You Might Be A Liberal if......
OK, I am sick to death of the word "Progressive". To me it is just a word that "shy" liberals use to hide behind. In that spirit and the spirit of Mr. Foxworthy (who actually speaks to my heart) I give you the road back to being a LIBERAL, "The Real Bleeding Heart Kind". HUMOR! I have a big long post about these Shy liberals just need to edit it a little and will get it up soon.
So You Might be a Liberal if....
....You think that the best way to pay for auto Insurance is with a gas tax. Hey the more you drive the more you pay.
....You think that medications should be sold at your local state store (just like liquor). Because why should adults need permission to get well if we already know what we need.
....If you know the death penalty actually costs more than life in prison. And believe the ability to correct mistakes is a GOOD thing.
OK there is 3, now add a few of your own. As someone else once said "Bring It On" For the life of me I can't remember who it was though. But, not being able to remember who said that, might make you a Liberal!
I'll have more soon.
You might be a liberal if you care whether the powerless live or die.
January 27, 2009 7:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you earned less than $400k last year?
You might be a liberal if you think access to affordable health care is a right and not a privilege.
January 27, 2009 8:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you believe the president should obey the law.
January 27, 2009 9:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you are against capital punishment but for abortion on demand
You might be a liberal if you believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution but the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the constitution
You might be a liberal if you think standard tests are racist but racial quotas are not
January 27, 2009 9:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're getting there, Bill!
1 --You might be a conservative if you claim to be pro-life but are in favor of capital punishment, and most any war anyone could name, and vote to kill any bill that will help children once they're born. Why don't you change your mantra to pro-blastocyst; it would be more accurate!
2 -- You might be a conservative if you believe that gun control (ie keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, and keeping automatic weapons out of the populace in general) is an evil plot against the law-abiding. (oh, and refer to #1 - the part about pro-life)
3 -- You might be a conservative if you think it's okay to send a CD with "Barack the Magic Negro" out as a joke
January 27, 2009 10:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm still busy sucking my thumb like you told me to
January 27, 2009 10:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
You never can give an honest response to an actual issue. You hide behind "sucking your thumb" or saying that a poster has "changed the subject." You don't have an answer. You can't debate, because you don't have any facts on your side. Go ahead and keep up your snarky comments. If you ever have anything substantive to say, I'll be waiting. I'll also be surprised, but only because of your history.
January 28, 2009 12:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hey CVille,
Many conservatives don't have answers. They sure demand a lot, though. Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6t_tdOkwo
Defies logic doesn't it?
January 28, 2009 11:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for that link. Amazing! "I haven't really thought about it" covers a lot of territory for these people!
January 28, 2009 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
give me a question and I will answer it.
Your prior post didn't have a question in it so why are you angry that I didn't provide an "answer"?
It makes me laugh that you claim I don't have anything substantive to say when you're the one throwing around one-liners ("go suck your thumb") like OGD
January 28, 2009 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
OK, MCB. Must now inform you that OGD is an anagram....Think about it. And, as a (maybe Christian) conservative, be afraid.
January 28, 2009 6:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
True, he is a DOG.
January 28, 2009 7:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a neoconservative or a dittohead if you believe these things. I have spoken with plenty of everyday conservatives, both democratic and republican, who believe none of these things. Myself included.
January 28, 2009 1:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you believe in the concept of the common good, and that it applies to health care, education, fire protection, policing, the environment, and even ceding a parking spot to someone who got there before you did, even if you could cut him off and get the spot.
January 27, 2009 10:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
..even ceding a parking spot to someone who got there before you did, even if you could cut him off and get the spot.
All right..I draw the line there. Been playing "car shark" for the last 45 min. Ain't no one gonna get this spot but me.
C
January 27, 2009 11:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a Liberal if you believe that, given the opportunity, the rich and powerful will always try to run roughshod over the poor and powerless, and therefore, the poor and powerless must be protected from the excesses of the rich and powerful.
You might be a Liberal if you believe that ALL Americans deserve protection under the law.
You might be a Liberal if you are willing to be bi-partisan and not demand more than your fair share of a solution.
You might be a Liberal if your belief in the constitution isn't limited by what party is in power.
You might be a Liberal if you believe that Government can be a source for Good, and that the problem is NOT Government itself, but the bad application of Government.
You might be a Liberal if you have a lick of common sense.
January 28, 2009 1:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might he a liberal if you believe everything above-written and still have to ponder it further, whether you are, in fact, a liberal.
January 28, 2009 3:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Gregor, I am forever pondering my suppositions. :)
January 28, 2009 3:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you think it's only a unwed mother's right to chose... but expect the father to pay for child support.
You might be a liberal if you were upset that Barack Obama talked about Reagan on the campaign trail.
You might be a liberal if you claim to care about the environment, but continue to procreate anyway.
You might be a liberal if you saw the 2008 election in terms of gender and race rather than who could best lead the party.
You might be a liberal if you cheer for the big banks to fail.
You might be a liberal if you believe only the GOP is tight with Wall Street.
You might be a liberal if you figured that having a sizable majority in both houses of Congress would make life easier for Obama.
You might be a liberal if you talk about empathy and "obvious" solutions between the Palestinians and Israelis but can't help yourself from sniping and antagonizing on TPM boards.
You might be a liberal if you bitched about Obama after his win, but before he took office.
You might be a liberal if you think that driving a Prius will be a solution to the impending energy crisis.
You might be a liberal if you don't like dynastic families dominating politics over multigenerations when their name is Bush, but don't mind it if the families have names like Cuomo, Clinton, Kennedy, or Biden.
January 28, 2009 4:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you "can't help yourself from sniping and antagonizing on TPM boards".
January 28, 2009 6:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Or you might just be a complete dork.
Just sayin'.
January 28, 2009 8:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you think clearthinker's list is hilarious.
January 28, 2009 10:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a clearthinker if you think everyone you spend hours blogging to is pond scum.
January 28, 2009 10:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not true, quinn. I do not think that. If I thought that it would be illogical to post at all.
But you most definitely are quinn if you constantly try to place words in specific posters' mouths.
January 28, 2009 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
HILARIOUS! You might be clearthinker if you project your faulty debating style onto others.
January 28, 2009 12:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be clearthinker if you write like a Vulcan.
January 28, 2009 1:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hmm... Seems CT's given me a new job... "Placer-of-words-in-peoples'-mouths." Ok... must prove am up to job.... Now. What word, what word... to place in Clearthinker's mouth.
Ok. How 'bout "Schistosomiasis"?
Naw. Too harsh.
Ok, ok. This fits. "Foot." Maybe.
Not sure..... wait a minute. Got it.
CHEESEBURGER!!!
Enjoy, CT!
January 28, 2009 9:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://icanhascheezburger.com/
January 28, 2009 9:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jeez. Little over the top, no?
January 28, 2009 8:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know...I've been reading and posting comments on TPM for a while and I have noticed every single characteristic/belief that Clearthinker listed.
January 28, 2009 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ditto.
January 28, 2009 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, Hilary. This would be over the top:
You might be liberal if when, alone in an elevator, you fart, you apologize to yourself.
And you might be conservative if you don't accept the apology.
January 28, 2009 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now that's funny!
January 28, 2009 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
You know clearthinker, you're really a smart guy.
January 28, 2009 11:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHHJsXH3BiU
January 28, 2009 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm with you on several (but not all) of those issues, CT, but why associate them with "liberal"? It almost sounds like you've been drinking the Faux News kool-aid (but I know that's not the case).
January 28, 2009 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you believe that only conservatives hold beliefs inconsistent with their actions.
You might be a liberal if, when faced with a "you might be a liberal list" that isn't glorifying liberal ideals, its author is not a liberal.
January 28, 2009 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
PS: Which ones in my original list do you have a problem with?
January 28, 2009 12:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, I'm lukewarm on the first one, as I don't see any simple solution, but I do recognize the inherent inequality behind what you're saying. And as for the Prius, I'd argue it can be part of the solution to the problem, especially considering they can be (and have been) converted to run on electricity from solar sources. (I drive a Civic Hybrid, which is more of a stop-gap solution since it unfortunately cannot be easily converted in that manner. OTOH, I mainly use my feet as a form of transportation, and that relies on largely renewable energy sources, except for where I feed myself with corn products and what-not that's gone through the big agrobusiness that relies too heavily on fossil fuels..)
Mainly, my problem is that none of these represent liberal positions. Absolutely, I know that liberals can hold positions inconsistent with their beliefs, but I am no less of a liberal if I don't hold these beliefs, am I? That's my primary point.
January 28, 2009 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, I think that you are arguing that these are generalizations -- but that's entirely accurate. These *are* generalizations, as would always be the case when describing a group: liberal or conservative.
But you might be a liberal if you think that generalizations about conservatives are true while liberal ones are not. ;-)
January 28, 2009 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, I suppose you're going with the original idea of the post (if not the tone, but that's OK). I suppose I was thinking more of what defined being a liberal (which your comments certainly don't), whereas you're talking more about common characteristics. Of course, I'd also argue that, as generalizations, many of them fail because, while they might apply to many liberals, they don't apply to a majority of them. (OTOH, that's probably true about the "you might be a redneck if..." statements, as well.)
January 28, 2009 1:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Btw, this one hurts because it hits so accurately, at least for me. (Well, if you substitute "true" with "funny".)
January 28, 2009 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, I guess you are a liberal.
Welcome!
January 28, 2009 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
But you might be a liberal if you think that generalizations about conservatives are true while liberal ones are not. ;-)
Actually, if it comes to that, you are a liberal. Ain't no maybe's anymore. I am a liberal.
January 28, 2009 7:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great list. I guess I have correctly self-identified as a conservative progressive.
January 28, 2009 1:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks... you can see how the same people who have an issue with this list are the exact same ones that don't have an issue with equivalent conservative list.
I think Nebton's comment is the most honest one on this entire board.
January 28, 2009 6:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I noticed that comment as well. Very nice example of self realization.
It wasn't until I saw how polarized my thinking was that I began to strip off the layers of gauze that had clouded those thoughts. I still have a long way to go, but each and every heated exchange around here leads me to different paths and alternative methods of considerations.
If anyone around here really knew me, they would understand just how freaking unprecedented this last year has been in terms of changing my personal and political philosophies.
I haven't changed this much since infancy.
January 28, 2009 7:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a Liberal if you think people's screen names are no indication of the actual content of their posts.
You might be a Liberal if you're sick of the negative crap that people tell you is what defines a Liberal when you know in your heart that it is something fine and uplifting.
You might be a Liberal if you believe that Life can be a positive experience, even if you don't earn a lot of money.
January 28, 2009 6:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you find your ideological balloon busted often.
January 28, 2009 11:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
You have to say that: your avatar is a brick wall!
January 28, 2009 12:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you recognize that the US is but one country on the Earth and we have a clear responsibility to acknoweldge our fellows on this planet: and not imperialistically throw our weight around by starting unnecessary wars.
January 28, 2009 10:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you're not so psychosexually infantile that you remotely imagine that sexual orientation is something that's either "chosen" or the consequence of someone having "recruited" you into it.
January 28, 2009 10:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if, instead of admiring your fellows accomplishments, you feel entitled to 'your share' of the fruits of his efforts.
You might be a liberal if you feel government should control as many aspects of citizens' lives as possible.
You might be a liberal if you feel constitutional restrictions set in place on the Federal government's power are only living suggestions.
You might be a liberal if you feel firearms ownership by private citizens threaten your socialistic ambitions.
You might be a liberal if you feel citizens don't have a right to raise their own children.
You might be a liberal if you can justify abortion and infanticide.
You might be a liberal if you're so smart and know it all that you don't believe in God.
You might be a liberal if you think the rest of us owe you a living.
You might be a liberal if you feel the simple language embodied in the civil rights amendment should be ignored.
You might be a liberal if you feel 'greed' is the root cause of economic disparity.
You might be a liberal if you feel your neighbor who works a lot of over time and drives a nicer car than yours is hopelessly greedy.
You might be a liberal if you feel laws should be passed enabling corporations to be taxed and sued out of existence.
You might be a liberal if you feel the genocide in Africa is justified as long as it's white South Africans being killed.
You might be a liberal if you feel voter fraud is justifable in some cases.
You might be a liberal if the simple fact is that you've never grown up or matured to real adult status, regardless of your age.
January 28, 2009 11:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
Absolutely. Those damn liberals and their laws against gay marriage and drug use!
January 28, 2009 11:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a conservative if you want to give an unborn mass of cells protection from being killed as a human, but don't have a problem with capital punishment, torture, or war which involved actual human beings.
You might be a liberal if you're so smart and know it all that you don't believe in God.You might be a conservative if you bible thump but don't heed admonishments like "the love of money is the root of all evil."
You might be a conservative if you believe large corporations should be bailed out, while denying that's not just spreading wealth to the wealthy.
You might be a conservative if you believe in a zero-tolerance policy with respect to drugs, unless you were a "victim" of painkillers.
You might be a conservative if you believe that supporting your teenaged daughter having an out of wedlock pregnancy with a high school dropout represents good family values.
You might by a conservative if you can handle the massive internal contradictions on FNC, sometimes within the same broadcast, without having your head explode.
You might be a conservative if you think that Bill Clinton's lieing about a blow job was a worse scandal for the nation than Iran-Contra or the misinformation leading to the present Iraq War.
January 28, 2009 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bummer...that 3rd paragraph about being a liberal should have been blockquoted.
January 28, 2009 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Pity your daughter if she's impregnated by a high school dropout. What compassion!!! What fatherly loyalty!!!
January 28, 2009 12:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a conservative if you miss obvious references to Palin's teenage daughter...
(If it were another poster, I might assume she caught the reference and was lamely trying to deflect it. But given her recent statement that we weren't in a recession in the months leading up to the election...)
January 28, 2009 1:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's called abortion. Look it up.
Or would you rather see a child's life wrecked because of a mistake made in youth? (Yes, teenage pregnancy will wreck a child's life: studies show that the odds of divorce and overall earning potential within the family are all are adversely affected by teen pregnancy. Not to mention that the odds of the child growing up to be a criminal rise dramatically.)
January 28, 2009 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
If they grow up to be a criminal?
I can justify shooting them as teenagers before I can justify strangling a newborn. But your way, they don't get a chance.
Just let them grow up like you do a beef calf. Maybe they can wisen up and get away from your murderous hands before their time comes.
It's strange that people who don't believe in God feel entitled to play the part.
January 28, 2009 4:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Such rhetoric from someone who called me smart just above.
However, I can understand that given your limited perspective, you would feel bad "playing God".
So let's not thwart any of God's decisions. When you get sick, let's let God heal you. When you get cancer, please don't subvert God's will and get treatment.
And for God's sake, please don't kill anything (plant or animal) to subsist. Only eat things already dead by God's will.
January 28, 2009 6:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
If there is no God, then we are not playing anyone else's part. We are making our own rational decisions.
Playing God is when you interject your values and opinions on other people's lives without having any rational basis for that imposition.
January 28, 2009 7:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Damn, that was well said!
January 28, 2009 8:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Way to go, Clearthinker!
How about this: You might be a liberal if you hear a republican saying that something will lead to the "Europeanization" of America; and you think: HOT DAMN! Public transportation! Health Care for All! Good food!
January 28, 2009 2:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Spoken like a true Palin-voting Democrat (who can't remember who she voted for in the Primaries)!
January 28, 2009 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
It was a pretty large field on the Oklahoma ballot, but I do remember voting for who I thought would do the most damage to the democrat ticket.
January 28, 2009 4:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oklahoma, huh? That's funny - yesterday, on another thread, you said you were a Texan!
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/demosaur/2009/01/obama-grants-first-formal-inte.php#comment-3354182
January 28, 2009 5:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can walk out on my back porch and throw a rock across the river. Wade across it most all summer. Lived on both sides off and on down through the years. Whatever. Tribes the same on both sides of it.
January 28, 2009 5:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sarah Palin can see Russia from her porch! Are you kissing cousins?
January 28, 2009 6:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Renaye, Darlin':
You said: "....for who..."
That would be "... for whom." Just say'in, as it seems more polite to correct your grammar than to submit my response to this opinion of yours:
"I can justify shooting them as teenagers before I can justify strangling a newborn."
I just deleted my response to this, for fear of being banned.
I am now sure that you are Spric, as no woman under the sun could make that remark.
Since when is abortion deferred until the fetus/baby is born so that it may be summarily strangled?
January 28, 2009 6:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
You can read all about it here;
http://mpinkeyes.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/in-the-illinois-senate-obama-refused-to-protect-babies-who-survived-late-term-abortion-attempts/
January 28, 2009 7:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
As much as I tend to agree with you, ww, that is a sexist comment. All women aren't good about children. Not even close.
January 28, 2009 7:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
CT:
Yes, you are correct; my comment was sexist. Yet I defend it because: a) in my experience, it is essentially true; and, b) the violence inherent in the comments made by Spric/Renaye have begun to sicken me, and I protest. Logically? In some cases. Instinctively or intuitively? In every instance. Can those motivators be reconciled? Depends on the eye of the beholder, and the basis on which judgments are made.
January 30, 2009 7:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
WW, I made the assertion that spric and renaye are one and the same shortly after their arrival here. They did arrive at roughly the same time. I suspect That the username 'spric' may have been banned, and the poser/coward/bigot whoever he/she is has relied solely on his/her other username. I hate to cast aspersions on geographic regions, but with his/her admission today of being from Oklahoma, I will say I have met more 'human' beings from that locale that fit his/her generally redneck/uninformed/willfully ignorant persona than just about any other state in the union. My apologies to the rest of you out there from OK. My opinion in this matter may be colored by having recently read Grisham's non-fiction book, 'The Innocent Man' which details other willful ignorance on the part of the police and DA in an Oklahoma murder investigation which resulted in the imprisonment of, you guessed it, an innocent man.
January 28, 2009 9:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal when you look at pictures of the earth and finally say "Holy Shit, our home is not endless, but a tiny speck. The humans on this earth are not vastly different at all, but just literally brothers and sisters in the human family."
This is not a kumbaya statement. Think of NYC after the tragedy in 2001. People who would not even look at each other on the street normally, were caring for each other.
Why does it always take a freaking tragedy to make us realize our common destiny? Liberals try express this view while conservatives mock it.
January 28, 2009 12:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, mageduley... but you might be a liberal if you think that only liberals would feel that way when looking at the pictures. ;-)
January 28, 2009 12:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've read your comment twice and still I see no connection between it and the subject at hand.
Your comment should be demonstrative of something I've omitted from my list.
January 28, 2009 12:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Your comment should be demonstrative of something I've omitted from my list."
Sweetheart, It's not all about you.
January 28, 2009 12:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
His comment was not in response to you. If it were, it would say, "in reply to" renae.
Get it? Some people can write something and it might pop up under something you wrote, but it might not be addressed to you at all.
Now, re-read this 'til it sinks in.
Oh, and as usual you missed the point about the high-school drop-outs getting pregnant. The point was that this sorrowful situation in your favored candidate's family, was touted as good family values.
-Her oldest son, also a high school drop-out, had to join the army to stay out of jail.
-Her next-oldest daughter didn't "just say no" (imagine that!) and now she has a young baby to care for. So she'll finish high school on-line (maybe). But she should be in high-school enjoying this time of her life in a way that never comes again.
-Her other children got dragged around during the campaign instead of being in school.
Family Values? Yep these people have a lot of class. But it's all low.
January 28, 2009 2:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, those Alaskans are a colorful lot.
Reminds me of the Scots-Irish pioneers of the early nineteenth century who pressed the American frontier westward.
They weren't out there whining for Washington to be their nannies, nosiree!! They were carving a life out of a wilderness which, in pre-Columbian times, supported less than 300,000 people!!! The embodiment of independence and self sufficiency they were!! Just like our modern Alaskans. Taming the wilderness!!!
I just wonder, if those proud, noble and upstanding people were exposed to this drivel, how they would regard most of you people?
January 28, 2009 4:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
They expected to claim the land they settled on. Bunch of freeloaders. All that cooperation, too. Must have been commies.
January 28, 2009 4:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Renaye, coming here is voluntary. If you think it is drivel it says more about you than it does about the rest of us that you continue to show up.
And --- way to ignore your fav candidates pathological family! "Colorful?" What were you saying the other day about trash?
January 28, 2009 6:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you wish to call the citizens of Alaska's governor 'trash', it's a free country.
January 28, 2009 7:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a Liberal if your main reason for not supporting a bill is that items were included to "please Republicans." You might also be a Liberal if you excessively use words like cave, capitulate, betrayal, or the phrase "a slap in the face" when Obama does something that goes against the Liberal agenda.
January 28, 2009 12:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you have issues with a sitting present from your own party who was ranked the most liberal member of the Senate before his election.
You might be a conservative if you can get behind a GOP president without question, simply because he is from the GOP.
January 28, 2009 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is such a tired meme. Any Democrat that runs for President gets labeled as the most liberal member of whatever group they are in. Was Obama more liberal than Teddy Kennedy?
January 28, 2009 1:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Donal...where were you during the primary? Obama was literally ranked the most liberal in the Senate (Biden was #3, I believe).
http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/
You still post good stuff, but unfortunately you have become fairly dogmatic in reading my stuff since you've gone into the "clearthinker is bad" group. Stick to facts, rather than feelings.
January 28, 2009 1:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
My opinion has nothing to do with you. Obama simply never appeared all that liberal to me, no matter what some rag I never heard of proclaims.
January 28, 2009 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Donal, you are being silly now. A magazine determining who is the most liberal by checking to see whether he votes with or against the party is a perfect way of determining who is the most liberal Senator. Jane Harman same ranking received a 77.7 liberal ranking while Kucinich received 66.3. ?! Makes sense to me.
Considering very little legislation that makes it through Congress is liberal (even in a democratic congress), it makes sense that the ranking is utterly meaningless.
January 28, 2009 2:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
You have both missed the point.
Obama is clearly more left than Bill Clinton (who triangulated -- or strangulated), has been in office just over a week, and there has been belly-aching.
Compare this when Bush was elected to his constituency.
So...
You might be a liberal if you aren't still elated about the 2008 election and have forgotten how low you felt in 2004.
Someone pointed out above that being a liberal might mean that life can be a positive experience -- but with the belly aching we've already seen from some on the left, after just a week of Obama, it's hard to make that statement. I wouldn't expect it to ever get better than things are now -- so we better make this work and enjoy it. Remember, at one point there *were* people posting that they started to believe in politics again. That feeling should last, for a liberal, for at least the first year of Obama's administration.
January 28, 2009 5:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
But, once again, is Obama more liberal than Ted Kennedy?
January 28, 2009 9:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I've been so depressed since January 20th I can barely get out of bed. Shows how much you know. I am a New Yorker - this IS my happy happy joy joy mode. Please do yourself a favor and stop telling me what I think.
January 29, 2009 9:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am more than happy to cede the world liberal based on these definitions.
That frees up progressive for better uses - like how we describe people more interested in building a sustainable future than in continuing the partisan bloodshed that characterized the last 30 years. Progressive can then apply to either liberals or conservatives based on proposed solutions to our many pressing problems instead of as a way to make liberals feel better about being ideologues.
You might be a liberal if your reply to this comment seeks to polarize our discussion rather than deepen it.
January 28, 2009 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are you saying only liberals write polarizing posts? Get a load of Ms. Palin-voting "Democrat" -- Renae
C'mon Jason! I'm gonna tickle you until you admit that it goes both ways!!!
January 28, 2009 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
No tickling is necessary as it most certainly goes both ways. Also, your comment sought to deepen the discussion, so I guess you are a progressive democrat rather than a liberal one. :O)
January 28, 2009 2:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you think cats make good pets.
January 28, 2009 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is Dr Evil a liberal?
January 28, 2009 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you're trying to get on a check.
January 28, 2009 4:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Get on a check?" Is that a sexual reference? I didn't think conservatives were comfortable talking about sex. I thought they just liked to do all kinds of unspeakable acts, and then condemn everyone else for what THEY do.
But I'm all ears. How can I get on a check, and does "check" accept text messages?
January 28, 2009 6:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well now, CVille Dem, forgive me if I find it difficult answering your question.
You see, where I'm from we only have two sexes. So you see how I might be limited in answering a question from you on the subject.
I've noted that in your sphere, you have so many sexes I can't keep up with them all. There are so many, I notice you use acronyms sometimes referring to some of them.
My hope is when you socialists gain the power over us you seek, you won't enforce all these genders on our language. That would make communication among us impossibly complex. Male and female are quite sufficient.
January 28, 2009 7:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where to begin?!? Renaye, there are homosexuals among you, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders in Texas cities. Your comment about not being able to keep up was very revealing. I have no trouble believing it at all.
Please be advised we are not seeking power over you, we are taking power away from you/conservatives, as you wield it irresponsibly.
The last eight years have all been about your fantasy pioneers crossing the prairie. Lewis and Clark brought the country to the Pacific two hunderds years ago. There is no place else to go. Now we have to learn to live with each other with what there is left. We do not expect you to live the way we do. It's clear you are unable to keep up. But we do expect you to allow us to live the way we are without interference. That's called freedom, living free. You don't have to keep up, you just have to keep out of our lives.
January 28, 2009 7:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
You certainly have no worry about me interfering in your business. I'm about as libertarian as you'll find. You'll find nothing in my post suggesting the use of government power to interfere with you. Do as you like.
January 28, 2009 8:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
You ARE a liberal if you live in my zip code.
Enjoy.
January 28, 2009 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're DEFINITELY a liberal if you live in my zip code - Upper West Side, Manhattan. Doesn't get any deeper blue. There was a funny story in the NY Times not long ago about Republicans leafleting up here during the campaign. People engaged with them preliminarily, assuming that anyone engaged in such an activity on Broadway in the 90s was necessarily a Democrat. They would then routinely get testy upon realizing who they were interacting with, not just in opposition to the politics in question, but with this idea that they were somehow being had..."what Republican would even consider political activity in this neighborhood??"
January 28, 2009 5:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you joined the Marine Corps and deployed to a war you disagree with in order to support your family.
Or you might be a sellout.
January 28, 2009 6:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or maybe you're just a man who who took a job that he is committed to performing. As a soldier, you follow orders and as a citizen you make sure those orders represent the will of the people. It's why citizens have been so busy these past 7 years.
We are a grateful people.
January 28, 2009 7:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a Liberal if you think people should have More rights than corporations (instead of the other way around).
You might be a liberal if you think government should exist to benefit human beings, instead of big business.
You might be a Liberal if you object to corporate welfare; but have no problem with benefits for humans.
You might be a Liberal if you consider freedom and pirvacy more important than "safety".
January 28, 2009 7:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
You need to review some history. Most of your issues come from the fact that a corporation has the legal rights of a human. I suggest you view this.
January 28, 2009 8:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
By the way, your fear about government and your privacy is definitely misplaces. It's companies like Google, MySpace, and FaceBook that is building the dossier on your and your friends. And you are constantly giving them that information willing.
January 28, 2009 8:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might be a liberal if you are in the minority posting here.
January 28, 2009 10:34 PM | Reply | Permalink