How can the RW say being a liberal is a bad thing?

[cynatnite]

What is their definition of being a liberal?

I have a tough time understanding why I'm so bad because I'm a lib. Can anyone help me out here? :shrug:

[derby378]

1. One of the synonyms of "liberal" is "generous"

RWers have used this to tell voters that liberals like to be overly generous with other people's money in funding social programs when that money could be better spent on things like illegal wars, golden parachutes for incompetent CEOs, Wall Street bailouts, etc.

I know, it doesn't make any sense, but it'll still take some time to reeducate Americans about how liberalism is actually a good thing.

[Trajan]

2. Because they have gotten away with this demonization for decades

Liberalism has been a rousing success for America .... to say otherwise is a lie ....

[ixion]

3. ah, but see, you're trying to approach it logically

the 'liberal' they speak of, like every other sub-group they try and demonize, is better left vague and undefined...impersonal.

Think of a 'liberal' (in the GOP context of the word) as a culmination of all the scary boogeymen who live in any given freeper's closet.

[derby378]

5. Not to mention that "liberal" is sometimes a code word for "Jew"

That should tell you where some of the hate is coming from.

[OneGrassRoot]

6. Do you know more of the history of this?

I've seen that alluded to in the last week...the Jew hating associated with the word "liberal" but I don't understand the thinking, nor the history.

Thanks. :)

[derby378]

8. It's sort of a blanket hate/paranoia thing

The claim is that Jews control the media, the banks, Hollywood, and darned near everything else. And if they're telling everyone to vote Obama, well, that's all she wrote.

[OneGrassRoot]

10. okay, so it ties in with the "liberal media" and "elite" shit.....

Probably goes back to McCarthy days. More to research...lol.

Thanks much! :)

[NashVegas]

4. Because They Say It's Bad

It's all about dehumanizing your opponent.

[Orsino]

7. It's one of those buzzwords, like "socialism"...

...that they toss about without understanding.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. For 20 years, hate radio and Fox News have used "liberal" as a synonym for

"everything you (the uninformed middle American) don't like."

[CrispyQ]

11. ack in '04 I googled "Why is liberal a dirty word" & this DU article was the first hit:

When Did "Liberal" Become a Dirty Word?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/11/23_liberal.html

snip...

From this writer's aging perspective, it seems that most liberals I have met are by definition very interested in equality and fairness, the welfare of all Americans, health care for all Americans, a free public higher education for all Americans, protecting the environment and our wilderness areas, tolerance and respect for individual freedoms (including women's), and more equitable income distribution in America.

Meanwhile, many conservatives I have met usually espouse one or more programs and policies that are mainly self serving - including the reduction or elimination of taxes, protection of the status quo and states rights irrespective of societal inequities, "my" religious convictions - not yours, prosperity at any cost, business interests - not the public's, the right to own assault weapons, a powerful military rather than universal public health and education, or finally America first - the U.N. never! In a more vernacular sense, "I've got mine, Jack, to hell with you."

[derby378]

12. In the six years since that was posted, however...

...the classic liberal position on gun legislation has evolved. Now you find an increasing number of liberals who recognize that Second Amendment rights are just as important as women's rights, gay rights, patient's rights, etc.

[B Calm]

14. When you think about it, the right for a citizen to own a gun is a very liberal idea.

[RedCappedBandit]

13. JFK Answered this question:

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." ~JFK