What's with the term 'leftist' all the time?

[sable302]

I'm used to Republicans and pro-lifers calling Democrats 'liberals' and so forth, but now I'm hearing more and more people referring to Dem candidates as 'leftists'.

Before now, the only people I had heard refered to as 'leftist' were South American marxist revolutionaries and so forth.

I was listening to NPR the other day and they even played a clip of a pro-lifer spouting off about how Kerry and Edwards were 'leftists' because they were opposed to the partial-birth abortion ban. What does abortion have to do with marxist revolution, I wonder.

So, what's up? Any thoughts on why they've nixed liberal and gone with 'leftist'? I think it's kinda insulting myself, but in a way perhaps it should be encouraging. Maybe this just shows how scared and out of touch the right wing has gotten these days.

I mean, to oppose privatizing social security makes one a 'leftist' now? Sheesh...give me a break.

[lcordero]

1. Leftist? I'm proud to be one.

[sendero]

2. Another attempt to smear...

.. a good word and then hang it on everyone's back.

Wingnut assholes. :)

[Lefty48197]

3. I think the Democrats are

right wing radicals.

[aintitfunny]

4. More Right Wing Labels

To scare the average American citizen into thinking we are dangerous and scary. Like Lefist guerillas.

[ulysses]

5. LOL

Before now, the only people I had heard refered to as 'leftist' were South American marxist revolutionaries and so forth.

Welcome to the fringe, which these days includes anyone to the left of Clinton, and more than a few of those to his right. :)

[salin]

15. Clinton isn't exempt... if you listen to the likes of rightwing talkfest

radio... even he is called a leftist.

[ulysses]

16. of course he is to the right wing.

:shrug:

[Devlzown]

6. That's funny.

I guess Kerry and Edwards are on a par with Che Guevara now. I guess most anyone looks like a revolutionary thinker compared to the shrub, but referring to any of our candidates as a "leftist" is laughable.

[sable302]

9. I got a laugh out of it

I was eating breakfast at the time. Calling Edwards a leftist sent milk up my nose.

At any rate, I think that the whole thing is really freaky. Getting called a communist would just make me roll my eyes, but 'leftist' has more of a serious ring to it. I'm getting afraid that some die hard right wingers would be just peachy with brushing a few of us outta the way, however that would be accomplished.

[camero]

7. They are upping the rhetoric

So they have a so-called reason to shoot us.

[youngred]

8. That's the point

associate people who have very normal, very american, very good ideas with marxist revolutionaries and you scare people.

But mention that a fascist wannabe is paralleling hitler and you have to apologize all over the place

[sable302]

10. Absolutely

That's why I find it insulting. It assumes that I must hate America because I'm less off the wall radical than they are.

[salin]

11. Marginalization

and fear. And when used (even here) it tends to demonstrate a rather one-dimensional (and cartoonish) message.

[Snappy]

12. Wingnuts

The Right Wing are coming unglued because they have finally figured out that Dubya and gang are not conservatives but Neo Fascists and have sold out the conservatives. They are slow on understanding "real politik". They now know that they have been duped but are trying to figure out how to reconcile their beliefs with the Neo Fascists that have contempt for them. The problem for them is that they cannot do it. Many conservatives are now contemplating alligning their support with the Libertarians.

This shift would be a postive for Dems because it would fracture the voting block for the Neo Fascists. The Neo Fascist base is starting to fracture.

[sable302]

13. my thinking as well

"The Neo Fascist base is starting to fracture..."

So they call the Democrats 'leftists'.

Fascists have always hated the party of FDR, from the 1940's on.

[woofless]

14. They call us leftists because we are right.

You have to be right to be left. If you are wrong, well then, you are right. Right?

[tigereye]

17. Clinton a leftist?!

that's a good one. He is left handed. I think Bush is too? Maybe there some way to turn it around and say that the * right are insulting left-handed people. I prefer "lefty" myself. Yup and all of them are Volvo driving, pierced, latte drinking, NYT reading, as well!

[GuyFawkes]

18. Leftist, Rightis, it is only a reference for getting one's bearings.

My knowlege of the French revolution is vague, but, if I recall, the terms right and left came about during the French revolution and they referred literally to where the two different factions sat in the assembly. There is no inherent meaning to the terms.

Right wing has come to be associated with reactionary movements, Left wing with revolutionary movements. In this context Marxism and Nazism would surely be Left wing, while it would be a distortion to refer to the Republicans as Right wing, or the Democrats as Left wing.

To be fair, if Republicans can so easily be saddled with the label Right wing, then it is not unjust for Democrats to be referred to as Left wing.

[RandomKoolzip]

19. First it was "liberal." Then it was "leftist." Next will be "insurgent."

Then, "dissident." After that, "terrorist." And then, finally, there will be no other name for us, because we'll be out of sight, out of mind, and behind razor wire, and our lives will be erased from history. I've already seen some "journalists" jumping the gun on the next step by referring to Dean and his followers as "insurgents."

What we're seeing here is the "Lee Atwater school of marginalization via semantics" in action.