Why is it?

[RetiredGySgt]

How come Liberals are afraid to admit they are liberal? We have a bunch on this board that are far left and keep claiming they are moderates or "middle of the road" types. I do not hear many Conservatives ever make the claim, "hey I am a moderate".

If your political belief is so bad you can not even own up to it on a message board, that should tell you something.

 

[Gunny]

How come Liberals are afraid to admit they are liberal? We have a bunch on this board that are far left and keep claiming they are moderates or "middle of the road" types. I do not hear many Conservatives ever make the claim, "hey I am a moderate".

If your political belief is so bad you can not even own up to it on a message board, that should tell you something.

Who ever sees themselves as a radical? What is considered a moderate liberal today was a far left radical when I was a teenager. At that time, I was a "liberal," and at 18 a registered Democrat. Both the label and registration card didn't survive Jimmy Carter.

My political idealism hasn't changed much since then. The spectrum just moves further left with each generation.

 

[Swamp Fox]

It's because, deep in the darkest recesses of their souls, they know that being liberal is really stupid. BUt they've invested some much energy into their liberalism, they can't just walk away. So they just try to hide it.

 

[jillian]

Who ever sees themselves as a radical? What is considered a moderate liberal today was a far left radical when I was a teenager. At that time, I was a "liberal," and at 18 a registered Democrat. Both the label and registration card didn't survive Jimmy Carter.

My political idealism hasn't changed much since then. The spectrum just moves further left with each generation.

Again, you've got it backward... it's the "right" that's moved... happened after Ronnie gave the religious radicals a seat at the table...

 

[Diuretic]

How come Liberals are afraid to admit they are liberal? We have a bunch on this board that are far left and keep claiming they are moderates or "middle of the road" types. I do not hear many Conservatives ever make the claim, "hey I am a moderate".

If your political belief is so bad you can not even own up to it on a message board, that should tell you something.

Your confusion is due to your reliance on slogans and labels. When your stereotype of "liberals" is challenged you become disoriented. You also have trouble assessing what's centre, left and right, probably due to the error of parallax from your position on the extreme right where everyone other than the lunar right look to be left.

 

[Gunny]

Again, you've got it backward... it's the "right" that's moved... happened after Ronnie gave the religious radicals a seat at the table...

Again, you are incorrect. The entire political spectrum has shifted left. Research it.

Can you EVER disucss an issue without throwing some bogus partisan dirt on a Republican? Reagan didn't give religious radicals a seat anywhere. The simple fact is Bible Belt conservative babyboomers were at the peak of their power and at the age where people actually vote.

Whether or not you like it, Christians are US citizens and have a right to vote just like you. We have just as much voice in government as you and our wishes and ideals are every bit as important as yours. By law.

 

[Swamp Fox]

Again, you've got it backward... it's the "right" that's moved... happened after Ronnie gave the religious radicals a seat at the table...

The right moved right, the left moved left and most of us were left in the center wondering what the fuck happened to our country.

 

[Ravi]

How come Liberals are afraid to admit they are liberal? We have a bunch on this board that are far left and keep claiming they are moderates or "middle of the road" types. I do not hear many Conservatives ever make the claim, "hey I am a moderate".

If your political belief is so bad you can not even own up to it on a message board, that should tell you something.

I'm a liberal. The far left types aren't liberals. They're far left.

I've also run against quite a few "conservatives" that pretend they are moderates. And many "conservatives" that are actually far right...more of those.

 

[Ravi]

Again, you've got it backward... it's the "right" that's moved... happened after Ronnie gave the religious radicals a seat at the table...

It's also probably true that Carter never was a liberal.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

It's also probably true that Carter never was a liberal.

Go ahead point us to some rabid right wingers on this board that claim they are middle of the road moderates?

Dogger is the latest liberal that has claimed he is just a moderate.

 

[Gunny]

Your confusion is due to your reliance on slogans and labels. When your stereotype of "liberals" is challenged you become disoriented. You also have trouble assessing what's centre, left and right, probably due to the error of parallax from your position on the extreme right where everyone other than the lunar right look to be left.

That street runs BOTH ways. Everyone's views are relative to where they stand on line between far left and far right. In a democracy, where personal liberty is paramount, and the standard by which everything is judged, it is only logical that everyone faces and moves left.

We can look to our European forefathers to see what we will eventually become. We're just the baby in the pack tagging along at a slower pace.

 

[Gunny]

The right moved right, the left moved left and most of us were left in the center wondering what the fuck happened to our country.

The right has not moved right. As we all move left, those hanger's on that don't move are left where they always were, only they are more isolated and noticeable where they stand alone.

From what was defined as conservatism in the mid-20th century to now, those that are on the so-called right nowadays would have been called liberals back then.

The political polarization that grips this country only makes the gap wider between the two. Political beliefs are no longer based on what one believes in ... they are based on what people DON'T believe in. What they're against. What they hate. Their beliefs extend no further than whatever rhetoric they can pick up and parrot.

It amoounts to two teams fighting for their respective logos and not really knowing why.

Pathetic, really.

 

[Gunny]

Go ahead point us to some rabid right wingers on this board that claim they are middle of the road moderates?

Dogger is the latest liberal that has claimed he is just a moderate.

Clue number 1: When all you can do is spout baseless, hate-filled, partisan rhetoric, you are not a moderate.

 

[Diuretic]

That street runs BOTH ways. Everyone's views are relative to where they stand on line between far left and far right. In a democracy, where personal liberty is paramount, and the standard by which everything is judged, it is only logical that everyone faces and moves left.

We can look to our European forefathers to see what we will eventually become. We're just the baby in the pack tagging along at a slower pace.

You won't become like the Europeans, Americans have individualism embedded in the value system. The sort of almost instinctual tendency towards collectivism in Europe, which allows them to elect democratic socialist and social democrat parties into government, wouldn't get a run in US society.

 

[Ravi]

Go ahead point us to some rabid right wingers on this board that claim they are middle of the road moderates?

Dogger is the latest liberal that has claimed he is just a moderate.

How about I start pointing out un-conservative positions from now on.

 

[Eleutherios]

Its so that you can't use it against them when they insult you for being conservative.

as for me:

wants to legalize pot: check
anti war: check
pro choice: check
anti guns: eh. I could give a shit really...but sure check.

I'd say i'm a flaming liberal.

 

[manifold]

The problem with claiming that one is a moderate is that for the most part, it's difficult if not impossible to take a moderate position on any single issue. As soon as you take a firm position on a specific issue, chances are that position is clearly left-wing or right-wing, clearly conservative or progressive and/or clearly liberal or authoritarian. Therefore one can really only be a moderate if the sum total of all opinions average out to close to center. On these three dimensions, I consider myself right-wing (capitalist, small govt.), conservative (don't fuck too much with the status quo) and liberal (me likes individual liberty), which is probably why so many of you make erroneous assumptions about my political ideology. Still clinging to the mistaken assumption that liberal is left-wing and the opposite of conservative, neither of which is true.

 

[Ravi]

Its so that you can't use it against them when they insult you for being conservative.

as for me:

wants to legalize pot: check
anti war: check
pro choice: check
anti guns: eh. I could give a shit really...but sure check.

I'd say i'm a flaming liberal.

Liberals aren't anti-war or anti-gun.

 

[Ravi]

The problem with claiming that one is a moderate is that for the most part, it's difficult if not impossible to take a moderate position on any single issue. As soon as you take a firm position on a specific issue, chances are that position is clearly left-wing or right-wing, clearly conservative or progressive and/or clearly liberal or authoritarian. Therefore one can really only be a moderate if the sum total of all opinions average out to close to center. On these three dimensions, I consider myself right-wing (capitalist, small govt.), conservative (don't fuck too much with the status quo) and liberal (me likes individual liberty), which is probably why so many of you make erroneous assumptions about my political ideology. Still clinging to the mistaken assumption that liberal is left-wing and the opposite of conservative, neither of which is true.

Liberals aren't anti-capitalism and pro-big government.

 

[manifold]

Liberals aren't anti-war or anti-gun.

Funny how you can get blamed for a lot of shit just because you happen to support the notion of individual liberty.