Progressives, inebriated by hope for the “change we can believe in,” were a key force in electing Barack Obama by a relative landslide in 2008. But then most of us promptly forgot how change happens in this country.

Up through the 1970s, progressives could take on big corporate interests and win by having good ideas and pressing them forcefully. Take, for example, the Fair Labor Standards Act 1938 and the Clean Air Act 1963. However, by the late 1970s, large corporations began to understand that for relatively modest investments in lobbyists, they could corrupt the American political system.

Over these past 35 years, aided by Supreme Court decisions, corporations have rigged the rules in their favor. When President Obama took office, these forces were poised to thwart or water down many of the ideas that propelled him into the White House. Progressives, on the other hand, underestimated the need to keep up the heat on Obama and Congress to carry out their election mandate. Three weeks into office, Obama did pass an economic stimulus bill that helped put many people back to work, even if it did little to position our economy for a cleaner future less dependent on fossil fuels. Obama has also presided over a major cultural shift around gay rights.

But otherwise, the wins have been thin. On big issues like healthcare and Wall Street reform, we won only a fraction of the agenda we wanted. Given the enormous power of corporations over our political system, progressives still would have faced high hurdles even if they had put more into “street heat” pressure on policymakers. But we could have won much more, particularly in 2009 and 2010 when Democrats controlled the House, Senate, and White House. Six years of disappointment in Obama and six years of widespread revulsion of the corporate takeover of our politics has left many progressives demoralized. It’s not that people have abandoned their progressive values. For example, polls show that a large majority of Americans support raising the minimum wage, believe the gap between CEO and worker pay is far too wide, support action to combat global warming, and want to tax Wall Street transactions.