Folks I'm afraid that it isn't all empty rhetoric but its really kind of complex. Sorry to burst the humorous bubble.
Those who call themselves "progressives" espouse the political theory of
utilitarianism or "the ethical doctrine that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall utility" and
welfarism, "the view that the morally significant consequences are impacts on human welfare".
Progressivism is distinctly different from Classical Liberalism as Progressivism is based on these two
Consequentialist theories and uses
Legal Positivism as its structure for government rather than
Natural Law, the basis for Classical Liberalism. (Classical liberalism is based on natural law and Progressivist Marxism is based on utilitarianism...not the same.)
SO, let me break this down to something we all can understand. I'd recommend you actually read the link to
Progressivism but skim the others just so you'll understand I'm not making up just how deep this depravity goes. Once you digest it you'll realize that "candidate for change" really means a junior
Mugabe who is absolutely dedicated to the proposition that you, your gun rights, your property rights, your free speech, your amendment 1-10 rights inclusive and all your other civil rights which stand in the way of his idea of a socialist paradise will be removed one way or another. And it won't be pretty.
My 2 cents worth. As long as I was looking through Wikipedia I decided to come back and put in a tangential link to an article about the
Iroquois Confederacy for those of you who trace the US Articles of Confederation and US Constitution in that direction instead of the European direction. One should look in this direction to see the strong cultural basis for the common acceptance of RKBA in America.