What is a progressive Republican?

Despite its recent tendency to lean to the left, the democratic party has in no way cornered the market on progressive thought in the political arena. Individuals such as Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and "fighting Bob" la Follette, former governor and U.S. senator from Wisconsin were all Republicans. Tenets of the Progressive Republican platform include maintaining a strong national defence, growing government in part to assert "social hygiene", avoiding monopolies, fighting corruption in big business, and supporting relatively conservative social values, though typically "conservative" values are not always advanced (such as support for gay marriage legalization and amnesty for illegal immigrants which are currently supported by John McCain and Lyndsey Graham). Such senators as John McCain, oddly enough, have attempted to align themselves with their conservative rivals in the Tea Party Movement despite have fundamental philosophic differences concerning government. Further examples of progressive Republicans are Lindsey Graham and Scott Brown. Examples of other non-progressive, small-government, conservatives are Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Glenn Beck, and Michelle Bachmann and Ronald Reagan.