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Lawrence O'Donnell: Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives (Original Post) iluvtennis May 2017 OP
Rec for the Greatest page and bookmarking. emulatorloo May 2017 #1
I am praying he gets to stay! FM123 May 2017 #2
You and me both! n/t Different Drummer May 2017 #3
Fire him,good ratings and knows his stuff...geez,if they took OReilly...drips w pretentious hate Alice11111 May 2017 #59
I adore this man jodymarie aimee May 2017 #4
I do, too. athena May 2017 #17
I like him too SCantiGOP May 2017 #28
I love him too and he is sooooooooooooooooo good looking !!!! trueblue2007 May 2017 #49
he is 67 years young jodymarie aimee May 2017 #55
And liberals continue to defend J_William_Ryan May 2017 #5
Right. Liberal founding fathers enshrined the concept of equality Hortensis May 2017 #60
but liberals have been losing the last 30 years because they have been certainot May 2017 #64
K&R for greatest exposure! n/t Different Drummer May 2017 #6
The first on the list is a testament to how far the GOP has fallen loyalsister May 2017 #7
Ya but...Lincoln freed the slaves and he was a Republican!!111!! progressoid May 2017 #8
That's 'cause Lincoln was a liberal. Iggo May 2017 #9
That was the last good thing Republicans did world wide wally May 2017 #13
Teddy Roosevelt did alot of good things, Crunchy Frog May 2017 #20
Those guys wouldn't make it in today's GOP. progressoid May 2017 #27
Nixon also saddled white anger in the south... paleotn May 2017 #34
Nixon hardly established the EPA. argyl May 2017 #42
Thank you for the reminder. (nt) klook May 2017 #57
I find it hilarious that they have to go back that far to find someone compassionate in their party. progressoid May 2017 #26
that would be the Radical Republicans paleotn May 2017 #32
republicans were the socially liberal party at that time, so O'Donnel is correct here. nt TheFrenchRazor May 2017 #35
Some conservative idiot Proud liberal 80 May 2017 #10
So we tell them it is not about parties. parties switch..... It is about liberal vs right wingers... pangaia May 2017 #19
precisely; the important thing is about lib vs. consrv ideology, not party labels. nt TheFrenchRazor May 2017 #36
Got that right.props @ Lawrence irisblue May 2017 #11
K&R nt ProudProgressiveNow May 2017 #12
Great one! elleng May 2017 #14
Matt Santos Johnny Noshoes May 2017 #39
Right. That was a GREAT debate. elleng May 2017 #41
I knew that I had heard that quote before. Stonepounder May 2017 #50
Way recommended. H2O Man May 2017 #15
I've often measured the difference as to what pisses the party members off, respectively mnmoderatedem May 2017 #16
He forgot one: Liberals founded America. Towlie May 2017 #18
Now there's a button I'd wear on my jacket! eleny May 2017 #21
The Declaration of Independence is the "birth certificate" of liberalism. lastlib May 2017 #37
The GOP is nothing but a death cult masquerading as Christian patriots and defenders of freedom . geretogo May 2017 #22
Liberals got women the right to vote? oberliner May 2017 #23
The National American Woman Suffrage Movement got women the right to vote bhikkhu May 2017 #47
Amen! mcar May 2017 #24
kick & recommended. William769 May 2017 #25
Love O'Donnell but he is incorrect about the civil rights bill of 1964 grantcart May 2017 #29
He said liberal not dem LostinRed May 2017 #31
it's misleading and still not accurate. grantcart May 2017 #38
Memorizing this LostinRed May 2017 #30
Liberals are egalitarian and conservatives are not egalitarian is PufPuf23 May 2017 #33
Ironically, that's pretty-much the intro to the Gettysburg Address. Towlie May 2017 #43
Cool. I did not know that or perhaps PufPuf23 May 2017 #46
Liberals believe that people are basically good bhikkhu May 2017 #48
I agree your take on basic differences between liberals and conservatives. PufPuf23 May 2017 #54
Amen!!!!!! Initech May 2017 #40
I don't know that we've ever had as big a difference between the parties IronLionZion May 2017 #44
Conservatives supported slavery Dawson Leery May 2017 #45
Yeah, but you have to attack the word conservative instead of defending the word liberal Awsi Dooger May 2017 #51
Ditto! +100% n/t mazzarro May 2017 #56
Good post - call out conservatism klook May 2017 #62
Also liberals like to think for themselves. cstanleytech May 2017 #52
EVERY. F*CKING. DAY!!! YES! eom Lyricalinklines May 2017 #53
Mahalo, iluvtennis, for LO'D's the Difference between Liberals and Cons Cha May 2017 #58
I believe Soxfan58 May 2017 #61
Saving image so I can dump it on every poster on FB who calls me a libtard. Nt onlyadream May 2017 #63
Yes Morrakiu May 2017 #65
The principle is much simpler: DuaneBidoux May 2017 #66
I don't get it. What's the "circle?" Gidney N Cloyd May 2017 #67
Did you get that backward? I think liberals want to include more people, conservatives the reverse Dorn May 2017 #69
Actually gothe that backwards... DuaneBidoux May 2017 #70
One of the many horrid things Reagon did was to 1984 the word liberal Dorn May 2017 #68

athena

(4,187 posts)
17. I do, too.
Sun May 28, 2017, 05:16 PM
May 2017

I have, ever since I saw him on the McLaughlin Show over a decade ago. He has always been a true liberal with a clear and consistent message.

J_William_Ryan

(1,748 posts)
5. And liberals continue to defend
Sun May 28, 2017, 03:44 PM
May 2017

the right to privacy, the right to vote, clean water, clean air, Social Security, and Medicare from reckless, irresponsible, and unwarranted attacks by conservatives.

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
60. Right. Liberal founding fathers enshrined the concept of equality
Mon May 29, 2017, 05:54 AM
May 2017

in our government -- against the opposition of most conservatives.

Liberals created government of, by and for the people -- against the opposition of most conservatives.

 

certainot

(9,090 posts)
64. but liberals have been losing the last 30 years because they have been
Mon May 29, 2017, 08:34 AM
May 2017

ignoring the right's best weapon.

reagan killed the fairness doctrine in 87, they bought up 1000 of the loudest radio stations on the planet, put limbaugh on most of them for free and since then they have all been selling the same lies - free market trickle down, deregulating media (or anything) lowers cost, environmental regulation increases cost, brown people are voting illegally so we need voter ID/suppression, electronic voting makes it safer, single payer doesnt work, corporations are people, unions put as much money in politics as corporations, liberal media, and liberals/dems are whores, liars and their ideas are treasonous.

and a 95% monopoly means americans much prefer limbaugh/hannity/savage ignorance lies and hate to liberal radio.....

to 50 mil a week for 30 years

and liberals just walked by listening to music

talk radio is the only major medium with NO political counterpart that's easy and free in 40 states with 80 senators, and the rcons are now one state legislature away from being able to call for a constitutional convention

democrats have been getting their ass kicked for no reason except they ignore talk radio

loyalsister

(13,390 posts)
7. The first on the list is a testament to how far the GOP has fallen
Sun May 28, 2017, 03:45 PM
May 2017

Liberal republican women led the charge in the suffrage movement.

paleotn

(17,883 posts)
34. Nixon also saddled white anger in the south...
Sun May 28, 2017, 06:32 PM
May 2017

over civil rights and rode that pony to victory in '68 and '72. Maybe not the epitome of evil like Elf Sessions, but I wouldn't call tricky progressive by any definition of the word. He did propose the EPA, but vetoed the Clean Water Act. Thankfully, the House and Senate voted to override Nixon's veto.

argyl

(3,064 posts)
42. Nixon hardly established the EPA.
Sun May 28, 2017, 07:17 PM
May 2017

The Clean Air Act was established in 1963 and strengthened in 1965 by the first pollution limits on automobiles, the Solid Waste Disposal Act was passed in 1965 and the Clean Water Restoration Act was passed in 1966.
And in 1967 the Secretary of Health Education and Welfare, John Gardner, commissioned a Task Force on Environmental Health and Related Problems. It went to Congress with 34 recommendations, the last ten calling for NEPA.
In 1969 when Nixon assumed office the nation would be shocked by two environmental catastrophes, the oil well blowouts off the coast of Santa Barbara and the Cuyahoga River catching fire off Cleveland. The people were demanding laws protecting the environment.
The bill was hashed out in Congress and Nixon signed it Jan.1st, 1970.
The Johnson administration also signed into law the Wilderness Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

paleotn

(17,883 posts)
32. that would be the Radical Republicans
Sun May 28, 2017, 06:19 PM
May 2017

....They eliminated their liberal wing by the time Hayes became president. There wasn't another significant reformer from the Republican ranks until TR. And after that.....virtually none. Now northern Republicans did help end the filibuster over the '65 civil rights act. But then there was that whole southern strategy bit in '68 and '72. It seems every time you the Republicans try to do something decent, they immediately lapse back into reactionary asshole mode. It's written in their DNA.

Proud liberal 80

(4,167 posts)
10. Some conservative idiot
Sun May 28, 2017, 04:36 PM
May 2017

Will chime in to that tweet and say that democrats were the party of slavery, Jim Crow, and the KKK while Republicans freed the slaves and voting rights and blah blah blah, deliberately confusing political ideology with political party.

elleng

(130,732 posts)
14. Great one!
Sun May 28, 2017, 05:12 PM
May 2017

Did he write this for The West Wing, dialogue/speech by President Josiah Bartlett or Candidate Matt Santos?

Johnny Noshoes

(1,977 posts)
39. Matt Santos
Sun May 28, 2017, 06:57 PM
May 2017

It was Santos' reply to something GOP candidate Arnie Vinick said during their free form debate.

Stonepounder

(4,033 posts)
50. I knew that I had heard that quote before.
Sun May 28, 2017, 11:52 PM
May 2017

I Googled it and sure enough it was from the West Wing. And then I looked up the episode and found out that it was written by O'Donnell. He is a national treasure and wherever he lands I will find him and listen to him!

H2O Man

(73,506 posts)
15. Way recommended.
Sun May 28, 2017, 05:14 PM
May 2017

Way, way, way recommended, in fact.

He's my favorite journalist.

Thank you for this.

mnmoderatedem

(3,722 posts)
16. I've often measured the difference as to what pisses the party members off, respectively
Sun May 28, 2017, 05:14 PM
May 2017

I mean what get the respective bases downright infuriated.

Liberals get pissed off over thing like unnecessary wars being started and innocents being killed and soldiers coming home in coffins to the benefit of the oil elite.

Conservatives get pissed off over the prospect of their taxes going up. They could care lees over the war thing, as long as they don't have to fight it.

lastlib

(23,152 posts)
37. The Declaration of Independence is the "birth certificate" of liberalism.
Sun May 28, 2017, 06:50 PM
May 2017
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

geretogo

(1,281 posts)
22. The GOP is nothing but a death cult masquerading as Christian patriots and defenders of freedom .
Sun May 28, 2017, 05:35 PM
May 2017

These are the hypocrites Jesus spoke of 2000 years ago . They make me sick .

bhikkhu

(10,711 posts)
47. The National American Woman Suffrage Movement got women the right to vote
Sun May 28, 2017, 08:45 PM
May 2017

...or at least deserves the majority of the credit. It was not by any stretch a conservative organization, though, as a single-issue campaign they didn't promote a broader liberal agenda. Even so, it was a fundamentally liberal goal, and the writing and work they did went on to directly inspire the civil rights movement and liberal feminism.

Its fair to say that liberals got women the right to vote.

grantcart

(53,061 posts)
29. Love O'Donnell but he is incorrect about the civil rights bill of 1964
Sun May 28, 2017, 06:04 PM
May 2017

It was passed by a higher percentage of Republican Congressman and Senators than Democratic ones.

The filibuster in the Senate was broken by Dirksen.

Obviously things changed after 1968.

grantcart

(53,061 posts)
38. it's misleading and still not accurate.
Sun May 28, 2017, 06:56 PM
May 2017

This wasn't an ideological vote but a geographic one. Conservatives and liberals in the north supported it at roughly the same rate (85-95%). Only 1 Southerner (Yarborough) did. Liberals like Fulbright voted against it. A lot of Northern conservatives voted for it.

PufPuf23

(8,755 posts)
33. Liberals are egalitarian and conservatives are not egalitarian is
Sun May 28, 2017, 06:24 PM
May 2017

the basis of a useful rule.


e·gal·i·tar·i·an

[iˌɡaləˈterēən]

ADJECTIVE

of, relating to, or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities:
"a fairer, more egalitarian society"

NOUN

a person who advocates or supports egalitarian principles.

Towlie

(5,318 posts)
43. Ironically, that's pretty-much the intro to the Gettysburg Address.
Sun May 28, 2017, 07:55 PM
May 2017

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to ... egalitarianism!"

PufPuf23

(8,755 posts)
46. Cool. I did not know that or perhaps
Sun May 28, 2017, 08:43 PM
May 2017

long ago the Gettysburg Address oozed into my brain in school.

Egalitarianism as a rule to categorize is a simple and relatively straightforward judgement, albeit black and white.

bhikkhu

(10,711 posts)
48. Liberals believe that people are basically good
Sun May 28, 2017, 08:52 PM
May 2017

and that personal freedom, equality and opportunity lead naturally to a healthy and prosperous nation.

Conservatives believe that people are basically bad, dishonest and lazy, and all sorts of measures of control, coercion and hierarchies of power (essentially structural inequality of limited rights) are necessary to prevent a disordered societal collapse.

IronLionZion

(45,380 posts)
44. I don't know that we've ever had as big a difference between the parties
Sun May 28, 2017, 07:57 PM
May 2017

as we do now. Anyone who claims both parties are the same, no point voting, etc. is definitely trying to discourage us to help the Republicans.

Our worst Democrats are usually better than their best Republicans.

Dawson Leery

(19,348 posts)
45. Conservatives supported slavery
Sun May 28, 2017, 08:15 PM
May 2017

Conservatives supported apartheid
Conservatives supported overthrowing democratically elected governments
Conservatives opposed dealing with Nazi Germany
Conservatives opposed seat belts
Conservatives opposed civil rights

 

Awsi Dooger

(14,565 posts)
51. Yeah, but you have to attack the word conservative instead of defending the word liberal
Mon May 29, 2017, 12:06 AM
May 2017

Otherwise we're constantly on the defensive. It's been that way for decades and it's incomparably pathetic. That's what the right savors and more often than not they succeed. Even a basic dig like saying Democrat instead of Democratic gets under our skin.

I take the offensive on political sites of sports forums. Those forums are overwhelmingly far right and flooded with Trump supporters. I call them SAM or Simplistic Angry Males. They can't stand it. Really can't stand it. But the one they react to most is when I write that the new first rule of politics is...Never Prevent a Conservative from Sounding Like a Conservative. Whenever there's a moronic post from a righty I'll drop in those 9 words. They react as a block. I'm not saying it's great but apparently they are so unfamiliar with conservatism being mocked that they become unhinged and don't know how to react, other than slobbering words that normally prompt me to paste the 9 words again.

Wonderful fun.

I have no idea why we've never run a major campaign defining conservatism for what it really is, and how it has performed over the decades. That's supposed to be the idea...attack the perceived strength and when that crumbles the remainder is cupcakes.

klook

(12,151 posts)
62. Good post - call out conservatism
Mon May 29, 2017, 08:08 AM
May 2017

for the hodgepodge of simplistic, selfish, cruel hypocrisies that it is.

Would make a good OP.

cstanleytech

(26,236 posts)
52. Also liberals like to think for themselves.
Mon May 29, 2017, 12:35 AM
May 2017

Conservatives would rather be told what to think because the thought of trying to do it on their own scares the shit out of them.

Soxfan58

(3,479 posts)
61. I believe
Mon May 29, 2017, 07:12 AM
May 2017

Part of that was in the season 7 debate ep. of The West Wing. Which I believe Mr O'Donnell was a writer on.

DuaneBidoux

(4,198 posts)
66. The principle is much simpler:
Mon May 29, 2017, 11:11 AM
May 2017

I once heard a sermon at my Unitarian church where the pastor said that "the fundamental difference between a conservative and a liberal is that conservatives always try to make the circle bigger and liberals always try to make it smaller."

Everything else is nothing but an inevitable manifestation of these philosophies on the part of both groups.

Dorn

(523 posts)
69. Did you get that backward? I think liberals want to include more people, conservatives the reverse
Mon May 29, 2017, 01:18 PM
May 2017

So if the circle is a happy fulfilled lived conservative don't / didn't want women or minorities to vote, they don't want gays to marry, they don't want the poor to have health care, they don't want teachers to have unions. I see myself wanting more people inside the circle and fewer outside, my conservative relatives want the reverse.

Dorn

(523 posts)
68. One of the many horrid things Reagon did was to 1984 the word liberal
Mon May 29, 2017, 01:13 PM
May 2017

Thank you Lawrence, your message is well written.

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