OK, what's the difference between a Democrat and a liberal?

[napi21]

I've been on DU for a long time, and I always identified myself as a liberal, and the Pubs as conservatives. Now I hear Rove saying he didn't mean Dems, he meant liberals, and on Inside Politics, they talked about the Red bloggers saying how the Dems used to be afraid of the word liberal, and now they're rushing to it.

What's the real deal here?

[theboss]

1. Joe Lieberman and Robert Byrd are Democrats

They are not "liberal."

[TwilightZone]

2. And Ralph Nader is (most of the time) a liberal...

but he's not a Democrat.

[Roxy66]

10. Ralph Nader doesnt seem like either..I think he's a Nadercrat

[K-W]

3. Its pretty simple

Democrat - a member of the Democratic party
democrat - someone who supports democracy
liberal - someone who supports a specific, but certainly not completely defined, set of philosophical ideas generally relating to representative democracy and civil rights as a basis for law

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

4. Being a Democrat does not necessarily make you a liberal.

There are conservative Dems, and liberal Republicans (albeit very few of them). I consider myself a moderate liberal Democrat. Most mainstream Dems would probably fit the same mold. You have more conservative Dems like Lieberman and Byrd, and the more liberal ones like Ted Kennedy and Russ Feingold.

BTW, don't believe the hype, Rove meant Democrats when he made those remarks. He went after every mainstream liberal in America with his comments. He meant liberal, like Sean Hannity means liberal, when complaining about the "liberal obstructioinists in the Senate."

[TahitiNut]

5. I'm a liberal and not a Democrat. Zell Miller is a Democrat.

Enough said? :eyes: (Rove wasn't attacking Zell Miller!)

I'm a non-partisan liberal. I regard partisanship to be an inherent evil - a handy excuse to be politically brainless. If Zell Miller isn't enough of an example to prove that calling one's self a "Democrat" is ideologically vacuous and politically meaningless, I don't know what is. (Sheesh! And partisans wonder why average citizens regard the parties as virtually identical groups solely focused on competing for power and control!)

[napi21]

7. Thanks for answering my post, BUT ZELL isn't a liberal or a Dem!

I'd probably get this thread shut down if I told you what I think Zell is, but I'm from North Georgia, and I can't even mention his name without attaching some pornographic adjective preceding it!

[K-W]

8. Anyone who registers Democrat is a Democrat.

Confusing party labels with the ideologies they were taken from is always dangerous, just ask a communist how he feels about some of histories more famous Communist parties.

[Cleita]

6. I guess we're the Democrats who don't kiss Bush's ass. n/t

[dogday]

9. During the election, the Republicans called all Democrats Liberal

They have placed that label on the Democratic Party. That's what they call Democrats-Liberals... Plain and simple.... I assume their definition is anyone who does not believe like them are liberals....

[devilgrrl]

11. One claims to be liberal, the other actually is liberal

:shrug:

[Joey Liberal]

12. I'm a proud Liberal

To me, being a Liberal just means that I don't take any shit from the right wing wackos.

[zestfolly]

13. They describe two different things

"Democrat" describes member of a political party, "liberal" describes a political philosophy.