What’s in a Name?
The term “Liberal” in the mainstream media….. Just what does it mean”?
From the Chicago Sun times:
Liberal Democrats, who now extol the filibuster to protect minorities, were in the forefront advocating strict majority rule through most of my nearly 48 years as a reporter covering Congress.
This was a statement by Robert Novak, columnist and regular on CNN, where he regularly refers to “liberals” with a rather disdainful tone.
Searching for a definition of liberal on the web, using google, the following was offered up:
Definitions of liberal on the Web:
broad: showing or characterized by broad-mindedness; "a broad political stance"; "generous and broad sympathies"; "a liberal newspaper"; "tolerant of his opponent's opinions"
having political or social views favoring reform and progress
tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition
a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties
big: given or giving freely; "was a big tipper"; "the bounteous goodness of God"; "bountiful compliments"; "a freehanded host"; "a handsome allowance"; "Saturday's child is loving and giving"; "a liberal backer of the arts"; "a munificent gift"; "her fond and openhanded grandfather"
a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets
free: not literal; "a loose interpretation of what she had been told"; "a free translation of the poem"
I would like to ask Mr. Novak which of the above definitions he would accept as ‘liberal’, the kind that he treats with contempt….
A survey of the definitions suggests, at least in political terms, that to show contempt for the term liberal, and to use it so liberally (pun intended) leads to contempt for the following values:
Tolerance
Progress
Reform
Sympathy
Empathy
Civil Liberties
It also shows a lack of understanding of the term, because according to the definition, Robert Novak subscribes, in part to the very values that he disdains! :
Favouring laissez faire economics and self-regulating markets
From Novak also came this
Syndicated columnist and CNN host Robert D. Novak accused Representative Darlene Hooley (D-OR) of hypocrisy for expressing concern about the lack of armor for U.S. troops in Iraq after -- as he claimed falsely -- she voted against funding the war. On the December 11 edition of CNN's The Capital Gang, regular panel member Novak called Hooley "a knee-jerk liberal and professional politician" and stated: "It's a definition of hypocrisy to complain about lack of armor on trucks after voting against giving the troops any trucks at all."
The term “knee Jerk Liberal” cannot be used with anything but contempt… Again, however Novak leaves us hanging as to what it is he has contempt for….
On the July 28 edition of CNN's Crossfire, co-host Robert Novak fell in line with the Republican National Committee and other conservative pundits when he said the following to Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR): "Your ticket is the most liberal member of the Senate, [Senator John] Kerry, and the fourth most liberal, [Senator John] Edwards. Do you check your principles at the door when you're supporting a ticket like that?"
And again, without referencing what he means by the term “liberal”, we are left with the understanding that the term is a very naughty one to have hung around your neck… A proverbial noose that guarantees that you will hang yourself, in effect committing political suicide with the American electorate.
Perhaps at the end of the day, the sad truth of the matter is that the term has become one of myth, which is simply used to make a politician look bad from the view point of columnists. A rose by any other name…..
