Forum Post: Lawrence O' Donnell on Liberalism-Interesting
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 23, 2011, 8:03 a.m. EST by uhandleit
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What did Liberals do that was so offensive to the Republican Party? I'll tell you what they did. Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and hence lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended racial segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act. Liberals passed the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicaire. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act. *Liberals passed the Clean Water Act. And what did CONSERVATIVES do? They OPPOSED Liberals on EVERY ONE of those things, EVERY ONE. So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, 'Liberal', as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, IT WON'T WORK, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor." Lawrence O'Donnell Jr.
That is an interesting comment, and it may point out the "moving targets" of the words "liberal/conservative" vs "republican/democrat." For example, Lincoln, a Republican, freed the slaves (though of course that was not his primary motivation). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was favored more by Republicans than by Democrats (House Repubs voted yea-nay 80%-20%, House Democrats 63%–37%; Senate Repubs 82%–18%, Senate Democrats 69%–31%). There used to be "liberal Republicans" and "conservative Democrats." I suppose that situation has changed quite a bit.
Yes, it has. Not only was there overlap between the parties on many issues, but they used to hang out together and be friends. That was stopped by Newt and DeLay to consolidate their power.
That is one reason why I hope OWS and the Tea Party do talk to each other, even if disagreement is the outcome. There are people of good will on both sides.