Quote: Originally Posted by
Annie 
Quote: Originally Posted by
Coloradomtnman Look. I'm a liberal. Obama, Reid, and Pelosi are left-leaning centrists. If someone has voted the way Obama, Reid, and Pelosi have, they aren't liberals; they're centrists.
Think of politics as a spectrum. Chomsky is a liberal, Nader is a liberal, the Green Party is liberal, but Democrats are not liberals. Democrats are centrists. Some Democrats voted for the Patriot Act for God's sakes! That isn't liberal. That's as right-wing as you can get from a liberal point of view. Anybody who doesn't immediately act to stop waterboarding isn't liberal. Anybody who supports clean coal isn't liberal. Anybody who maintains a military presence in Afghanistan isn't liberal. Anybody who bails out Wallstreet and the big national banks isn't liberal. If the spectrum goes from blue to red, then liberals are ultra-violet; anyone in the blue is just a liberalistic centrist with some right-wing tendencies.
I know that those of you who see politics from the right-side of the spectrum perceive centrists as liberals, but remember: you have to adjust for bias. Its called Kentucky windage.
Anyone who wants government ownership of auto makers is pretty damn liberal.
It could be argued that the strong armed tactics used on the banks and the bankruptcy court regarding Chrysler are fascist, but then liberalism is fascist.
Using taxes, even sin taxes, to transfer wealth from a 'disdained group' to a favored group is liberal. (Rich to poor; smokers to SCHIP; pop to health care...)
Demonizing groups of people, (over $200k), to effect change of wealth distribution is liberal.
Neo-liberal, I'll give you, but not old school liberal.
Old school liberal would tell the government to fuck off if they came to take anything away.
Old school liberal would rather push the wealthy to donate money to charities since the government can't be trusted with it.
Old school liberals smoked a lot of stuff, tobacco being a common one, so no need to bother with that point ....
Old school liberals would want the money the government does have spent on important projects, like education (the horror!), job training, and public transportation ... not wasted on on banks.