What is a "Massachusetts Liberal" (besides the obvious)?

[theorist]

I keep hearing and reading this term. Is it anything besides a RW buzzword? Is there a real meaning behind this?

[Stephanie]

1. That's code for

Kennedy

[corporatewhore]

2. its a buzzword used to evoke image of a wealthy aristocratic outof touch

elite ivyleaguer

[theorist]

3. That's what I thought. Do we have a good counter-word? n/t

[napi21]

4. Texas As***le

[KissMyAsscroft]

7. Conneticut Asshole, actually...

Bush went to Ivy league schools, so he is just as out of touch...

[emulatorloo]

17. I prefer "Play Texan" n/t

[Kathy in Cambridge]

19. They moved to Texas when W was a toddler and he went to school in Midland

until high school. If I was born in Germany on an airforce base, does that make me a German asshole or a Masshole? W was born in CT but he is Texan. Like most sons of privilege, he came to New England to go to school. I grew up two blocks from Harvard, and there were a lot of Southern sons of privilege there. They would NEVER call themselves Northerners.

[regnaD kciN]

10. Correct...

...the caricature of a "Massachusetts liberal" is someone from a wealthy family who came of age (generally at Harvard) either in the late 50s or early 60s. At Harvard (or whereever), they studied political science from leftist professors, and came away with the belief that a) they had all the answers needed to run the country properly, and b) that their education and "breeding" made them superior to the "average Joes" for whom the caricature was created. They thus felt that they were entitled to impose their liberal ideas on the "rest of us" (who were stupid and therefore didn't know what was good for us) by force of law, as generally represented by "faceless bureaucrats," "activist judges," and the like.

The reason "Massachusetts" is highlighted is for the resonance it has in the south. While there is still a great deal of anti-northern feeling among the losing side in The War Of Northern Aggression ;-), Massachusetts seems to hit the hot button more often...possibly because it was the hotbed of the abolitionists who, in southern minds, were the prime movers in TWONA.

I'm not sure I can name anyone who fits that description in real life (although, of course, Ted Kennedy is generally pointed out as a prime example by conservatives).

It should be clear, of course, that John Kerry scarcely fits the ideological qualifications for being tarred with that brush (no more so than did Michael Dukakis before him). In fact, some among us might wish that Kerry was more devoted to imposing liberal ideas, or at least standing up for them ;-), than he has shown since the beginning of his career as an officeholder. Nonetheless, the "Massachusetts liberal" label, like that of the "liberal media," has become so ingrained in American political thought over the past forty years that it works almost on a reflex basis...witness Dukakis (who was known in Massachusetts itself as basically a centrist if not a slightly conservative governor) in 1988.

[theorist]

13. Thanks for the thoughtful answer, JD. n/t

[NewJeffCT]

20. correct

Mike Dukakis was smeared as an liberal elitist Ivy Leaguer when he didn't even go to an Ivy League school, while his opponent had gone to one.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

22. He was the son of Greek immigrants and grew up poor

now THAT'S the American Dream. Son of immigrants running for president.

[Jen]

5. Wealthy Elitist who cares more about

the enviroment than the working class.

I sure hope Kerry does a better job reaching out to the nation than Dukakis did. At least Kerry will look better in a tank.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

6. Proud Massachusetts Liberal Here

It actually was used ad nauseum when Dukakis ran against Bush I. I think it's ironic that it's a RW slur. Our country was founded here. The revolutionaries who dumped the tea in Boston Harbor were Massachusetts liberals.

The smart candidate would spin that slur into a positive term.

[PVnRT]

8. RW Slur

Nothing more. It's supposed to mean an ivory tower, latte-sipping, out-of-touch liberal "elitist" from New England.

As if a failed businessman from Texas who went to Yale and Harvard is any better.

[corporatewhore]

9. actually w is a fakeass cowboy wannabe posuer from CT

[PVnRT]

11. Well....yeah

n/t

[bpcmxr]

12. This year I think the expression is also

being used in some quarters as not-so-subtle code to the Fundie Right for "pro-homosexual rights".

[Lexingtonian]

14. Bill Weld in bed with Teddie Kennedy

in a nice beach house on The Vineyard.

:D

[Brian_Expat]

15. It's similar to "San Francisco Democrat"

Which was a term to mean "queer Democrat" (but in an underhanded way). A "Massachusetts librul" is one o' them book-larning libruls who done wanna come on down and raise mah taksis to pay for some commie scheme!

[Tracer]

16. It's a Right Wing "talking point".

As they do with everything, they repeat, and repeat, and repeat — hoping (with some success) that a stereotype will embed itself in the public consciousness.

As another proud Massachusetts liberal, I've got to ask the question. How does a Massachusetts liberal different than an Ohioan liberal? I would hazard a guess that most people in either state do not consider themselves to be "elite" or "superior" to the rest of America.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

18. Most Mass. Liberals are ethnic, working-class, or union folks

the western suburbs are getting more conservative, the big cities are hugely Democratic. Look at the last election-Mitt won the wealthy suburbs and the outer suburbs; O'Brien carried the big cities by a huge margin.

the 'latte liberal' slur doesn't really have any truth (with the exception perhaps of my hometown, Cambridge, where there's a lot of academics and wealthy lefties).

As I said earlier, the intelligent candidate would spin this into a positive. If Mass liberal means having great public education, taking care of the elderly, funding state programs for children and rating high in the quality of life index, then that's a label we should be proud of.

[YNGW]

21. Mass. Liberal

From the common working class point of view: It's a liberal who thinks they're smarter than everyone else and who believes their political policies are superior to those of others.

In the South, this plays very well, because we are fiercely independent people. Should Kerry win the presidency, I suspect his greatest opposition will come from the South and should he ignore them, he will do so at his own peril. There's too much economicially at stake in this 1/3 of the country.