Progressive or Liberal? Which term do you identify with more? .....

[marmar]

I find myself using them interchangeably when describing my politics, but it seems that "progressive" was adopted by liberals who had been shamed into not using the word "liberal" by the constant vilification of the word since the Reagan era.
Personally, I prefer the word liberal - it's a point of pride. ..... And actually, Democratic Socialist is sounding better and better......

[Politicub]

1. Liberal

But I consider progressive thinking part of liberalism.

[Cant trust em]

14. Winner. nt

[Curtland1015]

2. I've always liked "Pinko", personally.

Or "left wing nut-job".

[xchrom]

3. a Liberal Progressive or socialist. nt

[marmar]

7. Great minds and all, xchrom.

:)

[Blue_In_AK]

4. I've called myself a progressive for some time now,

because liberal doesn't seem "pushy" enough.

[liberal N proud]

5. Liberal

[Hydra]

6. I use both

I am both a Progressive and a Liberal. Happy to be reviled as such, too.

"(Non-support of) Torture is a Liberal issue," They say. I'm sorry to hear that no one else cares, but I'm happy to own both the title and the issue.

[OHdem10]

8. Liberal

[lindisfarne]

9. Progressive is something that is not simply the opposite of "conservative", as "liberal" could be

interpreted. Not that it's bad to be the opposites of Repubs.

Repubs back in the 1980s began turning "liberal" into a 4-letter word - somewhere I have a newspaper column from the mid=1980s which made fun of this, and talked about liberals being an "endangered species" (a comment on how the country had shifted right).

I tend to use the interchangeably but progressive is gaining ground.

I don't think "Democratic Socialist" is going to be very successful. It also means something very different in European politics than I think people here would intend it to be used.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialism

[rwheeler31]

10. Liberal and progressive mean the same thing to me.

[graywarrior]

11. Liberal

[John Q. Citizen]

12. Lefty.

[earth mom]

13. I don't like how people who are NOT on the left say they are progressive.

The meaning of the word "progressive" has become blurry and no doubt intentionally done by the dinos and dlcers who never stop trying to pull everyone to the right.

The word "liberal" has been bastardized all to hell by Limblah and O'Lielly, so I don't like using it either.

I like to call myself "lefty" or "far left" but "Democratic Socialist" is good too. :thumbsup:

[Individualist]

24. Hear, hear!

It's the ultimate hypocrisy for DLC and their supporters to identify themselves as progressives when the fact is they vehemently oppose progressives.

[imdjh]

15. Liberal and I disagree with your definition of Progressive (capital P).

"it seems that "progressive" was adopted by liberals who had been shamed into not using the word "liberal""


Around here the person most likely to attack you for not being "progressive" probably fancies himself a communist revolutionary or "anarchist" while in complete denial about the global class privilege enabling his screaching from a place of relative comfort. People who are truly poor and oppressed by global standards don't bitch about their poverty and oppression on their Macbook and broadband.

[Flaneur]

26. I take it you don't like progressives.

There are other web sites where you might feel more at home.

[imdjh]

33. it all depends

But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow

[Stinky The Clown]

16. I use both, but self identify as liberal

It seems to me people use the term progressive as meaning further left than liberal.

I don't think there's any real substantial difference.

[rucky]

17. I prefer liberal

because it really annoys certain family members.

[marmar]

21. Always a bonus.

:)

[PurityOfEssence]

18. Liberal

Far too many run from the term because reactionaries have cowed us into believing it's some kind of failing. Sure, some use the p word out of simple choice, but those who appease the primitives by denying the word "liberal" are shooting themselves in the foot.

[Joey Liberal]

19. Liberal. To the bone. nt

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

20. But here either term has to have air quotes around them and be accompanied by the phrase "so-called"

I am, like you, happy to describe myself either way, but often here I am reminded that I am a 'so-called "progressive"' or a 'so-called "liberal"' used interchangably with "you Kucinich types". There's a fair amount of demonizing of those 2 labels right here where you would least expect it.

[marmar]

22. Very true.....

Liberals/progressives are regularly attacked on a liberal website.

[Historic NY]

23. "Oh Jeeze your one of them".

[marmar]

25. Teehee.....

:P

[Union Yes]

27. Marxist with progressive leanings.

[superduperfarleft]

28. Neither.

Lately it seems that the word "liberal" is meaningless, and "progressives" are usually the ones that got into politics simply because they opposed the Iraq War and Bush, and not because of any genuine positions on policy.

[Truth Talks]

29. Anonymous

Superficially, I'm a liberal, however, I've come to despise that term, as American liberals become ever more watered down. I'm not the first to contrast today's liberals with the liberals of the 1960's - the Golden Age of Liberalism to many.

I despise the term progressive even more, as virtually every progressive I've ever met has been full of it.

Which begs the question, what am I? An Independent? "Liberal Independent"? Left-winger?

My hero is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who I kinda sorta think of as a left-winger. He's commmonly referred to as a socialist, another word that describes me somewhat. However, I prefer a mixed economy to pure socialism (as I hope Chavez does).

So it's a combination of semantics and context. I'm more liberal than right-winger, but I feel insulted when people call me a liberal.

[Betty Karlson]

30. Neither

I identify myself as a rampantly radical moderate. I don't support liberalism or socialism because those are ideologies that - to me - either overestimate the individual or underestimate it. I don't like extremism of any kind except my kind and I'm not afraid to show it.

The idea that progress can be made without conservation is alien to me. The idea that moderation means watered down policies is alien to me. That being said, I believe that the current 'conservatives' did not conserve a lot. They were very immoderately progressing on the wrong track and did not once look back. Progress is not always good. Not when you pave the way with sniplets from the constitution and poverty rates north of 10 %. Not when the Lord's name is used in vain to justify un-Christian deeds. Not when hate is encouraged in the name of our Saviour.

I believe all true moderates hould rise to counter such acts. And they don't deserve the epithet of progressive or liberal, nor that of conservative.

[TahitiNut]

31. Liberal. The "progressive" label is a weasel-word that goes back to Teddy Roosevelt.

Once upon a time, both parties covered a far broader political spectrum and the GOP had its "progressive" wing. I have been a staunch independent liberal since the days of Jim Crow and the Dixiecrats. Hell... even George Wallace would claim to be a "progressive"!
:puke:

[karynnj]

32. liberal

Too many people have claimed the word progressive - and its meaning is murky enough that it includes libertarians, who I completely disagree with on a range of issues.

[meow2u3]

34. More of an old-school liberal (pre-'60's)

I'm progressive on issues concerning economic equality; liberal on foreign policy issues; but right-of-center on behavioral issues. I'm moderate on civil rights issues, although I support a class-based affirmative action program where all poor people have an equal opportunity to get out of poverty and into the middle class--even poor whites!

Even though I was a child of the '70's, my ideology largely reflects the

[slampoet]

37. My old professor would call you a "New Deal Democrat"

[lunatica]

35. Progressive Democratic Socialist Capitalist

I believe in free enterprise and business owned and run privately and I believe in egalitarian socialist programs of health care assured housing and care for the elderly and all citizens, free schools and free social services. Every citizen should never worry about having health care, a place to live and food. Yet people are free to create their own businesses and even get rich doing it. Capitalist Socialism with a Democracy where officers are elected the way they are now.

[slampoet]

36. Labor. Which is always tied to progressives but not always to liberals.

[devilgrrl]

38. either including Social Democrat

eom

[TBF]

39. Leftist/Labor. nt

[tnlefty]

40. Since many of the knuckledraggers here call me a "damned librul

bitch", I've decided that it has a certain ring to it. :evilgrin:

I'll settle for liberal.