I Agree With Eric Alterman on the word "Liberal"

[fascisthunter]

Too many are too afraid to call themselves a liberal, even though they are, because of the RW demonizing the word. I say reclaim "Liberal", and do not adopt "Progressive" as a substitute.

[Dogmudgeon]

1. I am a Liberal

--p!

[HelenWheels]

2. Liberal first, democrat second

and I always tell people that if they ask me where I am politically.

[FiveGoodMen]

4. That's a perfect way to put it!

[marmar]

15. Amen to that.....

Liberal worldview over party affiliation for me, anyday. :toast:

[applegrove]

3. Liberal is still a great word outside the U.S. I'm from Canada and

we love the word.

[KittyWampus]

21. outside the US, it means free-market, unregulated capitalists.

[applegrove]

22. Not in Canada. It means open to trade & progressive in policies. A mixed market economy.

[SeattleGirl]

5. I'm a liberal, and have never been ashamed of it or afraid to us the word.

The RW can go fuck itself if they don't like it that I am a liberal.

[fascisthunter]

7. I Like Your Style (nt)

[Truth2Tell]

6. The corporatist wing of the Dems

has already hijacked "progressive." See: "Progressive Policy Institute", etc. It has virtually no meaning already. At least "liberal" still means something. Personally, I'm growing fond of "populist" again.

[fascisthunter]

8. I Know.... Pretty Slick aren't They?

Not slick enough to fool me....

[ORDagnabbit]

9. afraid of being called a liberal? heres a read for you.

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 adheres to 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 taxpayer 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."

[movonne]

17. I like to say i'm a progressive liberal...

[polichick]

10. I'm a true blue liberal...

<>

[tridim]

11. After November we'll be able to take back everything they've stolen from us since 1980..

Including our words.

Fuck you Republicans, we're taking our country back!

[Winterblues]

12. Isaiah 32 ~5-8

5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.

[EOTE]

13. I'm a liberal.... and a progressive.

I don't fear the word progressive as some kind of rewrite of what we stand for. I'd take either word as a compliment.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. Liberal is my philosophy and mindset.

Progressive is how I act on that mindset.

[Warpy]

14. I like to remind people that liberals are the only ones

who ever got this country to work well for people who have to work for a living, keep the banking thieves in check, and keep our jobs here. I also remind them that liberals went out of power in 1969 when Nixon took over and that the only Democrats in the Executive since then have been two southern conservatives.

That means conservatism has been in control for 39 years now. If this country is no longer working for its people, it's certainly not the fault of people who were kicked out of power that long ago. It's time to put the blame where it lies.

Conservatives in both parties broke it. Liberals are the only people with a hope of putting it back together again.

[fascisthunter]

18. .

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

19. I don't really care, progressive has been around since the early 20th

century. Either works easily for me.

[KittyWampus]

20. Liberal is totally misleading and inaccurate. It means unregulated. Neo-Liberal. In most countries

and even here, neo-liberal means the market is unregulated.

So you say you are Liberal. You haven't said anything, really.

You haven't indicated Liberal economically or socially.

[genie_weenie]

23. It's all about packaging

If Jonah Goldberg (Liberal Facsism), Coulter, Hannity, Limbaugh and all the others can get the word associated with certain terms, then it's easy to destroy anyone who takes that label.

The human brain is good, but is prone to some unfortunate problems. Judgements are http://www.livescience.com/health/060822_judge_people.html">formed in a fraction of second and ideas (even those which can be demonstrably shown to be wrong) are clung too...

[kristopher]

24. Absolutely agree

[LiberalAndProud]

25. I'm just not sure ...

[caseycoon]

26. I've always been a Liberal... A Kucinich-type Liberal n/t

[xchrom]

27. i'm Liberal, i'm a Progressive, i'm a Socialist, and i vote democratic.

[blindpig]

28. I agree with Phil Ochs

Love me I'm a Liberal

I cried when they shot Medgar Evers
Tears ran down my spine
I cried when they shot Mr. Kennedy
As though I'd lost a father of mine
But Malcolm X got what was coming
He got what he asked for this time
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I go to civil rights rallies
And I put down the old D.A.R.
I love Harry and Sidney and Sammy
I hope every colored boy becomes a star
But don't talk about revolution
That's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I cheered when Humphrey was chosen
My faith in the system restored
I'm glad the commies were thrown out
of the A.F.L. C.I.O. board
I love Puerto Ricans and Negros
as long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

The people of old Mississippi
Should all hang their heads in shame
I can't understand how their minds work
What's the matter don't they watch Les Crain?
But if you ask me to bus my children
I hope the cops take down your name
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I read New republic and Nation
I've learned to take every view
You know, I've memorized Lerner and Golden
I feel like I'm almost a Jew
But when it comes to times like Korea
There's no one more red, white and blue
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I vote for the democratic party
They want the U.N. to be strong
I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the money you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

Once I was young and impulsive
I wore every conceivable pin
Even went to the socialist meetings
Learned all the old union hymns
But I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

[scarletwoman]

33. Ha! I'm with you -- see my post below. DON'T call me a "liberal"! (nt)

[aquart]

29. I thought progressives claimed to be better than mere liberals.

I'm sure I read that.

[scarletwoman]

30. I don't consider myself a liberal, therefore I don't want to be called one.

I certainly don't want to be lumped into the same category as the odious Eric Alterman. It has absolutely nothing to do with "RW demonization", it has everything to do with the status quo pap that mainstream "liberalism" espouses.

Call me a leftist, a radical, a socialist, an anarchist, a Chomskyite, a Marxist, a Progressive (in the "Fighting Bob" LaFolette mold -- he ran as a Republican, btw) -- but don't call me a "liberal" or I'll sic Phil Ochs on you.

sw

[fascisthunter]

34. Then This Whole Thread has Nothing to Do with You (nt)

[electprogdems]

31. I just say I am a liberal, just like Jesus was

stops those freeper types dead in their tracks.

[blindpig]

32. naw

if he was anything, he was a socialist.

That'll really put a snake in their drawers, freepers and a lot of liberals too.