Who's That Liberal?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Kristin said (one of my facebook commenters, and an occasional commenter here on Political Pistachio), "Just an observation that your default in describing anyone who disagrees is that they have adopted a 'liberal' view."

Really?

New York Times Bestselling author Orson Scott Card on The Political Pistachio Radio Revolution stated that he believes there should be more restrictions on gun ownership. To folks on the right, he said, that makes him some kind of liberal. He said he also believes in a strong national defense (and in fact he defended George W. Bush's war footing on the radio program), which makes liberals think he is some kind of right wing extremist.

An old friend of well over thirty years tells me he's a social liberal, and a fiscal conservative. While supporting the "choice of abortion," and the "right for gays to marry," he also believes Washington should cut spending and reduce taxes. He is struggling with the health care issue because, while he believes government should help out the uninsured in some way, he doesn't believe it should be done with a system that will endanger the private market, or increase an already out of control national debt.

What do you call these people who are liberal in some of their thinking, and fairly conservative on other issues? Are these those coveted moderates the politicians are too afraid to upset by taking a specific stance on something? And since these folks disagree with me on a few issues, are they just a bunch of liberals as Kristin suggests?

As George W. Bush essentially said when Cindy Sheehan was leading a protest out in front of his ranch while he was at Camp Davie, "Isn't this a great country, where we can protest the government, and even the president, if we so desire? I welcome all opinions."

Though I am not a huge fan of labels, I recognize their necessity for simplified clarification of political stances. By calling myself a conservative it is understood that I believe in a limited federal government, a value-based social issues policy, and place the United States Constitution in high regard and as the supreme law of the land. When my friend told me he is a social liberal, and a fiscal conservative, without having to explain his positions in detail, he relayed his feelings on the issues in simple terms.

So, to answer Kristin's question, and accusation, if someone disagrees with me on the core principles of an issue, considering that I am pretty conservative across the board, that would probably make that person a liberal on that issue. The remainder of their politics, at that point, would still remain to be debated. If they are a liberal, it would be safe to assume they believe in big government, do-what-you-want social issues policies, and consider the U.S. Constitution to be a living, breathing document that can be interpreted at will to mean whatever they desire.

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