What have liberals done for this country?

[romantico]

I hear so much from the right how we liberals hate America. Can we start a list of all the things liberals have done?

1.) Social security
2.) Overtime pay
3.) 8 hour work day

I know theres alot more, but I just can't think of them right now. I'd like a long list so I can use it to counter right wing family members & co-workers next time they remind me how much I hate America.

[Wapsie B]

1. Pension plans,

employer-sponsored health insurance coverage, family leave act.

The last one I remember someone bitching about when Clinton signed the law. A few years later his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully she beat it. But what if he needed to be home for awhile caring for her?
This guy just doesn't get it. Straight ticket repug all the way. And it's dems who hate this country. :puke:

[cruadin]

2. Voting Rights Act 1965

Family Medical Leave Act

edit*typo

[texanwitch]

3. The G,I. Bill from WWII, the Republicans voted against it.

The GI Bill changed America, created one huge middle class.

[kliljedahl]

4. Send them this

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[poverlay]

10. Thanks klildejahl. I needed that. I'll pass it on for sure. n/t

[DrDebug]

5. Democratic Underground

Civil Rights
Social Welfare
Public Education
Gay rights (defunct)
Environmentalism
Gun control (defunct)
Minimum wage
Medicare

etc.

[havocmom]

6. Every bridge, road,sidewalk, dam, building put up during the Depression

Put people to work and stopped the threat of American radicals who promoted the rise of communism when people were starving here.

They did more to save the US from Communism than the GOP-pro-military-industrial-complex-help-the-rich ever thought about doing. Liberals put Americans back to work, gave them hope and dignity and built much of the infrastructure that made modern America great.

Liberals gave us honor, honest pay for honest work, the chance to make things better for the next generation, they gave America hope.

The GOP has given the next two generations a huge mortgage to pay off and no real job futures.

We brought the American Dream from the dust of the 30s and the neocons made it into a nightmare for the entire world.

[tabasco]

7. Trying to keep the Bill of Rights more than a piece of paper.

The "super-patriots" of the GOP seem to want to weaken our civil liberties, especially those guaranteed by the First and Fourth Amendments.

There's nothing more a reich-winger hates than the ACLU. I really can't understand that. They claim to hate government power over the citizens. THAT'S WHAT THE BILL OF RIGHTS PROTECTS AGAINST AND THAT'S WHAT THE ACLU FIGHTS FOR YOU DUMBASSES !!

Also,liberals raise the average iq of the poulation.

[Wilms]

8. Consistently voted against Reagan and Bushes. n/t

[baldguy]

9. Dec. of Independance, the Constitution, Bill of Rights

Shit, the WHOLE IDEA of America came from liberals

[whistle]

11. along with the 8 hr work day came the 40 hour work week....

...where overtime is paid

Public education
Occupational Safety (H) Administration (OSHA)
Women's right to vote
Public health
food safety and inspections

just a few more, all under attack by the right

[true_notes]

12. Deleted

[tabasco]

15. I hope there's some driftwood left this time.

It does seem our place to clean up messes. When will the people wake up? Never? Will it take a complete meltdown?

Great post btw. :)

[true_notes]

13. What have we done?

Metaphorically, we have salvaged the driftwood when the conservatives torpedoed the ship.

[Tactical Progressive]

14. Nope

You're just being defensive. They aren't looking for debate, or facts, or even honesty. They are just wielding a weapon. The cheapest, sleaziest, most denigrating one they can find. You might as well go out in the street and explain the virtue of constructive social behavior to a rabid dog.

The answer is to call them America-haters and traitors to democracy. Which has the added benefit of being true.

[Just Me]

16. We open the door,...to hope and human potential. n/t

[romantico]

18. If anyone encounters a freeper type

who rants on about how liberals hate America, I encourage to print this post out & keep it handy so you can run down the list of things us 'Anti-American liberals'have done to destroy this country. This list IS PROOF that we love this country with a passion!

[chaumont58]

17. How about child labor laws

There was a time in this country when 8 year old children could enter into a contract to work 12 hours a day.

[tjwash]

19. Liberalism....

...originally bore the concept of democracy in Greece.

Liberalism bore the original love not hate, forgiveness not vengeance theme of Christianity.

Liberalism started the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the Renaissance.

Liberalism halted slavery, as well as ended the concept of women as property.

Liberalism stopped child labor, and promoted unions creating a middle class (which is also the basis of Capitalism)

Liberalism gave women the vote, and brought the elderly out of poverty with Social Security and Medicare.

Liberalism defeated Hitler, and ended the war in Vietnam.

Liberalism has put a dent in the grievous pollution of our air and water.

Conservatives throughout all that time fought all these issues tooth and nail. I do find myself at a loss as to what conservatism has given humanity, besides the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Confederacy, and the Third Reich.