A Proud Left-Wing Liberal, Version 2005

[Chadman]

One man's explanation. Food for thought, and I'm sure discussion, as well...

James Moore
"Proud Left-Wing Liberal" | 8.17.05

"...I am a little weary of the term liberal being used as a negative brand. Every one who is a liberal ought to stop cowering and apologizing. I claim the label like a badge of honor. Every great advance our country has made has been prompted by liberal, progressive thinkers who realized change was necessary. Liberals stood at the front of the civil rights movement and they stopped the war in Vietnam. Liberals led the women's suffrage movement and they were the people who gave our country its conscience in the fight to end slavery."

"Liberals are people who believe, like Jefferson, that our country and our culture are best judged by how we treat the least of our citizens. They believe in a tax code that is progressive enough to help families and puts a greater share of responsibility for funding government on the corporations that are making huge profits. Liberals prefer to spend money on programs that give the disadvantaged a chance in America instead of buying and building tanks and guns that are outdated in the war on terrorism. We want a strong defense but demand accountability from the Pentagon and defense contractors."

"Liberals think that curing disease is more important than protecting the rights of a few cells created by the joining of a sperm and an egg. A zygote is not a sentient being. If a fertilized egg can be used to find cures to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and regenerate spinal tissue, liberals think that is more important than the rights of the sperm and egg. Liberals want the government to devote less money to Halliburton and more money to stem cell research so that great scientists don't leave America to do their research in foreign lands. Liberals think this is the kind of endeavor where America is supposed to lead. We believe that the life of an an 18 year-old soldier called up to Iraq is more important than the viability of a fertilized egg. We think it is impossible to be pro-life and pro-war at the same time."

"Liberals believe in the Constitution and do not believe that religion ought to be included in any of our public institutions or laws. We know a vast number of people who founded our country were running from despots who tried to tell them how to worship. We do not believe America is a Christian nation. We believe it is a nation where people can worship as they want and the predominant religion happens to be Christianity but we don't want to force those beliefs on Jews, Muslims, Hindi, or anyone else. Liberals think the conservatives ought to go back and re-read the founding document if they feel they need clarification. Liberals think it is wrong to seek an activist judge when you are trying to get a favorable ruling for Terry Schiavo and then compalain about activist judges who rule against allowing the Ten Commandments in public facilities or diminishing the rights afforded women under Roe v. Wade."

"Liberals believe in protecting the CIA operatives and agents who put their lives at risk to protect our country. We think anyone who exposes them or even talks about what they are doing needs to be held accountable; especially if they speak to reporters. We trust the intelligence gathering professionals of our country to deliver unvarnished information and analysis and we do not think intelligence data ought to be "fixed around the policy." Liberals think all presidents ought to explain their actions in a forthright manner to the people who put them in office."

"Liberals believe in self-determination for all nations. We think that Iraq's problems are not worth one American life. We believe that if the Iraqis wanted true freedom and democracy that they needed to get it the way Americans did; they should have fought for it and taken it and they would have loved it as dearly as we love it here in America. We do not believe they can be given something they don't want."

"Liberals also believe that any American parent who has lost a child in the Iraqi war has a right to protest and speak his or her mind without fear of personal attack and physical intimidation. If the parent of a fallen soldier does not have this right, then who does? Liberals believe this right is what needs protecting more than any other in our country."

"I am a liberal. And I am proud of it."

 

[DOGS THAT BARK]

"Liberals stood at the front of the civil rights movement and they stopped the war in Vietnam"--

The North Vietnamese will be forever grateful--at the sacrifice of millions of our allies--As with Fonda--appears the liberal element and the North were pulling together-doesn't it?--and now appears you want instant replay in Iraq--I guarantee you the enemy is AGAIN on yourside however the Iraqi's have a different tune--
LONDON (AFP) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani warned that an early pullout from Iraq by the US-led military would be "catastrophic", as British Prime Minister Tony Blair said British troops would stay for as long as necessary.
Your commitment to the cause of democracy in Iraq in training our security forces will help us stand on our feet and run on our own two feet," said the president, on his first official visit to Europe since taking office in April.


"They believe in a tax code that is progressive enough to help families and puts a greater share of responsibility for funding government on the corporations that are making huge profits."

Yep Makes sense to me after-- all what do corporations contribute to society--with exception of 90% + of employment--granted employment doesn't help many that won't work and collect the benefits your so fond of.

"Liberals prefer to spend money on programs that give the disadvantaged a chance"

hmmm you must have missed my post on Kerry and Edwards "helping" the disadvantage??

Maybe this will show the big pic-----


"washingtonpost.com
Report Warns Democrats Not to Tilt Too Far Left

By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 7, 2005; A07



The liberals' hope that Democrats can win back the presidency by drawing sharp ideological contrasts and energizing the partisan base is a fantasy that could cripple the party's efforts to return to power, according to a new study by two prominent Democratic analysts.

In the latest shot in a long-running war over the party's direction -- an argument turned more passionate after Democrat John F. Kerry's loss to President Bush last year -- two intellectuals who have been aligned with former president Bill Clinton warn that the only way back to victory is down the center.

Democrats must "admit that they cannot simply grow themselves out of their electoral dilemmas," wrote William A. Galston and Elaine C. Kamarck, in a report released yesterday. "The groups that were supposed to constitute the new Democratic majority in 2004 simply failed to materialize in sufficient number to overcome the right-center coalition of the Republican Party."

Since Kerry's defeat, some Democrats have urged that the party adopt a political strategy more like one pursued by Bush and his senior adviser, Karl Rove -- which emphasized robust turnout of the party base rather than relentless, Clinton-style tending to "swing voters."

But Galston and Kamarck, both of whom served in the Clinton White House, said there are simply not enough left-leaning voters to make this a workable strategy. In one of their more potentially controversial findings, the authors argue that the rising numbers and influence of well-educated, socially liberal voters in the Democratic Party are pulling the party further from most Americans.

On defense and social issues, "liberals espouse views diverging not only from those of other Democrats, but from Americans as a whole. To the extent that liberals now constitute both the largest bloc within the Democratic coalition and the public face of the party, Democratic candidates for national office will be running uphill."

Galston and Kamarck -- whose work was sponsored by Third Way, a group working with Senate Democrats on centrist policy ideas -- are critical of three other core liberal arguments:


? They warn against overreliance on a strategy of solving political problems by "reframing" the language by which they present their ideas, as advocated by linguist George Lakoff of the University of California at Berkeley: "The best rhetoric will fail if the public rejects the substance of a candidate's agenda or entertains doubts about his integrity."


? They say liberals who count on rising numbers of Hispanic voters fail to recognize the growing strength of the GOP among Hispanics, as well as the growing weakness of Democrats with white Catholics and married women.


? They contend that Democrats who hope the party's relative advantages on health care and education can vault them back to power "fail the test of political reality in the post-9/11 world." Security issues have become "threshold" questions for many voters, and cultural issues have become "a prism of candidates' individual character and family life," Galston and Kamarck argue.

Their basic thesis is that the number of solidly conservative Republican voters is substantially larger that the reliably Democratic liberal voter base. To win, the argument goes, Democrats must make much larger inroads among moderates than the GOP.

Galston, a professor of public policy at the University of Maryland, and Kamarck, a lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, in 1989 wrote the influential paper, "The Politics of Evasion," which helped set the stage for Clinton's presidential bid and the prominent role of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. In some ways, the report released yesterday showed how difficult the debate is to resolve.

Their recommendations are much less specific than their detailed analysis of the difficulties facing the Democratic Party.

They suggest that Democratic presidential candidates replicate Clinton's tactics in 1992, when he broke with the party's liberal base by approving the execution of a semi-retarded prisoner, by challenging liberal icon Jesse L. Jackson and by calling for an end to welfare "as we know it."

 

[Chadman]

I have to say that you seem interested in putting words in my mouth. Who said I was a left wing liberal? Who said I was a liberal at all? Not that being a liberal is a bad thing. I think the far side influences of both parties are generally detrimental to the majority of Americans.

I consider myself pretty much a centrist Democrat. I find a lot of faults with the welfare system and can entertain ideas to modify it. I will entertain ideas on our tax system and how it can be improved for the well-being of our lives. I do not believe that illegal aliens in this country should have the same rights as the rest of us. I believe the death penalty is appropriate in many cases. I believe that prudent investment in defense is a great idea. I have discussed in depth the pro-life/abortion issue, and can understand both sides.

I do not think that this society or its participants can be looked at in absolutes. I think both parties have value, and balance is good. I do not give as much value to people who do not entertain those same values without honestly discussing things in a fair way.

Maybe more than anyone wanted to know, but I don't like it when people label me without knowing me. Many times, I will post things just to hear other perspectives. This is one very good example of that.

Cheers.

 

[Palehose]

Ah yes so much to be proud of :

Barbara Boxer

Jesse Jackson

Micheal Moore ( the self devowed Socialist )

Charles Rangel

Lewis Ferricon (sp?)

Jane Fonda

John Kerry

Ted Kennedy

Hillary Clinton

John Travolta ( yep the quire that puts on a captians suit to fly his plane...... EEEEK keep the kids away aye )


Oh yes Libs you have so much to be proud of ....hell you can even claim the rise of Hitler if it wasnt for you libs he could never have dragged out breaking treaties for 12 year ......Stand proud Liberals ! :scared

 

[djv]

Many Conservatives just by there nature are stick in mud stay as we are. New things they don't understand should be avoided.
How ever Bush has exploded on them and many now just wish he would go away. They cant understand his spending. With so much of it for old ideas. But not much for new ideas. Bridges to no place for 100 million. Drill for more oil billions set a side for big oil. Very little for the future energy we need. Yes we need a change with some forward thinking. Like Iraq it was backward thinking to 1991. And it shows. And so many conservatives are so proud of that war.

 

[Eddie Haskell]

Funny that you mentioned Hitler in your post Leroy. No doubt the quintesential liberal.

Eddie

 

[Palehose]

I dont expect the Liberals to understand spending when it comes to defending and protecting our nation and our non- combatant citizens . They have a history of not understanding this and they will have a future of the same.

You comments on Conservatives do hold some truth ..hence why I dont agree with them on many points IE Abortion ...Drugs ... Same sex marriage .

They shine when it comes to protecting our nation interests abroad, and I love the way they spend my tax money at least compared to Liberals who insist I pay for others and teach generations of people to hold out their hands for money instead of earning it .

 

[Palehose]

Funny that you mentioned Hitler in your post Leroy. No doubt the quintesential liberal.

Eddie

I find it funny how the Liberals always end up siding with the most extreme Right wingers and facists in the history of the planet ...now that is both Ironic and funny as all get out .

Hitler ...they helped by letting him drag out his breaking of Treaty's for 12 years which gave him just enough time to create an extreamly deadly and brutal force . Gee that only cost us 60 mill in casualties great job Libs be Proud !

Osama they help by not throwing him In jail not once but twice ...now the guys only chance of survival is the Liberal media . Outstanding Libs !

Sadaam the evil dictator they didnt want to do anything about and now that we did take care of it who stands up to defend him ???????? Bwahaha ! None other than the Liberal moron Laywer from the Clinton admin of course ....geee shocking aye ? Sick Sick Sick :cursin:

Vietnam ......with all the help the Libs gave the Communist in that war from bashing our troops to making them endure further torture at the hands of the enemy right down to creating more US casualties its amazing we still have a country at all .

Over all ED you understand Politics and Ideals just like sports :mj07: :mj07: :mj07:

"With reference to your White Sox, they will not get by either the Angels, Yankees, Red Sox or Indians in the first round of the playoffs. Or frankly, the Royals if they had made the playoffs.

Eddie"

Priceless just Priceless :mj07: :mj07: :clap: :sadwave:

 

[JT]

Vietnam? Ha, it was liberals (Kennedy/Johnson) who started it. The stupidity of that War was not seeing what happened to the French and realizng the searing nationalism of the Vietnamese whatever their political ideology would doom us to failure.