First things first - RECLAIM THE WORD 'LIBERAL!!!!"

[hollywood926]

There is much work to be done now, but I think at the top of our list should be reclaiming the word 'liberal.' Ronald Reagan began using it in a perjorative way in the 1980's and we allowed them to steal it from us and denigrate it. Let's remind people what they owe to liberals and where this country would be without them.

And let's encourage our congresspeople to use the word and stop running from it like it's a disease.

Let's remind our Christian friends about what Jesus really said and how that does NOT jive with the Republican Party of 2004.

And if anyone knows where I can get a JESUS WAS A LIBERAL bumper sticker, I'd much appreciate you telling me!

[MichaelHarris]

1. or

end up with this:

[LibInternationalist]

2. I think this is emblematic of a larger problem

we need to stop running, period. Cooperate publicly only after the other side has cooperated publicly. Be as loud as the other side, and don't be cowed into doubt

You aren't a liberal, are you?
Of course I am

[ClassWarrior]

3. Lose the word liberal. Quit playing on the Radical Rightwing's turf.

WE need to set the terms of the debate. WE need to create the language that re-frames the issues from a Progressive - not liberal - perspective. Read George Lakoff's "Don't Think of an Elephant." It explains it much better than I could here. And it's less than $10.

NGU.

[billbuckhead]

4. From now on, I'm a progressive conservative

[Nederland]

5. exactly

the word is worthless, the ideas are priceless.

If we can better win the battle of ideas by losing the word liberal, do it.

[manic expression]

25. NO!

NEVER give up what we are, no matter what. If we distance ourselves from the word liberal, we distance ourselves from its ideas as well. They win if we do that.

[Nederland]

46. Its a word

A label. A collection of letters or sounds. Nothing more. Its the ideas that count.

[MissMarple]

10. No way do I lose the word LIBERAL.

And here is a short quote from Lakoff's "Moral Politics", the 2002 edition:

"There is Black Pride and Gay Pride, but no Liberal Pride or Progressive Pride. It's about time liberals got some."

And, the Constitution is a liberal document written by liberals to provide for the prosperity and general welfare of the American people, and it says:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

on edit. I also think it's anti-American to be anti-liberal.

[ClassWarrior]

14. Lakoff also said, on NOW with Bill Moyers...

...that he thought liberal was pretty much lost to us for a long, long time. A period of time akin to the 40 years that the Radical Rightwing has been building their machine.

NGU.

[MissMarple]

17. Well, they are about to lose the term neo conservative, and

conservative isn't looking too well either. Traditional conservative values is code for narrow minded, mean spirited bigotry.

[Edmond Dantes]

38. Since the word "liberal" has become so tainted...

why don't we start calling THEM liberals?

Rush Limbaugh is a pill-popping liberal!

And what about that liberal slut, Ann Coulter, always flaunting her body at us?

[MissMarple]

40. Too funny!

LOL :D

[ClassWarrior]

44. Not a bad thought.

But we have to give it up first.

NGU.

[TexasSissy]

34. But the thing is Repubs will cont. to use the word, so it's best to

clarify its meaning to take away the denigration that they've attached to it.

You can call yourself anything you want, but as long as the word "liberal" strikes fear into the hearts of the heartland folks, and Repubs call you a liberal, that problem will exist.

[ClassWarrior]

37. See post #22 below.

NGU.

[erpowers]

6. Yes

You are right. I have always thought the Democrats were mistaken and wrong to concede the meaning of the word Liberal to Republicans. We should reclaim the word and explain why being a Liberal is a good thing.

[ClassWarrior]

7. Why don't we just explain the good thing and cut out the word completely?

NGU.

[redqueen]

8. I thought we were reframing the debate, and going with Progressive

:shrug:

[ClassWarrior]

11. I'm a Progressive. How about you, RQ?

NGU.

[redqueen]

26. I'm a Progressive, too. No doubt about it.

I'm not ashamed of being a liberal, either. But I realize the power of conventional wisdom (IOW, the fruit of repukes tactics over the past 4 decades) and I don't see the point in making the battle harder than it has to be.

[elperromagico]

9. I still favor the word "progressive."

I favored the word before the election. It's much harder to smear than "liberal."

It's positive - it's progress. And, of course, the opposite of regressive, which is what the Republicans are.

To me, a modern progressive is a person with a liberal philosophy - tempered with a healthy dose of pragmatism. Change happens, but sometimes it takes time.

Progressives believe in moving America forward because America is at its best when taking the forward course.

Why do you think anti-choicers call themselves pro-lifers? Because it implies that pro-choices are pro-death. By that same token, we should call ourselves Progressives - implying that Republicans are Regressives.

[carnie_sf]

12. Say it loud

I'm liberal and I'm proud

[manic expression]

29. Exactly

I'm a liberal, and no one will ever change that.
To all those who want to be "progressive", people will just label you a liberal anyway.

[Abelman]

13. Changed my mind

I used to feel that it was important to redefind liberal as "not so bad."

But now, I see the logic behind "Progressive." And I like it.

But, how do we make this the standard language? Somehow, we have to communicate it to every Democrat.

[ClassWarrior]

15. Just start using it.

Especially in LTTEs, phone calls to Congresspeople, etc.

And don't hesitate to correct THEM when they use the wrong word.

NGU.

[hollywood926]

19. I like Progressive, BUT...

I also think by not using 'liberal' or running away from it, we are conceding that is a negative term and that the liberals who shaped so much of this country were wrong. Can't we use them both?

[ClassWarrior]

22. We're not running from the liberals of the past.

We respect them. We admire them. But theirs was a politics of another time. We're progressives.

NGU.

[elperromagico]

28. I don't think any of the liberals of the past would have minded

being called Progressives.

[ClassWarrior]

30. Fighting Bob LaFollette of my own Wisconsin...

...coined the term Progressive at the turn of the 20th Century. Progressive is a proud word here.

NGU.

[MissMarple]

32. Liberal progressives.

:evilgrin:

Liberals ran from the word liberal in the 80's, it didn't work, it made things worse.

And I don't disagree with using the term "progressive", or "progressive liberal". But,I don't think it is wise to abandon the term liberal.

[ClassWarrior]

33. That's not what made things worse.

Not knowing how to frame the debate from a progressive point of view, craft our message, and get it out was what made things worse.

NGU.

[MissMarple]

42. We didn't frame the debate from any point of view.

And liberals started using the word progressive. Now, "progressive" is compelling. AAR calls itself progressive talk, and that may be a more accurate word for what they do overall. However, abandoning the term "liberal", in my view, leaves many liberal folks who have been liberal for a long time out in the cold. I think the "conservatives" have gone too far in denigrating the word, they have forgotten what it stands for, but the real meanings still hold true.

I live in a red state in a mind numbingly red county, we reelected a Democrat as our state representative. He was under heavy fire from the local yokels, but retained his seat. His last ad in the newspaper depicted him as independent, not an Independent. The word Progressive here can be as volatile as liberal.

It may slide into disuse, but to abandon it serves no tangible purpose, as I see it. It is not the words it is the bullying, arrogant behavior we need to target. They will denigrate any word we choose to call ourselves.

[elperromagico]

16. Word of mouth helps. And no Democrat should appear on TV

unless they're aware of the talking points.

One of our big problems this year was that our talking points were not well-developed. You had people on TV - on our side politically - saying things that didn't help us and didn't advance our agenda.

I remember the Clinton years - Clinton's surrogates on TV had the talking points down pat. I even rolled my eyes sometimes at their repetition. But it worked.

It really is true - if you repeat something long enough and loud enough, it's ingrained in the collective memory.

[hollywood926]

23. Oh yes...repeat after me, repeat after me...

The media is liberal! The media is liberal! The media is liberal!

Regardless of the mountain of evidence to the contrary, half the country believes it. It's all about repetition.

[elperromagico]

27. Why do you think half of Bush's supporters believe that

we found WMD in Iraq? And that Saddam plotted 9-11?

[catzies]

18. Welcome to DU, hollywood926. Here's a link for you

Speak Out, California is a project of the Institute for the Renewal of the California Dream.

http://www.speakoutca.org/about/vision.html

[hollywood926]

24. Thanks, Catzies n/t

[treehuggnlibrul]

20. I've been thinking about posting signs all over...

Like:

LIBERAL: Feeds Hungry. Helps Poor. Heals sick.
or
LIBERAL= DWJW (Does What Jesus Would)
or
LIBERAL: All that stands between you and global warming
or...

I don't know. THese were running over and over in my mind while I was running this morning. I visualized sticking them to every surface I could find.

[helnwhls]

21. Here here

I plan to describe myself as a liberal feminist every chance I get. That is what I am and proud of it. I also plan to call our current admin corporate fascists. That's what they are and I am sick of people who pretend they are not.

[Guava Jelly]

31. As a proud liberal myself its allready stigmatized

It has become a curse word to the very same misinformed people that voted for bush and truly only used with pride around fellow liberals.
its like excuse me i am not a bigot but the word N_ger its only accepted by those who it is used as slander against the african americans. I assume it evolved from the word nigeria and was turned
in to a word that is meant to demean, slander, and insult to a black person.Now if i am a person of color and said to a good friend " whats up my Ni__er" then it is used as a endearing complement or a hows it going .Saying this takes the shock and hatred out of a word when used towards a fellow african american. But it is wrong for a person of a different skintone to use unless you are truly a good friend with the person of color. I am a little tipsy so i mean to slander noone I am just trying to prove a point.
Let the word die a word is not a concept it is a sound given to a meaning. Words have power maybe liberal never was the right word maybe
we need to start from the begining like "Civil Americans" or get this "True VALUES Democrats" After all the repukes did it Compasionate conservatives the title is total bullshit because they arent really Compasionate or conservative .
we need to change the concept
this reminds we of the end of indianna jones and the last crusade
"Indie let it go"
p.s. i once owned and ran the page www.theproudliberal.com but i didnt renew it because i couldnt do it justice so its mothballed

oh looks like some one bought it the name isnt owned by me anymore i am not the guy in the page

[deminks]

35. HI, My name is deminks, and I am a pinko, fag, hippie, bleeding heart

LIBERAL from the 60's. Born and raised. And I am a Kansan. There are lots of us. Nice to meet you all. :dem

[K-W]

36. The word liberal is dead.

First us, and then the republicans have stretched molded and shifted the definition so many times the word is basically useless.

If this is to be a new movement, it should have a new name.

[Chili]

39. YES!

Yes yes YES, this has been my biggest complaint about the Democratic leadership! Damn straight we're liberals! Sing it out, and explain exactly what a liberal is! I embrace it - I think I'll make a t-shirt for myself saying LIBERAL AND PROUD OF IT.

Here is what one of the greatest liberals of our time said about liberalism:

Acceptance of the New York Liberal Party Nomination
September 14, 1960

John F. Kennedy

'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."'

I'll take John F. Kennedy over George W. Bush any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Here is the link to the rest of that great speech: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/35_kennedy/psources/ps_nyliberal.html

[hollywood926]

43. Thank you for that quote. n/t

[Chili]

48. you're most welcome!

...it says it nicely, doesn't it?!

[Abelman]

41. Still prefer "Progressive"

But, I will still correct people who call me liberal. In this way:

"I'm A liberal? What is that, some different species, or something? You mean, I'm liberal. No, 'a'. And why is that bad? Liberal thinking is what freed the slaves, moved civil rights forward, got us out of the depression, and won this country our freedom. So, yes, I am liberal. If you're going to label me politically, however, I'm a Democrat. Now get the hell away from me before I kick you in the face."

Okay, maybe not that last part. It doesn't exactly roll of the tongue, but it's what I do. The key is to not give up. I'm not going to quit working toward better understanding of the word, but I also like the idea of working toward labeling us Progressive. As was said before, the opposite is 'regressive' which can be easily applied to the GOP side.

I think we should start referring to ourselves as Progressives in conversation and public areas. Define liberal if you are called that, because people need to understand what it really means.

[mmonk]

45. They always love to say "Liberal Democrat"

Why not wear it as a badge of honor.

[DCal]

47. Ron Dellums had a response in 1970

when he was first running for Congress in Berkeley/Oakland, although this was to the term "radical".

Here is a section from his memoirs about his first press conference:

----

I sat down at the press table. The camera lights went on. ``I have no opening statement,'' I said. ``I am prepared to answer your questions.''

After a moment of stunned silence, one member of the press took the initiative: ``Vice President Agnew charges that you are a radical extremist who should be purged from politics. How do you respond to that charge?''

Leaning into the glare of the lights, toward the mass of microphones nearly dripping off of the table, I answered, ``If it's radical to oppose the insanity and the cruelty of the Vietnam War, if it's radical to oppose racism and sexism and all other forms of oppression, if it's radical to want to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness and other forms of human misery, then I'm proud to be called a radical.''

----

The same approach should be used whenever someone is "accused" of being a liberal.