Progressive vs. Liberal vs. Democrat
An email from my friend Joe:
I've noticed that many democrats -- including you -- have moved away from the terms "liberal" and "democrat". The word "progressive" abounds now, but has a funny ring to it, especially when you try to phrase it as a noun: "progressivism" sounds like a hair loss disease, not a political ideology.Yes, the word "liberal" has been villified by our friends on the right. But that doesn't mean we should abandon it. If you want to redefine the democratic message, maybe the first step is to embrace the word "liberal" and reclaim it as your own. Besides, it's not as if the public is fooled by the switcheroo; a progressive is just a liberal who's afraid to admit that he's liberal, and Americans know that.
Better yet, why not just call it "democratic", to restate your subject line as "Pro-Labor Democrats"? The republicans have no problem calling themselves republicans; why are democrats so afraid of saying that they are democrats? I, for one, am both a democrat and a liberal. If you find that offensive, you can go fuck yourself. Now *that* is an attitude worth having. Just a thought.
I couldn't agree more.
There will be a couple of arguments against this. First, folks will say "Liberal" is an old and outdated notion of tax and spend. "Progressive" is the new and improved practical version of that. Eh...there's a grain of truth in that, but mostly, I think Joe nails it when he calls it a "switcheroo" that the American people won't buy.
Second, some might say the Democratic party isn't liberal, which frankly demonstrates precisely why we need to change how we talk about ourselves. We're not going to win by moving further and further right. We're going to win when America starts believing we actually have some convictions.
Additionally, an old boss used to say that third party folks need to realize that the only way they're really going to build a national progressive party is to take over the Democrats. I've always thought she was dead on.
So, to sum: When you want to say "Progressive," say "Liberal" instead. When you want to say "Liberal," say "Democrat" instead.
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...imagine what kind of a statement it would make if progressives everywhere dropped the Democrats... Read More
Read this:
http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/conservatism.html
It's long as hell, but worth the read. The section that applies to this post is titled "The Destruction of Language." Excerpt:
"Reason occurs mostly through the medium of language, and so the destruction of reason requires the destruction of language. An underlying notion of conservative politics is that words and phrases of language are like territory in warfare: owned and controlled by one side or the other. One of the central goals of conservatism, as for example with Newt Gingrich's lists of words, is to take control of every word and phrase in the English language.
"George Bush, likewise, owes his election in great measure to a new language that his people engineered for him. His favorite word, for example, is "heart". This type of linguistic engineering is highly evolved in the business milieu from which conservative public relations derives, and it is the day-to-day work of countless conservative think tanks."
One of the first words stolen by conservatives is "liberal." If you want to to use that word again for something positive, you'll either have to steal it back -- which means distracting millions of people away from Fox News long enough to hear and internalize your message, a pretty daunting and nigh impossible task. You need to realize that you must engage in psychological warfare just like the conservative think tanks, and nothing short of that will do the job. Of course, brainwashing has a somewhat evil connotation, and Democrats haven't shown a willingness to be that evil.
Another option is to get a new word. But while you're searching for it, don't choose a word that has a more negative connotation than the word you're replacing. Many people think "progressive" means "ultra-liberal." If you look at public opinion polls that gauge political views, "progressive" is on the far left, then "liberal," then "moderate," then "conservative." Progressive is like the "Nacho Cheesier" of liberal, and if the people are convinced that Doritos taste like shit, then adding more cheese isn't going to make it better.
The most effective word campaign starts with stealing the other side's *positive* words. After all, they've spent tons of capital to associate those words with something positive, and that's not easy for them to undo it. Here are a few words Bush has been using for positive effect: "democracy," "freedom," "liberty," and "justice." Pick one of those and take it away.