What Does "Unabashed Liberal" Mean?

[Stephanie]

Why is the term "liberal" so often qualified with "unabashed"? It's ubiquitous in the media and it drives me nuts. You never hear "unabashed conservative" or "unabashed Republican." The neocons are never "unabashed." The implication is that normally a person would be embarrassed or ashamed to be described as liberal, but not this guy! To me, this is in the same league with Democrat Party. A little dig, just enough under the radar to generally escape notice, but the point is made nonetheless. Does it bother anyone else?

[NV Whino]

1. Look at it this way

Maybe the conservatives and Republicans are too embarrassed or ashamed to be unabashed.

[unpossibles]

3. some of them are - they're the ones calling themselves Libertarians mostly

But most of them don't seem to get why they should be embarrassed, thus never will be.

[verges]

Too stupid to be ashamed. nt

[BuyingThyme]

2. Proud.

[Toucano]

4. You are correct.

The implication is that we are supposed to be embarrassed to be liberals. Anyone who is not is remarkable for that attribute.

[Stephanie]

5. Exactly

And it is used ALL THE TIME by the press.

[jody]

6. Perhaps we should use "abashed Conservative"? n/t

[elleng]

7. Not disconcerted or embarrassed; poised. Not concealed or disguised

Suggesting it SHOULD be concealed or disguised.

[Common Sense Party]

8. Some conservatives are unabashed...Limbaugh comes to mind.

1946: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,792955,00.html

Headline from NY Times, 1994: For National G.O.P., a Mayor as a Poster Boy; Schundler, an Unabashed Conservative, Wants to Use Image to Help Jersey City


The Ottumwa Courier in 2007: Tancredo, R-Colo., is an unabashed conservative who touts high marks from the American Conservative Union,

Human Events touts Jim Inhofe as an "unabashed conservative," and they mean that as a complement:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=9667

"Unabashed" is not just for liberals. It's anyone who is perceived as being unyielding to their own political values or ideology.

[Stephanie]

9. Not nearly as often, especially in media

I rarely see liberal without unabashed.

[Common Sense Party]

12. Really? I see it from time to time.

Google News of "unabashed liberal" yielded just 7 results--including Janeane Garafolo, Walter Mondale, and a character on "All in the Family."

I did a Google News search of just "liberal" and couldn't find the label "liberal" applied to any left-leaning politician in our country, much less "unabashed liberal." One Op-Ed debated whether Souter was a liberal, and whether Obama would replace him with a liberal. A NY Times column mentioned that Pres. Obama had run as "a liberal."

But I can't find many instances of what you often see.

[Stephanie]

14. 500 results in the NY Times

http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?query=%22unabashed+liberal%22&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=sub

[Common Sense Party]

16. Well, I'll be. Only 173 results for "unabashed conservative."

[John Q. Citizen]

21. That's 3 to 1.

[Common Sense Party]

29. So I noticed.

[Stephanie]

25. AP >

Can't search archives but Google shows 2600 results:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22unabashed+liberal%22+ap&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=

[John Q. Citizen]

19. That is pretty convincing. You must be an unabashed muckraker.

[Stephanie]

23. Nah, just a regular muckraker

And a plain old liberal Democrat, just like my Grandpa was.

[givemebackmycountry]

10. It like when they say...

THE FAR LEFT!
ooooohhhhhhh...
The Far left!
It's the FAR LEFT and the LIBERAL MEDIA and, and, GEORGE SOROS.
GEORGE SOROS, AND THE FAAAARRRR LEFT.

And!

Teh GAY!
And their AGENDA!
TEH
GAY
agenda.

AND
Goerge Soros.

AND
MSNBC

And "unabashed liberals" that support them.
Like...

George Soros!



:rofl:

[democrat2thecore]

11. It means the kind of liberal that won't roll over & they know will stand up and fight their crap

Proud to be one, aren't you? Great post!

[BlooInBloo]

13. I assume that part of it was in reference to those who wussed out on fighting for the word "liberal"

and moved to "progressive". So the distinction would be between those who weren't cowed into eschewing the word in the first place, and those who were.

[BuyingThyme]

15. :popcorn:

:popcorn:

[Skittles]

17. means I'm liberal and I don't give a fuck what repukes think

[stevedeshazer]

18. It's a major annoyance

And this meme is broadcast on TV and radio non-stop, 24/7/365.

Has been for 30 years or more. It's a completely contrived construction.

[Stephanie]

22. Thanks

I'm glad to have company in my annoyance.

[applegrove]

20. The standing of the word "liberal" has improved a great deal in the USA. It has always been

a great word in Canada and nobody ever says "unabashed liberal" in Canada. Not to my knowledge anyhow. Does this help?

[Maru Kitteh]

24. Flipping through the toobage, Fox teaser "will Obama pick someone EVEN MORE left than Souter?"

Even MORE! Like Souter went on runs with Greenpeace in between the time he spent planning attacks with the Earth Liberation Front and making all those PSA's for PETA.

[Stephanie]

26. Souter belongs to the Rainbow Family and wears Birkenstocks behind the bench

He doesn't shave his armpits and he lives on Brie and Chardonnay.

[stray cat]

27. They don't give a damn if anyone agrees with them whether right or wrong

[Echo In Light]

28. By American, corporate, right-wing standards, "liberal" can be used to identify those who disagree..

...w/the overarching aims, goals and machinations of the corporate/state nexus - as those aims are often inhumane and anti-democratic, and result in scores of suffering and mass murder. Hence those who don't put Profits Over People are considered "un-American," "bad guys," etc