What did they do to hurt you?

There is no negative connotation of the word liberal in any dictionary. The term is used as a perjorative by the right. The real term should be "progressive" because liberals have tended to be more advanced at governing. Conservatives have shown that keeping things the way they are will not work.

Nixon is an example of a progressive conservative republican while bringing the EPA and the end of Viet Nam to fruition...Yeah, that's right..Nixon. Today's GOP would Dick a communist.

What an interesting seed and perspective.

It is polarizing and as such I question its veracity. I only say that because I do not know what the conditions were, with regards to congress, that allowed the success of the liberal agenda.

Don't get me wrong, I'm left of center, but as with any discussion the truth is somewhere between what both sides understand about the circumstances.

As I see it you have a capitalist society that wants to believe that success happens solely based on the talents of the individual. Which any rational person realizes is not true.

Then you have the people on the other end of the spectrum that have come to believe that the government should take care of them in perpetuity.

The never ending struggle is where do any of us, or all of us, want our country to sit on that spectrum.

The resolution will never be found. The nature of mankind is to be constantly in turmoil and at odds with one another.

one of my most favorite sayings, 'the facts, though relevant, will have no bearing on our decisions

What did they do to hurt you?

Liberals advocate the continuing criminal act of armed robbery writ large, by the US Government.

BTW...conservative/Republican freed the slaves & promoted, passed and supported the civil rights act and voting for blacks. BTW, no such thing as African American as a descriptor of race. Africa is a continent and not all natives of that continent are black.

Obvious fantasy or made for TV...

M. Barrett Miller,

What did liberals do that was so offensive

It isn't just to Republicans but also to anyone that believe that a Nanny State is not the way to go that "liberals" have offended. You shove forward like some shield of honor the accomplishments of the "liberals" yet you conveniently omit other "not so successful" experiments that you tried. Here is just a few to think about:

The Versailles Treaty ending WWI and the repartitioning of the defunct Ottoman Empire that was presided over by the grandfather of the "progressive" movement; Woodrow Wilson. His "Holier than tho" meddling effectively guaranteed war in the middle east. Try reading "1919: six months that changed the world," and then follow it with "A Peace to end all Peace." And, if that wasn't enough, he signed into law the Federal Reserve Act that will, because of no effective restraints on fiat currency, will eventually be the destruction of the world's economic systems.

You tout Lyndon Johnson's Great Society as the be all and end all of programs. Yet, you do know that it was modeled after the David Lloyd George programs that worked so well for the UK. Even Henry Morganthau, Jr. cautioned about the excesses of government intervention in the assistance to the population at large. When he went before congress in 1934 to ask for money to assist the victims of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, he warned them not to be too generous saying that it "would remove their desire to work toward the betterment of their situation and create a condition not unlike economic slavery." Unfortunately, Johnson and the Great Society progressives failed to heed his warnings. Johnson evidently never understood what surface material is used when paving the Road to Hell.

I am a Libertarian (not a Ron Paul version) that believes in responsibility and accountability for all; rich and poor alike.The difference that I see between the "liberals" and the Libertarian concepts I hold dear is an issue of convictions and moral beliefs. I, and most libertarians I know believe that most people are by nature good and will do what is "right" simply because it is the right thing to do without any prodding from anyone else. We also believe in personal accountability and responsibility.

When I joined the Marine Corps, I was taught the 3 fundamental requirements of being a Marine; Honor, Courage and Commitment. They were explained as follows:

Honor - Doing what is Right solely because it is the Right thing to do.

Courage - Once you have decide what is "Right" you do it; even if it isn't popular with others or profitable to you.

Commitment - Once you have the first two nailed down, you follow the course until you have completed that which is the right thing to do.

As a Freemason, there is not much difference in the way we approach things. I personally believe that, one day I will be required to stand before the Grand Architect of the Universe and give an accounting for what I have done on this earth. I don't think there is much that he has missed and I don't want the interrogation to last too long.

But the Liberals that I know both here on the vine and in person have a completely different outlook as best I can determine. They believe that they are the only ones that know what "right " is; that people are by nature bad, evil, untrustworthy, and must have someone to outline in detail the liberal version of "right" for them. And finally, there must be some all powerful agency or government with power of rack and thumbscrew to enforce this version of "right" upon the masses. After all, we are mere mortals and are incapable of making decisions regarding personal responsibility, accountability, or morality for ourselves; we must be lead by Adam Weishaupt and the Bavarian Illuminati, the "Epicurean Intelligentsia" or their direct genetic descendants.

That is what I find most distasteful about the liberal concept; that I am unable to make decisions for myself because I am not "enlightened" enough to know what is "Right or wrong" with respect to what you and yours consider to be right. I am a Principle Engineer for a major company, I have been an Electrical and Mechanical Engineer for over 35 years, and hold 2 engineering degrees and an MBA; I didn't fall off the back of the turnip truck last night. But, according to many of the liberals on the vine like yourself, we must all be some genetically mutated throw back to the neanderthal branch of human evolution because we don't agree with you regarding the overall control of society. Personally, I know when to bath, shave, and how to put out my clothes for work and do not need Hobson to do it for me. I have not needed a baby sitter for over 55 years; my name is not Arthur Bach. I must ask, however, is yours?

That is why, to me the term "Liberal" has become a pejorative. It is not that you don't want to do good. It is not that you don't have some good ideas, It is that you consider yourselves to be the "only ones" that are capable of making decisions as you are the only "enlightened ones" and everyone else that does not agree with you is either stupid, evil, uneducated, or "Trailer Trash." It is the pomposity that exudes from every post that subliminally states "We are the enlightened. We know what is best for you. So, just sit down, shut up, and do what we say." I hate to have to break it to you, but I am quite capable of making decisions for myself. I served with the 3rd Marines in Quang Tri and Thua Thien Provinces of Vietnam. My late wife and I raised 2 children and now I have 4 Grandchildren. I've been a successful engineer, teacher, and flight instructor of over 35 years, so I really don't need the "liberal guidance" to do the right thing. I am quite capable of making those decisions myself, thank you.

I am proud to be a Liberal. I am proud that I do not have to lie, cheat, steal, abuse, murder, enslave others, prostitute, gamble to earn a living or to feel good about myself like neocons.