When did the word "Liberal" become such a bad word?

Question

I am literally sickened. I have seen so much hatred and idiotic posts slamming Liberals for being un-American and unpatriotic. Other posts have stated that Liberals hate America and everything it stands for.

Liberals ended slavery in this country. It may have been a Republican, but a liberal Republican. What did liberals do that was so offensive to people? I'll tell you what they did.

Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. What did Conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things... every one.

So why is it so many Conservatives want to demonize us? Is it because they realize we have the better track record in history?

Answer 1

Yes, any examination of where liberals and conservatives have stood on the issues over the last 50 years shows that liberals have led the way toward a better society, while conservatives fought VIOLENTLY against it every step of the way.

Liberals have ALWAYS fought for:

CLEAN AIR
CLEAN WATER
CIVIL RIGHTS
VOTING RIGHTS
EQUAL RIGHTS
ENDANGERED SPECIES
SOCIAL SECURITY
MEDICARE
MEDICAID

These are all ACTUAL NAMES OF LAWS that LIBERALS HAVE FOUGHT FOR and CONSERVATIVES, REPUBLICANS AND RIGHTWINGERS HAVE FOUGHT TO DESTROY.

If you are FOR any of the above, then you share the views of LIBERALS.

Answer 2

The word Christian became a bad word politically because Christianity is not supposed to be political. It is not supposed to be involved in secular government. However, from the time the Messiah passed away, politicians, particularly, political philosophers from all over the known pagan world at that time began encroaching into Christianity diluting the religion with their views. The Romans, particularly Constantine, wanting to end the disputes between pagans and Christians declared Christianity as a state religion. And thereafter, the Roman Church, Catholic Church, masquerading as the true Christian Church Christianized may pagan customs. And those customs are tied with political tenets. Thus, Christianity, the dilluted Christianity became a political word. It became a bad political word because, Christianity began to be fragmented along the lines, not only on doctrinal lines, but on political issues. That is the reason why there are so many religions now masquerading as Christians. I wish I could say more, but space would not permit me.

Answer 3

The neocon movement got their hero Ronald Reagan elected by slamming liberals in 1980. While Reagan was busy arming the Taliban against the USSR, arming both sides in the war between Iran and Saddam Hussein, and turning most of South America against the U.S. with his Imperialistic wars, understudies like Karl Rove were learning to use fear to turn Fundamentalist Christians against liberals. They turned Nixoesque race baiting into liberal bashing.
Great liberals who helped make this country great include Thomas Jefferson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. Conservatives include Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush.
You can always spot an ignorant post on Yahoo! answers by the word libtard or the salutation Hey Liberals. Just as the John Birch Society helped the Communists by sowing division and suspicion in th U.S., today's neocons are helping Terrorists by saying Liberals hate America and support Terrorism. Divide and conquer is the goal of terrorist groups. Lately, Neocon has become a much worse word than liberal. It is ironic that neocons hate being called by the name that they coined for themselves.

Answer 4

When the conservative media machine sought to demonize anyone that did not agree with their dream of America. That America is get the rich, richer, let the poor help fend for themselves, down with the working man, big business is our friend no matter what, who needs the environment, infringe on any right they do not agree with, it goes on and on. Being a Liberal is nothing to be ashamed of it is a badge of honor.

Answer 5

It's not a bad word. We're taking over America. Thank you George. You are a liberal's best friend. Only you could send a whole party into the toilet.

Answer 6

You have got it totally right.

They suffer from the classic psychological symptoms of displacement and projection.

They (several of them subconsciously) feel so guilty that they are the true un-American thinkers, that they project that moniker on anyone who calls them on their evil ways.

Have you noticed that they have really started acting like fascists lately, but look who starts calling the extremist Muslims fascists...yep, the Republicans do.

Hypocrites and liars.

Answer 7

lol, so since Lincoln did a good thing, he's now a liberal Republican? Lincoln was a conservative, period.

So, you tell me that all the people who think Bush is Hitler, that we're stealing oil and committing genocide, that 911 was an inside job and that the masons are doing all of this are intelligent, well-mannered citizens? I don't think so.

That doesn't go for every liberal, just the ones that spam this forum with that drivel.

Answer 8

1990
when Allan Combs started his radio carrier
the word changed its meaning at that point
from describing a free thinker to a communist

Answer 9

But it doesn't bother you at all when liberals post hatred and idiotic posts slamming conservatives for the same sorts of things? I guess the word "liberal" became a bad word when liberals, themselves, became illogical and started hugging trees.

Oh...and Lincoln didn't start out wanting to do anything but keep the union together. Freeing the slaves was an after thought. Know your history.

Answer 10

I blame Karl Rove for this. He is the king of "smear and fear" and that is definitely smear. If you look in the dictionary at the term "liberal", it is anything but evil. People like Karl Rove have brought HATE to the Republican Party. They used to just be disagreeable, now they are full of hate.