Oh Please

Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman said a litany of comments by Democratic elected officials and their liberal allies underscored Rove’s point. “It is outrageous,” he said, “that the same Democratic leaders who refused to repudiate or criticize Dick Durbin’s slandering of our military are now attacking Karl Rove for stating the facts. . . . Karl didn’t say the Democratic Party. He said liberals.”

I think the thing that gets me the most is this kind of insulting nonsense, particularly after enduring years of snotty whining about “what the definition of is, is.”

For the record, the president ran entire campaign last year on the premise that the Democratic party’s nominee was a liberal. He was chosen, pretty much without challenge after February, by Democrats throughout the land. More people voted for him than any Democratic nominee in history. I know it seems like years ago, but it was only eight months ago that the president was saying this sort of thing every single day on the stump:

THE PRESIDENT:My opponent now has a running mate. I look forward to a spirited debate. Senator Kerry is rated as the most liberal member of the Senate, and he chose a fellow lawyer who is the fourth most liberal member of the Senate. Back in Massachusetts, that’s what they call balancing the ticket. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: There is a mainstream in American politics and John Kerry sits on the far left bank. (Applause.) He can run from his liberal philosophy, but he cannot hide. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: But you’re not going to have fiscal sanity if John Kerry is the President. He’s been the most liberal member of the United States Senate, which means he likes to spend your money. That’s what that means. Now, he can try to run from his record, but I’m not going to let him hide. (Applause.)

He isn’t the only one:

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: On the core values of this great country, it’s a choice between our President, who has advocated and supported these values throughout his career, and his opponent, who is the most liberal member of the United States Senate.

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY:But the problem has been, frankly, that the Senate Democrats including Senators Kerry and Edwards — have consistently supported that filibuster that kept Bill Myers off the 9th Circuit; kept Priscilla Owens, of Texas, from getting to the floor for a vote; it kept Charles Pickering, from Mississippi, from getting to the floor for a vote. Anybody that might disagree with their liberal philosophy isn’t allowed to come up to a vote on the floor of the Senate, and that’s wrong. (Applause.)

JOHN MCCAIN: And someday, the Democrats will be in the majority. And then the scenario would be, a liberal Democrat president, liberal Democrat judges-liberal judges, and great damage.

You can go to the link and find scores of quotes from Republicans in which liberal and Democrat are interchangeable and which it is claimed that John Kerry the nominee of the Democratic party for president is an extreme liberal. I think it’s pretty clear that when they are talking about “liberals” they are talking about the Democratic party.

And that’s just fine with me. The Republicans wear their “conservative” label with pride and go out of their way to claim it. It’s one of their strengths. We, on the other hand, run from the name they have turned into an all around epithet for their political opposition. There’s no getting away from it — that is a fantasy — so we might as well embrace it. I never stopped.

lib·er·al

1. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
2. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
3. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.
4. 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.

Karl Rove was talking about the Democratic Party. If Ken Mehlman wants to start distinguishing among us then it’s time to name names. Just who are the “liberals” who wanted to give bin Laden therapy?

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