Why is the term ''liberal" used as a term of abuse in US politics?

Question

I come from the UK and I notice several answers often use the term ''liberal'' as a dismissive term of denigration for any view that opposes US conservative political ideology. Why is this and is it really justified? Does it suggest that conservatives are rather frightened by so-called liberals?

Beliver [sic] is your geography so bad that you don't know the United Kingdom is ACROSS the English Channel from France? You've just lived up to a stereotype there.

Answer 1

To call someone a name is a shortcut to avoid thinking and communication.

Answer 2

Liberal and conservative can both be used in an insulting way, but the term 'liberal' as used in the way you describe first became part of the popular vocabulary when the first president George Bush would say it with a sneer as the "L" word. And very likely it was Karl Rove who came up with that clever substitute for thought and rational discourse.

Several of the answers posted are prime examples of this technique, especially the one that accused you of being French.

Are conservatives who throw out these insults afraid of liberals? I think it's more that they are so intellectually challenged that's the best they can do.

And the person who is upset by the term "neocon" should look up "neo-conservative" It's a specific faction within the American Conservative Movement and, as far as I can tell, is being used correctly for the most part. Neocons have their roots in the 1950s in the anti-Stalinist left (Irving Kristol, Norman Poderhetz et al) and were overwhelmingly from New York City. They currently favor liberal cultural policies, an aggressive foreign policy, and have aligned themselves with the Republican Party. Most of the people who pushed the Iraq War are neo-conservatives.

Answer 3

You know, I've been asking that question for years! What did liberals do that was so offensive to the conservatives in this nation? 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.

Answer 4

No. If you want to speak that generally, then it tells us something about humans. People do strange things. As difficult as it is for some terribly clever atheists to get their minds around it, people really do become involved in religions and religious practices for a great variety of reasons. Acting as if the actions of a few could possibly be representative of that diversity says more about the way your mind works than anything else.

Answer 5

It was given that connotation by a Karl Rove technique called "redefining". Their pundits and paid News shills continually abused the term liberal and tied it to every bit of FAR left nonsense that came along, until nobody could remember anything else.
They are currently redefining the term socialism to mean taxes and government spending on social issues.

Answer 6

No it isn't justified............consevatives have a bad habit of thinking they are so much more superior then anybody else.That is why they use the term so dismissively.They seem to forget it was the unions and the common folk who made America one of the greatest nations on earth.
Their hero Reagan boke the unions by firing the air traffic controllers in the early 80s.

Answer 7

No more frightened than if I call a punk kid a 'punk' But you are from the U K I've spent time there you people stay up day and nite to "prove" how liberal,kind ,understanding,and caring they are, just ask any of them. I would think there is a big debate weather that old lady should be beat ,going on right now

Answer 8

It is an accurate term that describes a section of the political spectrum.

That it denigrates, is the fault of the Faction.

There is no fear, only disgust.

Answer 9

The liberal movement was started in the early 60s..Only then, they referred to themselves as progressives. However, it was just a cover for the American Communist Party. As soon as people found this out, the party quickly changed from Progressives to Liberals.
Liberals made their way into the Democratic party, and have damn near taken it over. Look at past democrats and what they stood for and then look at today's dems and you'll see a night and day difference. After all, it was a Democrat president that dropped not one but two of the worlds most powerful (at the time) bombs on Japan.

Now that people are catching on to the fact that liberals=communist, they want to be called progressives again, so by calling them liberals it exposes them for what they really are. Sadly, a lot of young liberals are very unaware of what they are supporting, and what damage it would do to this nation and the world.

Answer 10

ask the same question to every liberal who has ever called us Conservatives "neocons". come to think of it, maybe your starting to get the idea of "fair" U.S. media. ask the same question to the other side! lemme guess. your from France, right? so how are the cheese eating surrender monkeys on the other side of the ocean?