Democrats versus Republicans

[PBzeer]

Your personal predilections don't invalidate the statement though sck. And while you probably prefer the past, where the One can do no wrong, there are no candidates for Vice President at this time. And as for Hillary, they do say, "Keep your enemies close". You did though, manage to work in your usual pejorative terminology, so all is not lost.

[PBzeer]

ebs - regardless of the dictionary definition of the term liberal, common usage applies the term in just the way I have outlined. Classical liberals are about as numerous as Tibetian monks in this day and age.

My post reflected what I perceive as the two distinct factions, on a broad philosophical basis, as current on the political stage. That they are commonly referred to of as liberal and conservative, is an issue beyond my control.

[knothead]

Liberal seem to be a much more sacred word than Marriage. No redefining allowed.

Cam, don't you realize how much more deeply it hurts when a moderator is displeased with us than when we have offended a mere mortal?

[sck5]

I didnt notice cam was displeased. as i recall there is no doubt when he gets that way. you can tell because he uses a huge red font. no mistaking it. anything else is just normal.

[ebs001]

PB you cannot change the meaning. We've been around this tree before - remember Beezerspeak. You are going to use the term liberal correctly or I'm going to call you on it every time. Liberal means liberal no matter how much you wish it meant conservative. Wishing doesn't make it so. It's not a matter of dictionary definition it is a matter of using the correct terminolgy.
Like Knothead said - no re-defining. Prop 9

[PBzeer]

I'm not changing the meaning though, merely using the term as it is commonly used. I made a clear distinction in my last post between the classical definition of liberal and common usage of the term. Were this a scholarly dissertation, I could see your point in raising the distinction. But as it is simply the expression of an opinion based on my experiences and reading, the terminology is of the sphere within which it is gleaned.

Throughout my life, the terms Left, Liberal, Progressive, and Socialist have carried a commonality, only separated by the degree to which each adheres to the basic premise of collectivism. That the term Liberal, in today's world, shares little with the definition of the term is a matter beyond my control. Or, to put it more dictionary accurate, I employ the connotation of the term Liberal, not it's accurate use, because that is how it is commonly understood.

You can tell me I use it inaccurately until the cows come home, and in the strict sense of the definition of the word, you are absolutely correct. It doesn't though change the fact that the word has come to mean something different due to it's usage, long before I was even born.

Just as a white person born in Africa and living in the US is not considered an African-American, but a black person born in America is, usage is the determining factor, not accuracy.

[ebs001]

The meaning has changed only in the minds of conservatives. When conservatives realized they were wrong they tried to usurp the best of liberalism. The term liberal must be properly used or don't use it. Just because it has been improperly used in the past does not excuse misusing the term forever. Ask Windy, who descibes himself as a liberal, if he likes your defining him as a socialist. I understand your embarresment after years of railling against liberals to find out that's what you are - a liberal.

[camaraderie]

Ebs...your meaning of liberal TODAY is like trying to convince someone that GAY means happy!

[PBzeer]

ebs - my "identity" is based on my beliefs, not what anyone chooses to label them. A label is merely a descriptive term used to identify something. For instance, Choice is the label applied to abortion. From the standpoint of the dictionary, it is an inaccurate term. Yet, common usage is such that it is automatically understood that when you talk about choice, you are talking about abortion.

That you are unhappy with the label of Liberal, as used today, is not within my power to correct. Years of journalistic use have embedded it into the lexicon, just as I have used it. Your distaste for it, would be better directed at the editors of the New York Times or Washington Post, than at myself. It is the MSM who have given it it's current connotation, not conservatives.

[AdamLein]

Originally Posted by ebs001

There is a difference between right/left and conservative/liberal. Anti-statism is liberal - thought remember "free" and they are on the right.

The problem here is that you are conflating two senses of liberal. The people who distinguish themselves from conservatives never do so on the issue of freedom; they do so on the issue of social justice.