"I'm a liberal and proud of it" said by...John Kerry

[SSFFMMM]

Yes, John Kerry has said that in 1991 on the Senate floor, "I'm a liberal and proud of it." Do you think if John Kerry were to mention liberalism and liberals as much as Ronald Reagan did in the past for conservatism he could help dispel misconceptions about liberals by talking about it?

[JohnKleeb]

1. hope so

He has called himself a progressive definely in past.

[gospelized]

2. i'd love that

but he should definatley start AFTER he wins. it's still a bad word to the media.

but once he's president, he should call himself the biggest liberal in the world, and fix the freaking country.

[GOPFighter]

3. Damn Right!

I'm liberal and proud of it! I'm so sick of politicians and other running from this label. Liberals have a long history of fighting for laws and programs that have made American lives demonstrably and measurably better. Our triumphs would fill pages.

WTF do conservatives have to be proud of?? Lynchings? Slavery? Child labor? 60 hour work weeks - without benefits? Discrimination against blacks? Discrimination against women? The S&L scandel? Enron? The Iraq war?

Why do they strut so proudly? Why do we run so scared?

[SSFFMMM]

12. I'm sick of them too

Our triumphs would certainly fill pages.

[LynnTheDem]

4. His "Liberal" is more than good enough for me...

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?"

If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal."

But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."

-John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States of America

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/35_kennedy/psources/ps_nyliberal.html

[Tempest]

5. Kerry's recent statement about being a liberal

As for being attacked as a liberal, Kerry said, "If being that means I
want decent schools for people in the South; if being that means I
want health care for every single American, and I want a system that
makes sense; if being that means I want to balance the budget and be
responsible fiscally and not leave our children with debt ... I'll take that anywhere in the country."

[JohnKleeb]

8. sounds good to me

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

6. You know what?

It's working for me and some other liberals I know in real life. We decided about a year ago to be pretty vocal about our liberalism, to TALK about it, WHY we are liberal, why it is important to us, what our sociopolitical views ARE....and I have to say it's working damn well.

Over a yr ago my conservative friends looked at me in shock and scoffed when I spoke of being proud to be liberal. Now they don't say anything at all when it comes up. I speak with the same pride and conviction they do.

And why shouldn't we?

Talk about it, talk about it, talk about it. Use the word a LOT. Have a coming out party. Any of you still in the liberal closet, come out into the sunshine!!!! It's great!!!!

[hippiegranny]

13. Come out of the closet! ALL are welcome!

It is the same as with internalized loathing and self homophobia, which is why so many gay people do not come out. If we all just came to terms with the fact that we are, indeed, LIBERALS, and that we're okay with it, what we project to the world will be positive. It is only when we hide and mince words that we let others think we are somehow ashamed of what we are.

[Armstead]

7. He ought to say it NOW!

He's got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

What Kerry and the "centrist" Democratic strategists don't understand is that no matter how conservatives try to look, the GOP and the Right Wing Echo Chamber and the Media Whores will call them Liberals anyway. They either use the word, or they insinuate it.

What they also fail to realize is that the Democratic Party has become weak precisely because they have run away from their own self-derfinition. That's why so many "swing voters" have rejected Democrats and Kerry, even if it's on a subconscioous level.

Not to mention making the Democratic "base" disheartened and apathetic.

I think Kerry ought to come out and just say it loud and proud. "I'm a liberal, because liberals fight for YOUR interests."

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

9. I used to vote third party partially for that reason

I am liberal and I didn't see the Dems as being very proud of being liberal (and admittedly parts of the DNC aren't too liberal, compared to me!) and so why vote for them?

But now I see the Democratic party is INFUSED with vibrant liberalism, if only at the grassroots level and I feel hopeful we are going to send that liberalism on up and vote in candidates who are increasingly progressive, so I am a DEMOCRAT ALL THE WAY!!!

:kick:

[Lefty Pragmatist]

10. It works.

I have no problem telling my conservative co-workers I'm liberal. We have good discussions, and it's gotten to the point that when *they* hear other conservatives spouting off about how liberals are unpatriotic, or uninformed, or all the other dumb generalizations, *they* stand up against it.

Of course, I hate to inform the more radical among us that it's had the ooposite effect as well. The more I talk to conscientious, intelligent conservatives, the more I respect them and the less patience I have when lefty yahoos spout off about how conservatives are the anti-Christ.

In the end, the people are the same. The policies are what matter, and once you get people actually talking face to face, they can find common ground on the policies.

[robbedvoter]

11. My candidate - Clark, said it all along. Not PC in this party - even

Sharpton talked fast around it in a debate. As long as we accept the media connotation of an insult, we are losers (even if we get some power by buying into it). It's why I am no longer a Democrat. I am a liberal. let THEM catch up with me.

[AuntPatsy]

14. Just felt it needed a Kick...Liberal is what we as Americans

try to tell the world we are.....why should one see being called a liberal amongst ourselves belittleing in any way...

Nice thread, I like it..

[Nimble_Idea]

15. I am too, and I'm proud of it.

who says it's a bad word? some pukes? big deal.

[no name no slogan]

16. Hell yes I'm a liberal. So's John Kerry

I am also a progressive. I know that it is the system's responsibility to look out for the needs of EVERYONE-- that makes me a liberal.

I also know that the system itself needs to be fixed so that we don't have as many people who need to be taken care of by the system-- that makes me a progressive.

So yes, I am a liberal, and a progressive. Just like John Kerry. :D

[SSFFMMM]

17. Kick