Insideous diminishment of the term "liberal" (this time by the Assoc Press)

[Stinky The Clown]

Raw Story today has an AP piece (here: http://rawstory.com/news08/2008/06/25/supreme-court-rejects-death-penalty-for-raping-children/) about a decision by the Supremes. The story's substance is being discussed in another DU thread, here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3517082

**This** thread is about the wording of the story's third paragraph (emphasis is mine): “The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion. His four liberal colleagues joined him, while the four more conservative justices dissented."

I take this as a slam at liberals. "Ooga Booga Booga Activist Judges Legislating From The Bench" crap. Am I being overly sensitive?

[EOTE]

1. Apparently anyone to the left of Scalia is a liberal.

What a farce.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

2. I think it's sad we have to label judges either way

Decisions should be made based on the rule of law, not politics.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. No, it's not meant in a political sense

It's about how these Justices approach the Constitution. It's a literal meaning of the word, not a political one. Justices who see the Constitution as a living, breathing organism, one that is capable of infinite definitions as society changes are seen as having a "liberal" stance; those who view is as literal truth, with no room for interpretation or expansion, much as fundamentalist Christians see the Bible as an absolute expression of God's words, are deemed "conservatives."

It's easy to mix them up, but it's a different world over at the Supreme Court. Read some of its history and you'll find some fascinating stories.