Reply #94: Because too many "Liberals" have done a piss-poor job of articulating that personal freedom,

[Warren DeMontague]

i.e. the right of individuals to make their own damn decisions about their own lives and bodies- is a LIBERAL value.

Too many liberals (and Democratic Party leaders) have been unwilling to stand up against the right-wing culture war machine, in a misguided play to "woo the values voter". Instead of articulating a cogent, consistent, across-the-board socially or left-libertarian (please don't make me explain the difference between that and the big-L Libertarian Party, again!) argument that what consenting adults do with their own bodies is their own business insofar as they aren't harming or endangering anyone else- that government should stay out of citizens' bodies, bedrooms, and bloodstreams, our party has been lax in defining itself as the alternative to an increasingly theocratic, authoritarian, and downright nutty GOP.

This is a loss of a tremendous opportunity, because there ARE so many disaffected Republicans and independents who lean "libertarian" on personal freedom issues. The "conventional wisdom" chucklefucks are all wrong when they blather about how culturally conservative the American People are, and BOTH parties buy it. Remember how Terri Schiavo bit the GOP on the ass? They were surprised- I wasn't. There is a strong "leave my shit alone" streak in the American Voter.

We should take advantage of it, by articulating some brave and unapologetic principles, like:

An end the idiotic, wasteful, drug war.

Our GLBT friends deserve FULL equality, including marriage rights.

Protect the right to choose.

End the war on contraception and contraceptive access.

Stop wasting taxpayer dollars fighting things like consenting adult porn
(part of the problem the South Park crowd has, I suspect, is that they see too many so-called "Liberals" out there finger-wagging and advocating things like censorship, just as the Right Wing does.. so they probably figure that at least the Right Wing will give them a tax cut in the process)

Support the Separation of Church & State, unapologetically.

Etc.

But beyond all that, when all is said and done, I think Parker & Stone are given more credit than they're due. They're not terribly bright, and that show is tired. (Although the South Park Movie was a riot, and the musical numbers in that thing were brilliant)

Personally, I think Beavis & Butthead were FAR funnier. And give me the old Ren & Stimpy's (from John Kricfalusi) any day.