Hey, my fifteen minutes of fame! Thanks for the acknowledgement.

We may have no more success reclaiming "liberal" in its original sense than Hormel is likely to have reclaiming Spam(TM) as referring to a potted meat product, but I think this helps.

Actually, Dean, you weren't the originator of the quote so you aren't responsible for the content (see my comment in the original post). The quote's been floating around Blogville for the past few weeks, but I can't remember which blog I first saw it on.

Dean,

Well, you've set yourself The Task, now haven't you?

As a knuckle-dragging conservative I find it exceptionally odd that the party I belong to not only holds the White House, but also holds both Houses of Congress, a majority of State legislative seats and has a near-working majority on the Supreme Court. The only explanation for the popularity of conservatism must be because the other side has become something entirely anethema to a large majority.

In a more normal political world, about 25% would describe themselves as conservative, with an equal number describing themselves as liberal - and the broad mass being middle of the road. Yet, here we are - last time I saw a poll on such things, about 40% described themselves as conservative and 20% as liberal. What is so great about being a conservative? What is so bad about being a liberal? The answer is that being a conservative lets you be opposed to liberals - and liberals are identified in the public mind with sociological atrocities these days...I read an article today that a liberal Democrat State Senator in CA sent out a letter to all school boards saying that parents have no right to opt their kids out of "diversity" training which has a strong pro-gay bent. We could argue, of course, about wether such a program is good or bad - the the larger point is that who in hell does this chick think she is? Telling parents they can't opt their own children out of things the parents find objectionable is a thing that Nazis and Communists do - not liberals. But because of things like this, "liberal" is like kryptonite.

I've long argued that for the sake of the health of the two-party system genuine liberals must get down in the trenches and fight it out with the leftists who have hijacked the once-honorable name of liberal. The old idea that "there are no enemies on the left" must be rejected - it was a thing thought up by communists in the 1930's anyways; used to allow commies to infiltrate liberal groups and subvert them. We on the right have enemies on the right - and we fight them tooth and nail; liberals, also, have enemies on the left. Its high time you started fighting them. A Nancy Pelosi should not be (a) considered a liberal and (b) should not be the Democratic leader in the house - she's a quasi-communist wolf hidiing in liberal sheeps clothing; and we can go down a long list of "liberal" leaders who are actually quite anti-liberal in practice who have to be forced out...back into the leftist fever swamps from whence they emerged, in the 1968 debacle, to take over the Democratic party and liberalism.

I am a "liberal" too, of classical variety. Today's "liberals" (in the US) are nothing more than socialists who don't have the guts to admit it.

Thank you, Mark! That is exactly the point I was trying to make in the previous "well heeled liberal" thread "thought for the day..."

Dean,
OT but, you aren't drinking rum and dancing salsa now are you?

Great analogy about the Spam(TM), Jonathan.

The people known as "idiotarians" seem to be to be neither traditional liberals nor traditional conservatives. They astutely combine the worst of both worlds, and avoid the wisdom of either.

The quote should be credited to John Derbyshire, published in this article.

Isn't it fascinating that Derbyshire came up with this line in response to another U.S./Cuban "crisis"?

>>I find it exceptionally odd that the party I belong to not only holds the White House, but also holds both Houses of Congress, a majority of State legislative seats and has a near-working majority on the Supreme Court. The only explanation for the popularity of conservatism must be because the other side has become something entirely anathema to a large majority.

***********************************************

Mark,

You forgot to mention that your party is also a majority amongst mayors, county commissioners, county commissions, township supervisors, as well as legislatures AND legislators. It looks to me as though liberals are a true minority across the country at every single level of government. The only exceptions are in the big cities. I doubt many leftists acknowledge this fact.

kevinb,

In the end, its going to turn out that the existence of Vermont was the worst thing that ever happened to the left. That small State got a gigantic influx of hippies in the 70's and by being big frogs in a small pond, they managed to make a little leftist paradise for themselves - and produced John Dean.

Our pinko friends think that the United States is just desperately waiting for the right leftist to come along and lead us into Utopia...and they've now decided that Dean is just the man to do it. They're going to get clobbered - which will be fun to watch. The only unfortunate thing is that they wont have the nerve to show up on the message boards on Election Night to eat all the crow we'll be serving up for them.

By odd happenstance, among the gazillion songs I've got loaded into my 'puter, Age Of Aquarius just came on as I finished posting that....you know, we should make that our Campaign Song for 2004...as we escort the denizens of Aquarius into the ash-heap of history.

That small State got a gigantic influx of hippies in the 70's and by being big frogs in a small pond, they managed to make a little leftist paradise for themselves - and produced John Dean.

Excuse me? You wouldn't happen to mean HOWARD Dean, do you?

Lizard,

Thanks for the correction.