"What did liberals do that was so offensive to the Republican Party?

[ProfessionalLeftist]

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Kept FDR in the White House for 3+ terms, and scared the shit out of them.

That's it, right there.

[Simo 1939_1940]

2. Seems to me that Lawrence took a page from the JFK

playbook:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/jfk-nyliberal/

[defendandprotect]

54. +1 -- good to hear from O'Donnell ....

but I've never watched him or trusted him --

[Ken Burch]

63. If you've never watched him, how do you know you can't trust him?

...just wondering...

[defendandprotect]

64. I watched him briefly -- and he made various comments that made me

question him --

A fair weather friend in my estimation --


Should not have said "never" -- however, I remember him before he had the show --

would come upon him here and there as a guest. And would see something of his show

as the shows changed. Many here recommended his show -- and I did wach very

briefly.

[Ken Burch]

70. That makes sense.

I was wondering if you were going to say "he just gave off bad vibes, man!" or something like that.

Have a good week.

[defendandprotect]

73. No -- he made very specific comments that I thought were revealing ---

and didn't venture to say because I don't recall at this point -- but remember

commenting here at the time about those comments.

Are you a fan of his?

I'm glad that Ed Schultz had been moved into that spot -- I try to move back and

forth a bit each night between Olbermann and Schultz --

Think Schultz did a great job on Wisconsin -- both have done good work on OWS.

[Ken Burch]

82. I go back and forth on O'Donnell...but I always like this quote from him

That's all I got on this one.

[Tx4obama]

3. Here's the VIDEO ....

Matt Santos on the definition of Liberal

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVdz985HTJk


p.s. Video is an excerpt from an episode of 'The West Wing' - written by Lawrence O'Donnell

[FailureToCommunicate]

83. Thanks for the reminder of a great episode of WW!

[Tx4obama]

90. You're welcome. I hope EVERYONE watches the video :) n/t

[FailureToCommunicate]

98. I'll bet there are Republicans who'd LOVE to have a candidate like

the one Alan Alda portrayed in that West Wing season.

(Bradley Whitford's brother is our neighbor. We sometimes watched episodes together.)

[Mojeoux]

4. This is great ! But I have always wondered

what bug crawled up their butts. Like the Rand Paul fan who tackled a woman and held his knee on her neck, what's his friggin' problem? And the cheering at these debates has gotten really virulent and they seem to come from their darkest repulicorn fantasies.
I can't believe that they really see us as baby murderers and sinful sodomites of old. What is their big problem, really?

[pacalo]

5. Deep down they know their views are not acceptable, perhaps, & the only way to gain the upperhand

is to resort to childish name-calling, lies, & violence.

[Scuba]

8. Nailed it.

[janet118]

12. "I never did give anybody Hell.. . .

I just told the truth and they thought it was Hell." - Harry Truman

[Ship of Fools]

6. They're afraid of the fact that the white male is soon to become

the minority. That's what it ALL boils down to, imho.

[Mojeoux]

30. Man, those were the days, eh? They had it GOOD !

When the white man ruled the earth. Yuk

[crazylikafox]

39. Bingo. And they listen to Rushbo feed on that fear & hatred day after day.

[uponit7771]

103. Come on, stop spreading this...minority isn't an ethnicity...it scares them even more

[zalinda]

19. The problem is they are angry

Every single one of them will tell you about some 'slacker' who is making a bundle off of welfare, or getting unnecessary treatment from Medicaid. Every single one of them knows some one who won't take a job so they can stay on welfare or unemployment. Every single one of them knows that food stamps are traded for drugs. And, every single one of them knows that the government spends $600 on a hammer.

Of course, these stories are told over and over again and Fox News validates every single rumor. They cannot comprehend someone having too much money, or a corporation making too much profit. They cannot comprehend that they are victims of the rich, not the poor. What they can comprehend is poor people gaming the system, as they have all done it, in one way or another. I can guarantee you, that every single one of them has fudged on their income tax return, or worked a job under the table.

It is the anger that they are responding to, not the real meaning of the words. And so, this is why repubs are so particular in the words they use, and in the tone that they speak them. They overwhelm the intelligence, and focus on the primal senses.

zalinda

[FunMe]

23. Yet they let CORPORATE WELFARE continue ...

which are the big ticket items so to speak in our federal budget. It's the rich who have continued to STEAL our money and continue to be given CORPORATE WELFARE.

Instead, these so called conservatives care about the little money stolen instead of the majority of it stolen by the 1%.

[zalinda]

27. Because they can't comprend it.

How do you relate to what a lake is when you are only given a bottle of water and have never seen the lake? You can only relate when someone steals that bottle of water. I think that is the disconnect. Wealth to them is the guy who lives in town and owns 5 McDonald restaurants, and they know him. They see him around town. He is in their local paper, giving back to the community. So, wealth to them is not 'unequal'.

zalinda

[whathehell]

44. Bingo !

Their world is small.

[Volaris]

47. that, and the idea that most of them have (not all, mind you)

that Wealth and Material Prosperity is what God rewards them with for being completely terrified of their own Human Nature, and their total lack of understanding of what it is to be truly redeemed by what they claim to be an All-Loving Deity-Being.

[defendandprotect]

66. Plus, they were taught in their schools that capitalism is democracy -- !!

Whereas, just the reverse is the truth -- !!

Many still trust the Dem Party based on what FDR/New Deal did --

but those times are long gone and since then Koch Bros./DLC and Third Way

control the party!

[Mojeoux]

28. Thanks Z, your words are very illuminating

"They overwhelm the intelligence, and focus on the primal senses." That's one of the best I've read and it makes sense and accounts for the feeling of wavy heat lines in the air when they speak.

Like the false image of a mirage on a hot highway. There is no logic or continuity, just a mirage.

[louis-t]

40. Republicans cheer torture.

They can't run away from that by saying "it's not torture if we do it".

[defendandprotect]

58. It's them ... and it's the people they serve -- like the Koch Bros. ... who are notorious ....

Elites/patriarchy have always been at war with --

nature and women -- especially women as protectors of children --

homosexuals --

Anyone of color -- it's Biblical!


And they have only advanced thru violence --


And some suggest that Mary Shelley explained it in her "Frankenstein" -- !!

[Douglas Carpenter]

7. because they hate America

and they are committed to the radical secularist-Marxist Islamic fundamentalist, militant lesbian-feminist agenda

[housewolf]

9. Conservatives fear democracy

They are aristocratic and authoritarian. They believe the the upper classes are the rightful inheritors of governance.

The thing they fear the most is the "lower classes" influencing the electoral process and how the country is run.

That's why they've initiated all those voter-suppression initiatives recently.

[Enthusiast]

10. Nailed it.

[MsPithy]

18. Yes, yes, yes!

One step further, they think the rich are rich because God loves them. And, the poor have done something that offends God, therefore Conservatives need not lift a finger to help them.

[housewolf]

71. Yes! I'd forgotten that piece

Thanks for bringing it into the mix

[pasto76]

51. the puzzling part is why so many middle and lower income people vote Repub?!

dont think I'll ever be able to really figure out why people who are dirt poor and broke, working for minimum wage vote republican

[defendandprotect]

59. Recall one grandmotherly white woman telling me that the Dem Party ....

was the party of "blacks" and women -- !!

Couldn't respond to her because it was soon to be daughter-in-law's family, but

strange, indeed!

These were not people who were enormously wealthy --

But found two of the Jewish grandmothers found it easy enough to be anti-"black"

and/or "anti-feminism" -- !!

And, historically, Jews have a long history of liberalism --

And, Hebrew language is Afro-Asian -- !!

[Mnemosyne]

11. Breathing. n/t

[PurityOfEssence]

80. Exactly: they existed.

We understand that there are different points of view and all that, and we accept that we need to all get along. Reactionaries consider ANY contrary ideology to be a threat against civilization itself and something to be destroyed by any means.

It's quite simple.

That's why they see such a liberal bias in the media: the very idea that a news-reader could mention the term "abortion" without twisting the face into a disgusted grimace PROVES that the media is biased against them.

[Lugnut]

13. K&R n/t

[progressoid]

14. Rec.

[LongTomH]

15. K&R

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[redqueen]

16. Socialists helped.

A lot.

[russspeakeasy]

17. Their attitude seems to be the same as a lynch mob.

"I'm pissed and somebody is going to hang".

[Uncle Joe]

20. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, ProfessionalLeftist.

[Initech]

21. I think they're still mad about losing the civil war.

[AlbertCat]

42. I think they're still mad about losing the civil war.

So you think all Conservatives are from the South???

I assure you, more than 1/2 of conservatives don't even know when the Civil War was fought... or that Lincoln was a Republican.


George W. Bush.... from CT

Cheney....NE

Rummy.... IL

George H. W. Bush.... MA

Reagan.... IL

Nixon.... CA

Meanwhile...

Clinton... AR

Carter....GA


Anyway.... you get the idea... even though there are many "lesser players" of recent history who could reverse the list. Liberals and conservatives are from everywhere.... but ....

[Initech]

49. Considering their incredibly warped view of American history...

It definitely would if they didn't know those things. :rofl:

But I do know that not all conservatives are from the south. But I do see that mentality a LOT. There are assholes here in CA who fly the confederate flag. You'd think this was a progressive state.

[alp227]

92. both Bushes' political careers were from Texas.

(This is GHWB's Congressional portrait.)

Poppy Bush represented a Houston-area district in the USHOR during the '60s. George W. Bush was the governor of Texas during the late '90s. Cheney represented Wyoming in the House during the late '70s. This is an apples & oranges comparison; a more valid one would be where these people served not grew up.

And Reagan was governor of California from 1967-1975 and worked much of his professional life in that state as an actor.

[silverweb]

22. Awesome.

K&R

:kick:

[Metta]

24. The point is that they stand in the way of the crooks giving our money to their friends.

You know the rest.

[Yooperman]

25. Wow... brilliant! It's about time someone said this.

I have always said proudly that I am a liberal... but Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. explains in a few words why.

Thanks for sharing...

:toast:

[liberal from boston]

38. Wow...brilliant!

Exactly Yooperman. I am so sick of hearing some of my Republican friends sarcastically telling me that the Liberals are destroying America. My defense is to state how I am so proud to be a liberal & point out that Jesus was also a liberal!!!! Now it seems that it is a contest among Presidential candidates who can make the most cruel & outrageous comments.

[AlbertCat]

45. It's about time someone said this.

Joe Conason said it in his book "Big Lies" back in 2003.


Still a relevant book...

[dajoki]

26. K&R

[a2liberal]

29. K&R (n/t)

[City Lights]

31. K&R!

:loveya: Lawrence!

[Puregonzo1188]

32. It's worth mentioning that liberals only did those things because they felt pushed to do so

by socialists, communists, anarchists, and other radical emancipatory movements.

[defendandprotect]

68. +1000% -- k/r

[Mz Pip]

33. Liberals win elections sometimes

Conservatives don't like to lose, ever. Liberals don't like to lose either but are more likely to take it in stride as part of the ebbs of flows that occure in a democracy. Conservatives don't see it that way. They want permanent control of the government always and forever.

[defendandprotect]

69. Maybe computers win elections sometimes .... !!

Computers have been with us since late 1960's --

I'd question every election back to Nixon/Humphrey!

[certainot]

34. by ignoring talk radio the left has allowed 1000 radio stations to distort that history

many hate liberals because team limbaugh's been getting a free speech free ride

the last 20 years there's been blowhards on every corner yelling librals are traitors and thieves and whores and the left has been walking by with their iPods in their ears.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Blue_Tires]

52. +1

[Hippo_Tron]

62. The issue goes way back before talk radio

The liberals are traitors meme was really popularized by Joe McCarthy. And although he was viewed mostly as a drunken clown by his contemporaries, and shamed at the end of his career, his legacy still very much lives on.

[certainot]

86. yeah but the difference the last 20 yrs is 1000 coordinated radio stations invisible to the left

[oldhippydude]

87. yep

and the john birch socioty picked up where he stopped.. all these years they have been in the cold, Goldwater wanted nothing to do with them..Bush and fokkks brought them roaring back..

[Tumbulu]

91. You are 100% correct (nt)

[uponit7771]

101. +1

[DirkGently]

35. & besides the aforementioned opposition to every social advance in history, conservatives have done?

Supported all the ill-advised wars?
Fought science?
Tried to force their religion into the classroom and women's bodies?
Stood up for the big guy over the little guy, every time?
Threatened & used violence for everything they have championed?

Why we even have to have this discussion, I don't know. But good job anyway, Lawrence.

[bongbong]

37. Good job

Here's another ancient (in Internet years) essay from the Net:

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging Liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie Liberal fought to insure their safety and efficacy. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some Liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, and Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man Liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is labeled with each ingredient and its amount because some crybaby Liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko Liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting.

He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and other fees because some fancy-pants Liberal fought for affordable public transit which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his workday. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy Liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he will get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid Liberal did not think he should lose his home because of temporary misfortune.

Its noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is insured by a Federal Agency because some godless Liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market student loan because some elitist Liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating Liberal fought for car safety standards. The highway Joe is driving on is there because Franklin Roosevelt started the Interstate system.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Admin because bankers did not want to make rural loans. The house did not have electricity until some big-government Liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating Liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe would not have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that Liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He does not mention that the Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees, "We don't need those big government Liberals ruining our lives. After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have!"

He posts these opinions on the Internet, which got its initial funding and push through the efforts of a wimpy Liberal in the Senate.

In the years to come, Joe's life will change dramatically. The U.S. dollar will be devalued as a result of our huge deficit that republican presidents created, our living standards demolished, our standing with the world diminished and our social security gone. All because some republican government officials made sure they could help themselves and their already-rich buddies get even richer on the backs of American taxpayers using the excuse of "Free Markets", which in reality is just corporate socialism.

[Populist_Prole]

41. Wonderful bongbong

Perfectly stated head scratching ( or bashing one's head against the wall in frustration ) non-sequitur

Sure, there are ideologues who are not only "true believers" usually due to corporate greasing or religious extremism, but for too many consider themselves conservative for no valid reason. Your 'Joe Republican' is a perfect example: Were one not to know the title of the missive, and as one reads down through the missive, one would likely conclude 'Joe' is a moderate or apolitical. The jarring non-sequitur at the end is baffling; I mean, even if all there ever was to listen to was right wing talk radio: wouldn't people say ( in so many words ) "Hey, this is bullshit, not at all reflective of what I've seen actually transpire" and reject it?

Why would some otherwise apolitical seek to be willingly uninformed? Within that group I can only surmise it has to do with slick marketing of identity politics, or appeal to authority, such as 'wolfwolf' alluded to in a post above.

[rhett o rick]

43. And yet this admin distances itself from the liberals. nm

[Raine]

46. Yes. The same question could be asked "what did liberals do that was so offensive to Democrats"

because they sure want to distance themselves from the liberal wing of the party. Democrats often act like they are ashamed to be associated with their liberal supporters. x( :mad:

[rhett o rick]

50. I contend that those of whom you speak are not real Democrats. They are conservatives disquised

as Democrats. DINO's, the Third Way. DLC etc. If you ask them how they differ from the left, they refuse to answer.

[davidwparker]

48. Amen. Amen. Amen.

:toast:

[RagAss]

53. We asked Mr. Scrooge if we could leave early on Christmas Eve.

Motherfuckers !

[bigmonkey]

55. For some conservatives, a world run according to liberal values doesn't fit their skill set.

Namely skills like lying, flattery and sycophancy, unthinking faith, looking away from difficulty, blind loyalty, and conspiracy to defraud others. I don't actually mean this as a snark, it's been striking me more and more that some conservatives are not adapted to follow liberal values, and those values hamper the abilities they use to cope with life. My quandary is that it makes me wonder if I'm being illiberal in thinking that about them.

[Zoeisright]

56. PERFECT.

Nothing else needs to be said.

[Contrary1]

57. Liberals can also think for themselves...

They need no Limbaughs, O'Reillys, Becks, or Coulters to educate them as to what they are supposed to feel about issues.

[Bryn]

88. or Preachers!

[Bunny]

60. I like that, I should put it on my facebook.

[jmowreader]

61. Our very existence is reason enough for most of them

[midnight]

65. Thank you liberals....

[tavalon]

67. I doubt his real credentials as a lberal

Look closely at that receding hairline of his. Do you see any tire tracks? I don't. And every true blue liberal I've met since Obama took office, has tire tracks on their heads and a stunned look on their faced. He has neither. He's not been thrown under the bus. All of the real liberals have been and remain, under the bus.

[undeterred]

72. Clean air, clean water, and voting suck.

:sarcasm:

[DissedByBush]

74. All true, except the black vote

Back then the Republicans were the crusaders against slavery, fighting for the recognition of blacks as citizens.

Back then the Democratic Party was the party of the KKK.

The role reversal since then has been amazing.

The Republican Southern Strategy worked, cleansing the Democratic Party of the racists.

[ThoughtCriminal]

79. Note: The post says "Liberals" not Democrats" - nm

[DissedByBush]

97. He also said that vs. Republicans

Not all of whom are conservative.

[Sportsguy]

75. Maybe This Guy Should Run For Office

Seriously. K & R!

[Dutchmaster]

76. knr

[lonestarnot]

77. Yes. Those!

:thumbsup: Lawrence!

[Mosaic]

78. He Sold Out

He is a suit wearing, corporate bought, faux liberal. I thought he was a Socialist? WTF, now he's a liberal? Come on the corporate media uses this guy to get us to listen to their crafted propaganda.

If you don't believe me, catch a YouTube of him calling the Democratic Party the Democrat Party, just as msnbc's other fake liberal Chris Matthews does all the time. They do it out in the open, wake up!

msnbc/ge/comcast is part of the hated MIC, always keep that in mind.

[AtheistCrusader]

89. There's also at least one glaring error in that litany.

And it ignores the shift of the dixiecrats to the republican party after the 64 CRA.

So, its sort of a mess.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

95. That's probably why he said "liberal" and not Democrat.

Because the issue to which you refer WAS split down liberal versus conservative lines. Heck, there were even a few moderate repugs signing on who would be commie pinko liberals by today's standards.

[AtheistCrusader]

104. A few?

Vote totals

Totals are in "Yea-Nay" format:
The original House version: 290-130 (69%–31%).
Cloture in the Senate: 71-29 (71%–29%).
The Senate version: 73-27 (73%–27%).
The Senate version, as voted on by the House: 289-126 (70%–30%).

By party

The original House version:<13>
Democratic Party: 152-96 (61%-39%)
Republican Party: 138-34 (80%-20%)

Cloture in the Senate:<14>
Democratic Party: 44-23 (66%–34%)
Republican Party: 27-6 (82%–18%)

The Senate version:<13>
Democratic Party: 46-21 (69%–31%)
Republican Party: 27-6 (82%–18%)

The Senate version, voted on by the House:<13>
Democratic Party: 153-91 (63%–37%)
Republican Party: 136-35 (80%–20%)



It was more a north versus south issue, than a left versus right.Without overwhelming republican support, it would not have passed.

But, here also lies a signpost that marks a drastic rightward-lurch of the Republican party in the aftermath of the vote.

[Cresent City Kid]

81. We "rewarded" the "undeserving".

Any effort to limit the benefits of the winners or to limit the suffering of the losers is counter to their version of human nature.

[applegrove]

84. The GOP made liberal a dirty word because liberals won the cold war.

[provis99]

85. yet he's also denied he's a liberal.

He likes to bash liberals like Glenn Greenwald, and usually refers to himself as a socialist, not a liberal.

[alp227]

93. RW propaganda: "But but but...the REPUBLICANS freed the slaves and ended segregation!"

"And...look at all those racist white Democrats such as Sen. Strom Thurmond who filibustered the Civil Rights Act! Robert Byrd was once in the KKK! Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus insisted on segregating schools!"

If you hear people say that, respond with these facts.

Back in Lincoln's time, the Republican party was the left-wing party while the Democratic Party was in the right.

Of course in the same breath of mentioning Thurmond those cons also diss the anti-racist views of real liberal Democrats like Ted Kennedy. Furthermore, look at the real vote totals (NY Times, "Civil Rights Bill Passed, 73-27; Johnson Urges All To Comply; Dirksen Berates Goldwater"):

Voting for the bill were 46 Democrats and 27 Republicans. Voting against it were 21 Democrats and six Republicans.

Except for Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, all the Democratic votes against the bill came from Southerners.

Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona voted against the bill, as he said yesterday he would. The five other Republicans opposing it all support Mr. Goldwater's candidacy for the Republican Presidential nomination.

While Republican support for the bill did block a filibuster, most Democrats in the 1964 senate voted for the CRA.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

94. k and r

[Old and In the Way]

96. Because we aren't anti-socialists.

We can run socialist institutions like government...they can't. And sadly, too many anti-socialists aren't smart enough to figure that out.

[No Joe]

99. Liberals THOUGHT. And continue to THINK.

Wingnuts can't stand that!

[AsahinaKimi]

100. Kicking

too late to rec it..but this is a great statement. Take that FOX NEWS, baka tare!

[DCofVA]

102. Proud liberal since 1980

Never faltered once. Not even when I was stuck on that bus full of drunks (America in 2003) who were calling me, anti-American for not supporting the stupid war.