[joshhiggins]

Why is liberalism a dirty word?

"We know what is best".

Answered your own question.

[jmaroneps37]

Making the word liberal a dirty word has been one of our biggest victories. "Liberal" is now equivalent to what "queer" was a few years back. Soon these shameless swine will shrug off "liberal" as "queer" has been shrugged off and we will have to hit them with "progressive". For now, however, "progressive" is an insurance company.

[taxed2death]

It costs too much.

[Uncledave]

So why is liberalism such a bad label that even its most dedicated disciples want to ditch the term.

Because they know most Americans don't support their programs and so they must twist the language to keep deceiving people.

[ASA Vet]

Progressive = New cover name for Liberal
Liberal = Cover name for Socialist
Socialist = Cover name for Communist

[kjo]

The word being used more and more by liberals is "progressive". Same thing. Whatever you call them they have total disdain for democracy unless it endorses something they support.

[Darkwolf377]

What amuses me most is that the people who shy away from the term always say something like this--without recognizing the irony:

"I don't like the term liberal because those damned conservatives who all think alike and are destroying this country have made it a dirty word."

The same folks who use the term "conservative" think they're all so original that they all just happened to come to their way of thinking on their own; unlike those vile conservatives, who got their ideas from others. Libs like to think no one has ever told them a damned thing, that they are just studious and somehow came to the same conclusions as other libs but they ALL came to those conclusions independently. They love being considered rebels and original thinkers, so the real insult is that you're making assumptions about them by labelling them, when they are sui genus or whatever the damned term is.

This is a courtesy they do not extend to those who don't think like they do, and again they don't see the irony--there's those damned programmed conservatives, and then the free thinkers who all think exactly like me...except, we're all individuals in our collective thinking.

[Darkwolf377]

Whoops.

"The same folks who use the term "conservative""

Should read:

"The same folks who use the term "conservative" as a slur"

Sorry.

[Sooth2222]

"Classical liberalism is a political philosophy that supports individual rights as pre-existing the state, a government that exists to protect those moral rights, ensured by a constitution that protects individual autonomy from other individuals and governmental power, private property, and a laissez-faire economic policy. Many elements of this ideology developed in the 17th and 18th centuries. As such, it is often seen as being the natural ideology of the industrial revolution and its subsequent capitalist system. The early liberal figures that libertarians now describe as their fellow "classical liberals" rejected many foundational assumptions which dominated most earlier theories of government, such as the Divine Right of Kings, hereditary status, and established religion, and focuses on individual freedom, reason, justice and tolerance. Such thinkers and their ideas helped to inspire the American Revolution and French Revolution."

To answer the question -- "Because the Bolsheviks hijacked the word since is sounds better than "Socialist" or "Communist" and most people are too lazy to pick up a dictionary."

It is a matter of fact that "Liberals" are not liberal.

[radar101]

Not that hard to explain. Liberals hate America, want to destroy it, then be in charge of helpless, criminal idiots like most of the Katrina refugees

[Roccus]

Perhaps all the demonstrable failures of past 'liberal' programs (the Great Society springs to mind) is reason enough for the left to avoid this description.

[mylife]

"At the core of modern liberalism is the spoiled child - miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats ."
(PJ O'Rourke)

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Here's why...

[doesnt suffer fools gladly]

I watched the Donnie Duetch (spell?) show the other night. Ann Coulter was his guest. He denied that liberals even exist. It was his mantra throughout the half hour interview, over and over.

In his case, however, I think it was more of a dirty interviewing ploy. By saying there are no liberals, he was able to shoot down Ann's claims against liberals. Or he tried anyway. He was no match for Coulter.

[Katya]

In a way I'm glad it's become a dirty word....ever since the left kidnapped and executed the true definition of the word. I happen to consider myself a Liberal, in the very classic sense. It's quite humorous to see the expression on a lefties face when I explain that I AM a true Liberal.

[stop_fascism]

Leftists stole the term liberal to hide behind. Then leberalism became identifed with leftist policies and beliefs. Americans hate these policies and beliefs, so the term liberal became pegorative. It's well past time that true liberals take back the term.

[stockstrader]

LIBERAL = Liars Ignoring Basic Ethical Rules And Laws