and with his trademark perfect timing: “It’s just not very attractive. It's a lesson I've learned.”

His confession, about how his own indignation made his election closer than it should have been, drew knowing laughter from the crowd of about 200 think-tank directors, advocacy groups organizers, and Duluth citizens at a meeting sponsored by the A.H. Zeppa Foundation and directed by the Commonweal Institute, based in California.

And the Progressive Roundtable conference that followed was suffused with the theme that if there is to be a progressive renaissance, it needs to be animated by a spirit of constructive and practical problem-solving, piece-by-piece, and state-by-state.

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Today, many of us know someone who has no health insurance and we worry about what would happen if they got seriously sick. Early last year a friend was diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately he had an excellent outcome with treatment. But two months later, he lost his job and—after he and his wife struggled to keep up with the insurance payments for eight months while he searched for a new job—they finally stopped paying for insurance. The choice came down to keeping a roof over their heads or paying their COBRA bill. They know they are now playing the lottery with his health. And God forbid his wife or son gets sick. This is the dilemma too many of our families, our friends and our neighbors are facing right now. Reforming the health-care insurance market is not only a primary goal of President Barack Obama, but is also a major requirement for the economic health of the United States because it will prevent the bankruptcy of our country and its citizens.

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