“Conservatives should not play into liberals’ hands by allowing them to reinvent themselves as “progressives” because they know “liberal” is a pejorative term,” – Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)
During a nine-year stint in the hill country of Texas, my conservative political views were published there as letters to the editor and as op-eds. The Boerne Star graciously allowed me to present views counter to those expressed in a regular column written by Kendall County Democrats entitled, Progressive Views.
Representative Smith’s piece, “Two Words Conservatives Should Drop from Their Vocabulary,” in the Feb. 5, 2016 edition of Investor’s Business Daily, reminded me of similar columns I have written on this subject.
In a Oct. 27, 2009 letter to the editor of The Boerne Star I responded to Janice Shoemaker, who criticized conservatives for “befouling the word liberal to the point that many who possess the qualities of a liberal have abandoned the term in favor of the more palatable word, progressive.” I pleaded guilty, but disagree that the title “progressive” is more palatable.
“Conservatives love to label liberals for what they are because we know liberals aren’t proud of what they are,” I wrote in response, “Conservatives, on the other hand, are proud of what conservatism stands for; even the occasional tack-on label of ‘right wing’ doesn’t faze us.”
I poked fun of Shoemaker because she wrote that she consulted the dictionary to learn what it meant to be a liberal. I responded that it was quite simple – liberals support a dependency on government, higher taxes, redistribution of wealth, a weakness in national security, and religious intolerance.
Four months later, another contributor to the Progressive Views column, Kathy Banquo, wrote that she wore the “liberal” label as a badge of honor. I found it humorous that she, too, confessed that she had to turn to the dictionary for the meaning of “liberal.”
I referred both Shoemaker and Bandujo to Freidrich Hayek’s book, “The Road to Serfdom.”
This past week we were treated to socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders’ televised challenge of Hillary Clinton’s progressiveness. Hilarious.
Local Texas Democrats Richard Caldwell and Oak DeBerg were also critical of my reference to the “Democrat” Party rather than the Democratic Party. I do so because I don’t believe Democrats support the principles of a democracy. “Of the government” has replaced “we the people” in their Alinsky-inspired agenda.
Representative Smith also urged conservatives to drop the use of “mainstream media,” since they do not represent the views of most Americans. I agree. I generally refer to the “liberal or left-leaning New York Times,” and similarly label columnists who support Democrat views.
I had the pleasure of meeting the conservative Representative Smith several years ago, and appreciate his recognition that words of meaning.
