My LTTE today

[knitter4democracy]

Backstory: for a few days this week, there have been awful anti-liberal screeds in our ltte section. This is my response:

Personally, I am tired of the liberal bashing letters I have been reading lately here. The writers seem to think that "liberal" is a horrible insult, a slur of amazing proportions. They have forgotten what liberals have done for this great nation.

Liberals fought against slavery and oppression of all peoples. Liberals got women, over half of our population, the right to vote in 1920. Liberals got laws passed to keep little children from working to death in the factories and mines as well as basic standards of workplace safety for all, not to mention the 40 hour workweek now under attack.

Liberals fought for food and drug safety so that corporations could not sell known poisons to an unsuspecting public. Liberals, like President Nixon, fought to get a national health care plan through but were defeated, settling instead for Medicaid and Medicare, which help millions have access to care.

After seeing our rivers catch on fire and our children die from horrible cancers, yes, liberals fought for environmental protections and safety. If our oil companies choose to reap in the largest profits in the history of oil and pay their CEOs half a billion dollars instead of building new refineries that meet basic health and safety standards for the people who work and live there, that's their choice. Liberals just don't want people dying so we can have cheap gas.

I am proud to be a liberal. I am proud of our liberal tradition in this country, one of looking forward and working for the best for the least of these, not just for those who can pay for it.

[ihaveaquestion]

1. Great letter! K&R

Let us know if it's printed.

[bluethruandthru]

2. Excellent!

It irritates me to no end how "connies" have made the term "liberal" a dirty word!

[knitter4democracy]

3. I should link the nasty letter.

We get them frequently from Dittoheads in our area, but this one just burned me. I hope they print it.