Call Them What They Are - Fascist Republicans and Liberal Democrats

May 10th 2006

Mussolini

Over the last 20 years the Republicans have worked hard to make liberal a bad word and have been successful to the point that few actual “liberals” will use that label to describe themselves. “Progressive” seems to be the most popular term, followed closely by “independent.” Liberal, however, shouldn’t be considered a bad word, and just because the Republicans have corrupted its meaning shouldn’t stop us from using it to describe us. It is our fault, though, for letting Republicans dictate the meaning of it and putting us on the defensive.

Maybe if the American public knew what liberal meant, they’d have an easier time distinguishing between what the Republicans say a liberal is and what an actual liberal is. From the Yahoo Reference site, the definition of liberal is:

Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry;
Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded;
Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism;
Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.

That doesn’t sound too bad to me. How does it sound to you? As I stated earlier, though, that’s not the definition that the American people think of when someone is branded a “Liberal” because of the way the Republicans have demonized the word. Comment on this article at our Forum

I think it is time, though, that the liberals start to fight fire with fire. I know that this is contrary to that whole “tolerant of ideas and behaviors of others” that is such a defining characteristic of us, but, folks, if you want your ideas to have a fair chance of being heard, you might want to consider this. It’s time that we start referring to the Republican Party and their leadership as what they truly are: fascists. The definition of a fascist, from Yahoo Reference, is:

Fascist An advocate or adherent of fascism.

A reactionary or dictatorial person.

Since Yahoo Reference isn’t kind enough to include as thorough a definition as it does for liberal, we’re going to have to include the definition of fascism, as well:

often Fascism

A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.

Oppressive, dictatorial control.

Now who does that sound like? To me it sure sounds like Bush and his brethren in Congress. In fact, if you look at their poll numbers, it appears that the American people have figured this out, as well. I’m willing to bet, however, that these so called “Conservatives” should be called fascists, instead.

This is a defining moment in America for liberals, progressives (you wimps), and anyone else that believes in tolerance and freedom from oppression. This is the time that we apply a little more order to our message and put in more of an effort to tell Americans what the Republican Party has become and how we differentiate ourselves from them. Sure, it’s not going to be as easy for us as it was for the fascists to get organized; they aren’t as independently minded as us. But we need to make a concerted effort if we have any desire to prevent this country from going completely fascist. We’re already teetering on the edge, and the last two appointments to the Supreme Court are going to do their best to hamper our efforts, but still we must try, especially with the upcoming elections.

If we can stand together and show what we stand for while showing what the fascists stand for and label them as such, we stand a good chance of making some progress in the next two elections towards righting this wrong course that the country is currently on.

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