greyhound
Member
....he is a "progressive".
Yes, this article is from "bushcountry" and not exactly objective. But the thing is, why do liberals hate being called liberals? Has some poll been done that shows the American people think that's a negative? I seem to recall Teddy Kennedy going berzerk lately after being called a liberal, shouting that he was a progressive, not a liberal. Is it like "gun safety" vs "gun control"? What's the deal here?
Why Is John Kerry Angered At Being Called A Liberal?
bushcountry.org ^ | 02-11-04 | Paul Cappitelli
Posted on 02/11/2004 7:36:37 AM PST by PaulaB
With wins number six and seven in Washington and Michigan, John Kerry followed his promise to defend himself against the republican play book of attacking Democratic opponents as liberals. "I don't think they're mainstream at all. They're extreme. We're mainstream, and we're going to stand up and fight back." Kerry was quoted as saying following the twin victories. He began this crusade against the liberal tag back on October 20th during an interview with Chris Mathews on MSNBC's Hardball when he claimed. ".anybody who was part of the Dukakis campaign knows he didn't lose because he came from Massachusetts, or believed what he believed-he believed he didn't need to fight back, and he will tell you today that was a mistake."
This is not a fight John Kerry is putting up alone, everyone from Democratic Party chairman Terry McAuliffe to scores of journalists and editorialists are decrying this form of label. One has to wonder, why self proclaimed liberals consider being called a liberal, as being defamed or smeared. One would be hard pressed to ever find an instance of a Republican complaining about being labeled a conservative, let alone complaining that it is a smear tactic of the left.
I now have to ask myself two questions, what exactly is a 'Liberal', or a 'Massachusetts Liberal' to extrapolate that question further, and why is John Kerry and his supporters so determined to fight back against this label?
I will start by giving the Webster's definition of a liberal. "Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States." Thus a Massachusetts liberal would be a politician representing principles of social and political liberalism serving in the state of Massachusetts.
This brings us to the second question raised; why do John Kerry and the Democratic Party want to 'fight back' against this label?
There may be several reasons for this in my estimation. Firstly the Democrats wish to distance themselves from the failures of past Presidential candidates that hailed from Massachusetts, which include Ted Kennedy's failed primary bid in 1980, Michael Dukakis general election loss to George H.W. Bush in 1988, and Paul Tsongas failed primary bid against eventual Democratic President William J. Clinton in 1992. Of course one need only go back to 1960 when another famous Massachusetts liberal was successful in his White house bid, that being John Fitzgerald Kennedy. So history and geography can be effectively ruled out as reasons for this 'fight back' mentality, leaving just one possible reason to ponder for the outcry.
Liberalism, Liberalism, Liberalism. Here is the crux of the problem. One has to wonder why the Democrats feel that being labeled a liberal is a liability in a general election. Do they feel that their policies, philosophies, and ideologies are too far left of the mainstream? As I mentioned earlier, John Kerry made a point to claim he was mainstream, and that Bush and his administration was extreme after winning Washington and Michigan, but is this truly the case? According to "Americans for Democratic Action" John Kerry receives a higher lifetime liberal rating than Paul Tsongas and Ted Kennedy. Now that we know how liberals rank one of their own rank and file members, let us compare that with where mainstream Americans lay. According to a Gallup poll conducted from October through November of 2003, 41 percent of Americans identify themselves as conservative, 39 percent as moderates, and only 19 percent as liberal. This means that a better than two to one margin of 'mainstream Americans' are conservative over liberal, and a greater than four to one margin are to the right of John Kerry. As you can see, fighting back against this label means that Kerry and the Democrats are well aware that their vision for American is not the vision that mainstream America has for itself. Being a liberal politician means you have relatively few markets for success, and in a national race, it can spell defeat for those who do not attempt to pander to the true 'Mainstream America" and distance themselves from their own record and political ideology.
Yes, this article is from "bushcountry" and not exactly objective. But the thing is, why do liberals hate being called liberals? Has some poll been done that shows the American people think that's a negative? I seem to recall Teddy Kennedy going berzerk lately after being called a liberal, shouting that he was a progressive, not a liberal. Is it like "gun safety" vs "gun control"? What's the deal here?
Why Is John Kerry Angered At Being Called A Liberal?
bushcountry.org ^ | 02-11-04 | Paul Cappitelli
Posted on 02/11/2004 7:36:37 AM PST by PaulaB
With wins number six and seven in Washington and Michigan, John Kerry followed his promise to defend himself against the republican play book of attacking Democratic opponents as liberals. "I don't think they're mainstream at all. They're extreme. We're mainstream, and we're going to stand up and fight back." Kerry was quoted as saying following the twin victories. He began this crusade against the liberal tag back on October 20th during an interview with Chris Mathews on MSNBC's Hardball when he claimed. ".anybody who was part of the Dukakis campaign knows he didn't lose because he came from Massachusetts, or believed what he believed-he believed he didn't need to fight back, and he will tell you today that was a mistake."
This is not a fight John Kerry is putting up alone, everyone from Democratic Party chairman Terry McAuliffe to scores of journalists and editorialists are decrying this form of label. One has to wonder, why self proclaimed liberals consider being called a liberal, as being defamed or smeared. One would be hard pressed to ever find an instance of a Republican complaining about being labeled a conservative, let alone complaining that it is a smear tactic of the left.
I now have to ask myself two questions, what exactly is a 'Liberal', or a 'Massachusetts Liberal' to extrapolate that question further, and why is John Kerry and his supporters so determined to fight back against this label?
I will start by giving the Webster's definition of a liberal. "Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States." Thus a Massachusetts liberal would be a politician representing principles of social and political liberalism serving in the state of Massachusetts.
This brings us to the second question raised; why do John Kerry and the Democratic Party want to 'fight back' against this label?
There may be several reasons for this in my estimation. Firstly the Democrats wish to distance themselves from the failures of past Presidential candidates that hailed from Massachusetts, which include Ted Kennedy's failed primary bid in 1980, Michael Dukakis general election loss to George H.W. Bush in 1988, and Paul Tsongas failed primary bid against eventual Democratic President William J. Clinton in 1992. Of course one need only go back to 1960 when another famous Massachusetts liberal was successful in his White house bid, that being John Fitzgerald Kennedy. So history and geography can be effectively ruled out as reasons for this 'fight back' mentality, leaving just one possible reason to ponder for the outcry.
Liberalism, Liberalism, Liberalism. Here is the crux of the problem. One has to wonder why the Democrats feel that being labeled a liberal is a liability in a general election. Do they feel that their policies, philosophies, and ideologies are too far left of the mainstream? As I mentioned earlier, John Kerry made a point to claim he was mainstream, and that Bush and his administration was extreme after winning Washington and Michigan, but is this truly the case? According to "Americans for Democratic Action" John Kerry receives a higher lifetime liberal rating than Paul Tsongas and Ted Kennedy. Now that we know how liberals rank one of their own rank and file members, let us compare that with where mainstream Americans lay. According to a Gallup poll conducted from October through November of 2003, 41 percent of Americans identify themselves as conservative, 39 percent as moderates, and only 19 percent as liberal. This means that a better than two to one margin of 'mainstream Americans' are conservative over liberal, and a greater than four to one margin are to the right of John Kerry. As you can see, fighting back against this label means that Kerry and the Democrats are well aware that their vision for American is not the vision that mainstream America has for itself. Being a liberal politician means you have relatively few markets for success, and in a national race, it can spell defeat for those who do not attempt to pander to the true 'Mainstream America" and distance themselves from their own record and political ideology.
