Talk Elections

If a Democrat is liberal own up to it. It's seem odd that so many Democrats shy away from the term. You don't see Republicans coming up with an epithet to describe their political beliefs instead of labeling themselves Conservative.

Not all D's label themselves such.

Progressive is basically code for socially liberal.

Why do so many Teabaggers call themselves independents when they have no intention of supporting anybody other than Republicans?

It just sounds better.

Because to call somebody with a left-wing ideology a "liberal" is wrong?

In America, progressivism is liberalism and liberalism is progressivism. What I mean is that we associate the term liberal with more left-wing economics like welfare programs and union support and the term progressive is associated more with socially liberal positions such as environmental protection and gay rights. Someone like me who would (maybe) be a social-liberal would be referred to as a Progressive. Liberalism tends to be used to describe left-wing populism.

Why do so many anarchists label themselves libertarians? Why do fat chicks call themselves full figured? You go with whatever has the best connotation.

Thanks for the clarification. It just seems that many "Liberal" Democrats are adapting the term when it doesn't ideologically fit them.

Democrats label themselves progressive nowadays because the term "liberal" has attained such a negative connotation.

As a historical note, in America, during the Cold War era, the term progressive was always used by members of Communist party and its various offshoots as a code word to refer to other members.  Just as an FYI (no, I am not claiming so-called progressives nowadays = Communists, just a first-hand knowledge I have :P).

Because US political discussion has mangled political definitions.

What about the word Patriot? It's basically code for destroying this country with right-wing policies.

It sounds nice.

I'm a liberal... I'd also say progressive... but most fittingly a social democrat or even a democratic socialist.

Well, Wallace did run as a Progressive... :P And in Canada, the Communist Party was banned and ran as the Labour-Progressive Party during the 1940s.

But, yes, Sam is correct. Republicans successfully turned liberal into a dirty word.

I, too, criticize the left's use of the term, but for different reasons; I simply don't share their idea of "progress".

I like the change to progressive.  Real freedom lovers should take "liberal" back since no one is using it anymore.

But then genuine libertarians like Dennis Miller, Glenn Beck and Wayne Allen Root couldn't call themselves that anymore.

I'm not a fan of libertarians, but that is just insulting to them.

I don't think any libertarian that wasn't a rightist hack would consider any one of the three remotely libertarian. They are pretty much all sugar-coated conservatives who reject any kind of safety network and therefore have to rebuke GWB-style conservatism in favor of a new name.

I can't gripe about the term "progressive", because I call myself a "populist".  I am moderately-conservative socially and moderately-liberal economically.

()

because some of us are further left than liberalism in the non-US sense of the word and are elitist, etc.

Well for starters, it's a far more accurate description of what we actually believe in.

I really don't see how "progressive" sounds any cooler than "liberal".

BTW, why was this thread not a product of Mike Naso?

It's b.s. Just like Republican Party establishment calling themselves conservative.

I find the term liberal more positive, personally. Sadly, Republicans have won the battle over what the terms liberal and conservative suggest.

I actually agree.
Liberal sounds like something that is anti-elite, progressive sounds very pro-elite.

There isn't a solid definition of the term "progressive".

"Solid"? ;)