Here's my two (or three cents) on the points brought up by this well-written article

1. Liberals hate America.

Like hell I do. I lived here for eight years under George W. Bush without mentioning once "I'm moving out of here." I love this country and everything it stands for. Period. I may disagree with many folks about how the country is run, but that is because there are certain principles that I think need to be adhered to, such as respect for the Constitution. Is that Un-American? If, so, I don't want to be right.

2. Liberals want to leave us defenseless in the face of evildoers around the world.

Hell no. I just don't want to see American resources and American lives wasted on useless wars. We can do better.

3. Liberals hate the free market.

Why would I hate the free market? Is it because I think that greedy bank execs should not get any bonuses for running their companies into the ground? If that makes me a Socialist, I should ought to consider making the term "Socialist" a badge of honor.

4. Liberals hate our troops.

As someone who has a brother who has served in two wars, this assumption by so-called conservatives insults me more than any other.

5. Liberals are a bunch of elitists who hate decent working- and middle-class Americans.

HELLOOOO!!!! I am middle-class. NEXT!

6. Liberals are against "family values."

Over time as I have got to know more gay and lesbian folks over the past fifteen years, it's started to dawn on me that attempting to discriminate against them because they are supposedly against family values is like discriminating against the color purple because it is anti-proton. It just does not make any sense to make that argument.

7. Liberals want to raise our taxes.

I would rather pay taxes as opposed to living in a practical anarchy.

8. Liberals are Godless-and therefore, amoral.

There is no proof that all liberals are goodless or amoral. In fac, some of the most moral people I know are highly liberal. Social conservatives tend to favor dogmatism over moralism, on the other hand.

9. Liberals don't believe in personal responsibility.

WHARRGARBL? I dunno how to respond to this one. I do volunteer time, and I pay my bills. What the hell am I supposed to say about this?

10. Liberals are wimps.

Three words: Fark all y'all. 'Nough said

I love that she brings up the point that truly "free" markets must also provide for the free movement of labor. If someone claims to be for free markets but also hates immigration they're lying to themselves.

That was an excellent article that outlines those myths really well. What's hilarious is that the folks around here who like to use "liberal" like it's a dirty word won't believe a word of it. They're too invested in their myths to see reality even when it's so artfully laid out in front of them that they are just that... myths.

Nicely done, author.

Yes, there are people that hate America, the free market, the troops, etc.

They are not "liberals," they are radicals, and they come from the "right" as well as the "left."

...just ask Fred "God loves dead soldiers" Phelps.

/troll claims Phelps is actually a liberal socialist in 3...2...1...

Liberals are Godless-and therefore, amoral.

I think this one pisses me off the most. The very idea that one must know God..and not any God but their God...to be a good person is simply insulting.

I'm firmly in the "a pox on both your houses" camp, but I'll grant most of those accusations are complete bullshiat. However, I don't think the ones about free markets and taxes really belongs in there with the rest of that intellectually dishonest nonsense. Those are policy disputes, and the fact is that "liberals" (a horrible misnomer, but that's for another day) do generally support more government intervention in the economy. And Obama's fiddling with the tax code is meaningless given that he intends to continue spending obscene amounts of money we don't have. That money has to come from somewhere- and his populist soak-the-rich nonsense isn't even going to come close. If anything, the myth is that conservatives oppose those things.

vartian: I think this one pisses me off the most. The very idea that one must know God..and not any God but their God...to be a good person is simply insulting.

The funny thing is that every study I've ever seen on the matter suggests that the nonreligious are more moral than those that are religious. Atheists are apparently underrepresented in prisons by a factor approaching 60 to 1.

JohnnyC: What's hilarious is that the folks around here who like to use "liberal" like it's a dirty word won't believe read a word of it.

From my experience anyway.

That was an excellent article which I will forward to a few select contacts who probably won't read any of it.

Neeek: vartian: I think this one pisses me off the most. The very idea that one must know God..and not any God but their God...to be a good person is simply insulting.

The funny thing is that every study I've ever seen on the matter suggests that the nonreligious are more moral than those that are religious. Atheists are apparently underrepresented in prisons by a factor approaching 60 to 1.

What is the percentage of non-believers to believers on society? I'm sure it's more than 1-60, but it can effect the results for prison. Also, usually in prison, many people take on religion so as to get the 'good behavior and found a calling' pass.

/Just sayin'

Lionel Mandrake: Nicely done, author.

Yes, there are people that hate America, the free market, the troops, etc.

They are not "liberals," they are radicals, and they come from the "right" as well as the "left."

...just ask Fred "God loves dead soldiers" Phelps.

/troll claims Phelps is actually a liberal socialist in 3...2...1...

Phelps is just another elitist East coast liberal in disguise! Nice try Comrade!

BackAssward: What is the percentage of non-believers to believers on society? I'm sure it's more than 1-60, but it can effect the results for prison.

Somewhere between 10% and 15% are nonbelievers. The numbers in prison is far under 1%.

Neeek: vartian: I think this one pisses me off the most. The very idea that one must know God..and not any God but their God...to be a good person is simply insulting.

The funny thing is that every study I've ever seen on the matter suggests that the nonreligious are more moral than those that are religious. Atheists are apparently underrepresented in prisons by a factor approaching 60 to 1.

It's probably because they don't find God until they're in prison.

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah... people are saying mean things about me......

Talking turkey: 10 myths conservatives right-wingers believe about progressives

I really, really, really, reeeeeeeealllly wish they'd stop calling themselves "conservatives". That word does not mean what people think it means.

Barry Goldwater was a conservative.

Bush and his ilk are right-wing borderline fascists. I don't even know if there are any real conservatives anymore.

If they would just stop hating America, I could deal with the rest of those issues. Damned liberals and their America hating.

That article was one giant strawman. Simply awful.

The 'clean water' that I get that has no 'economic value' seems to cost me about $30/month. Oh, and it is brown, so we get to go to CostCo to spend more 'non economic value' on clean water.

I don't mind paying taxes to run the country, but please spend it wisely. Both sides are awful about that.

What galls most conservatives the most is getting up every morning and busting your butt at work to support people on welfare who don't seem to have any incentive, method, or desire to do something else. 10 years ago my Mom worked 'in the hood' at a grocery store, and some of the people there were getting the equivalent of a $40,000/year job between WIC, food stamps, section 8 housing, medicaid, and so forth. They had no skills, spoke poor English, and I guess surfed between judge shows all day, which further rots your brain.

The next galling thing is that the 'liberals' have a long list of excuses why they should stay that way, between 'no child care', and the list goes on.

As a libertarian (not to be confused with an anarchist), I just want a small, efficient federal government. If the state governments want to go crazy with rules and programs, that's what they are there for.

Bush and his ilk are right-wing borderline fascists. I don't even know if there are any real conservatives anymore.

Conservatism sounds good in theory, but, like communism, it just does not work in the real world.

It also means abolishing laws that deprive consumers of important purchasing information, like food-libel laws and federal bans on rGHB labeling. It's a rare conservative who's willing to go that far to protect the sanctity of the free market.

I don't recall that Obama had a position on "rGHB labeling" or "food libel". I searched but couldn't find anything.

The articles I found in liberal papers like The New York Times said that fears of growth hormones being used to increase milk production were overblown and that the hormones had been tested above and beyond normal levels of testing over a nine-year period before the use of the hormone was approved. However, in 2007, the FDA rejected Monsanto's request to ban the labeling of milk as being free of growth hormones. The writer is evidently using out of date information. There is no "federal ban on rGHB labeling".

"Food libel" laws in 13 states makes it possible for cattle producers to sue people like Oprah Winfrey for her remarks in 1995 about mad cow disease which reportedly scared consumers and caused beef prices to drop. As you may recall, the suit was dismissed "with prejudice" meaning the court rejected the case on its merits not on some technical detail. I didn't see other food libel suits out there but there probably are some. It doesn't seem to be a big problem.

In this case, the writer is claiming a mandate for her radical positions which doesn't exist. When she says, "It's the rare conservative who's willing to go that far", she is implying that liberals are in agreement about these issues. Who knows, Obama might agree with her but I don't think that all liberals would agree with the writer.

That's another myth about liberals and conservatives-- that we all have the same monotheistic positions.

For god's sake, let's try to be civil at dinner.

sunlion: Conservatism sounds good in theory, but, like communism, it just does not work in the real world.

Everything in moderation, friend. Conservatism is great when it comes to those things that you want etched in f'n stone.

9. Liberals don't believe in personal responsibility.
Again, there's a definitional disconnect at work here. Conservatives tend to use the rule of law to enforce traditional morality and social hierarchies, which usually means light treatment for those at the top, and harsh penalties for those at the bottom. Liberals tend to use the rule of law to maintain some semblance of fairness and equality, which means that those who have more should be given sentences proportional to their greater wealth and power; and those with less should be given a more gentle hand. Naturally, each side finds the other side's reasoning and criteria appalling.

Good list, but the above paragraph doesn't really make much sense. Especially "...those who have more should be given sentences proportional to their greater wealth and power; and those with less should be given a more gentle hand."

If you make more money you get more jailtime? It seems she's talking about white collar crime, and I imagine she could elaborate on her theme, but as is, it doesn't make much sense.

TheGreatGazoo: I don't mind paying taxes to run the country, but please spend it wisely. Both sides are awful about that.

True. It's a myth that "fiscal responsibility" means "no taxes whatsoever".

Occam's Chainsaw: sunlion: Conservatism sounds good in theory, but, like communism, it just does not work in the real world.

Everything in moderation, friend. Conservatism is great when it comes to those things that you want etched in f'n stone.

"Conservative" is really a misnomer for everything except social conservatism. In the literal sense, LBJ was very much the conservative in 1964, as was Carter in 1980. The "conservative ideology" combining militaristic nationalism, corporatism masquerading as laissez faire capitalism, cutting taxes (and in theory spending), and social conservatism is just as much about making desired changes as it is preserving desirable elements of the status quo.

FlyingPig: True. It's a myth that "fiscal responsibility" means "no taxes whatsoever".

And you'll find that the fiscal conservative who advocates "no taxes whatsoever" is also a myth.

Darconix: Here is my take on this lib going apeshiat when confronted with a mirror:

1. Liberals hate America.

Why thank you, Ric Romero. I could write more about this single point than I have written since I first joined Fark. Everything you farking libs try to do is "fixing" problems that don't even farking exist. None of you subscribe to the concepts that originally founded this country. You see a "problem" everywhere you farking look, because you'd feel more at home in a socialist paradise like they have in Europe. I suggest you review those nation's immigration laws if you feel so strongly about it, instead of shiatting all over everything over here.

2. Liberals want to leave us defenseless in the face of evildoers around the world.

Can't really argue with this one. If libs had been running the country for the past 8 years, we'd still be dealing with a Libya hell-bent on developing WMDs. Angry letters only work with the editor of your local newspaper, libs. Sorry if you don't understand this concept yet.

3. Liberals hate the free market.

Liberals believe that centralized, planned markets are superior to letting the free market decide. In other words, they view increasing the power of Congress into economic matters to be a good thing. It's an ideological difference, libs, but you certainly can't even remotely be considered free market advocates.

4. Liberals hate our troops.

Cheering the deaths of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to score political points doesn't help your image in this regard, libs. You happily sit back and call our troops baby-killers, and support Murtha when he asserts the same. You play politics with their lives and are constantly threatening to cut off their funding for decisions made by the Commander-in-Chief, a position you lost by fair and open election. You vandalize their cars and spit on them when you encounter them at the airport. So, yeah, libs, go fark yourselves.

5. Liberals are a bunch of elitists who hate decent working- and middle-class Americans.

Well, arugula really IS expensive.

6. Liberals are against "family values."

Thanks again, Ric Romero. Liberals want to assault the institution of family and marriage by attacking the concept of marriage, they advocate abortion, and rarely have kids of their own until late in life, which means that what children they do have they refuse to discipline and turn into douchebags like themselves. So, no, libs, you have zero weight on matters related to family values, because you don't have any. Why should some farkup liberal hippie chick screwing around and avoiding marriage like the plague be taken seriously when she opines on family values? Or some thong-wearing flamer at the Folsom Street Fair? Sorry, libs, but it's actually quite humorous when you demand to be taken seriously on this topic.

7. Liberals want to raise our taxes.

This is shorthand for the liberal belief of "sharing the wealth." As a whole, liberals absolutely want to raise tax revenues. The means by which they sell this to the masses is by attempting to pit citizen against citizen, stratified by economic class.

8. Liberals are Godless-and therefore, amoral.

Liberals are amoral. They advocate atheism, basically negating the need to behave in a moral fashion whatsoever provided you can avoid the legal consequences of said action. Of course, they believe they are operating on the highest moral principles. I'm sure Jeffrey Dahmer managed to rationalize his killing spree as well...

9. Liberals don't believe in personal responsibility.

Hmmm.. Hippie values practically dictate that you ignore personal responsibility. Abortion is also used by libs to avoid said personal responsibility. Finally, you liberal morans love to blame criminal acts on socio-economic factors instead of just farking throwing the book at the criminal. You advocate anarchy by negating the need for your little "protected classes" to take any personal responsibility by blaming their eventual criminal acts on anything or everything but the person responsible. So you gu ...

Sigh. He's baa-ack. Where's the facepalm "Not this shiat again" image?

jasimo: 9. Liberals don't believe in personal responsibility.
Again, there's a definitional disconnect at work here. Conservatives tend to use the rule of law to enforce traditional morality and social hierarchies, which usually means light treatment for those at the top, and harsh penalties for those at the bottom. Liberals tend to use the rule of law to maintain some semblance of fairness and equality, which means that those who have more should be given sentences proportional to their greater wealth and power; and those with less should be given a more gentle hand. Naturally, each side finds the other side's reasoning and criteria appalling.

Good list, but the above paragraph doesn't really make much sense. Especially "...those who have more should be given sentences proportional to their greater wealth and power; and those with less should be given a more gentle hand."

If you make more money you get more jailtime? It seems she's talking about white collar crime, and I imagine she could elaborate on her theme, but as is, it doesn't make much sense.

I read it as something like the powder vs crack cocaine punishments. Crack cocaine users tend to be poorer while powder users tend to be wealther. The punishments are much harsher for the crack users. I see it as meeting the punishments more in the middle, with more treatment for the lessers and more jailtime for the wealthy. The SAME punishment.

10 mythstalking points conservativesidiots believespout about progressivesDemocrats

fixed

I noticed this bit:

"One person ends up owning the whole game board, and everybody else ends up broke."

That is the typical Leftoid view of wealth. There is only a fixed amount and if someone has a lot, he must have stolen or taken it from another individual.

Making sure our troops have everything they need to do their jobs-and keeping our promises to them when they get home-is putting our money where our mouth is.

Saying isn't doing, so shut the fark up. Both sides played political games when our troops needed body armor. One side tossed in a bunch of useless crap along with the body armor funding, and the others never spoke up about it because they do the same thing with other bills, enabling the first side to claim they didn't support our troops.

Farking ridiculous.

This thread just got 'tarded. I'm out.

zalasur: 10. Liberals are wimps.

Three words: Fark all y'all. 'Nough said



Yup. One of those liberal wimps.

Jonathan Daniels, 1939-1965 ^{(^)}, Murdered by an upstanding conservative.

ALso

"We loved America so much that we freed the slaves"

Wasn't that a Republican president?

"Conversely, most of our worst moments-the Native American genocide, the continued justification of slavery and Jim Crow, the Japanese internment, Abu Ghraib -were conservative projects"

Jim Crow was instituted by Southern Democrats, as I recall.

Funny note, Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic president, instituted Segregation in federal government buildings.

Indian Removal: Damn, Andrew Jackson and those cursed democrats.

Japanese internment: What? ANOTHER policy created by a Democratic president?

Conversely, most of our worst moments-the Native American genocide, the continued justification of slavery and Jim Crow, the Japanese internment, Abu Ghraib -were conservative projects that were driven by narrow-minded xenophobia and short-term greed

Nobody who is intellectually dishonest or stupid enough to believe this is worth engaging in debate. Period.

Swampthing in Korea: Jim Crow was instituted by Southern Democrats, as I recall.

and the non southern Democrats rejected them and they were absorbed in the republican party.

Swampthing in Korea: Wasn't that a Republican president?

When Republicans were liberal. They dramatically changed their tune around the 1905.

Jim Crow was instituted by Southern Democrats, as I recall.
Who almost all switched to being Republicans when the Democrats stopped being racist enough for them. Unless you think Jessie Helms and Strom Thurmond never switched parties.

Funny note, Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic president, instituted Segregation in federal government buildings.

Indian Removal: Damn, Andrew Jackson and those cursed democrats.

Japanese internment: What? ANOTHER policy created by a Democratic president?

blah blah blah.

The entire country was pretty damned racist until after WWII. Anyone who tries to claim otherwise is an idiot. However, in the words of people with a brain, what have the Republicans done lately?

Oh yes, tried to suppress civil rights, shredded the 4th amendment of the constitution, threatened to start investigations of people who disagreed with them, packed the justice department with incompetent Bush flunkies, started a war with no provocation, ignored a war with people who actually threatened america, told soldiers to buy their own body armor, invited terrorists to attack American servicemen, declared a war to be over....knowing full well we would need an occupational presence for years to come, campaigned for president using the "don't vote for the scary black guy" tactics.

Yup, the Repubes are doing a fine job.

maddogdelta: Swampthing in Korea: Wasn't that a Republican president?

When Republicans were liberal. They dramatically changed their tune around the 1905.

Jim Crow was instituted by Southern Democrats, as I recall.
Who almost all switched to being Republicans when the Democrats stopped being racist enough for them. Unless you think Jessie Helms and Strom Thurmond never switched parties.

Funny note, Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic president, instituted Segregation in federal government buildings.

Indian Removal: Damn, Andrew Jackson and those cursed democrats.

Japanese internment: What? ANOTHER policy created by a Democratic president?

blah blah blah.

The entire country was pretty damned racist until after WWII. Anyone who tries to claim otherwise is an idiot. However, in the words of people with a brain, what have the Republicans done lately?

Oh yes, tried to suppress civil rights, shredded the 4th amendment of the constitution, threatened to start investigations of people who disagreed with them, packed the justice department with incompetent Bush flunkies, started a war with no provocation, ignored a war with people who actually threatened america, told soldiers to buy their own body armor, invited terrorists to attack American servicemen, declared a war to be over....knowing full well we would need an occupational presence for years to come, campaigned for president using the "don't vote for the scary black guy" tactics.

Yup, the Repubes are doing a fine job.

Which does not change the fact that the vast majority of the stuff he quoted was created by Democrats.

Nice attempt at deflection though.

Wow, that article was a load of Wharrrgarrbrrrll. Creating a caricature, applying it broadly, and then flameing the hell out of it must be a Thanksgiving Tradition. Kind of like setting the Straw Man ablaze.

Darconix

You magnificent bastard!!

Darconix: Liberals love to play armchair quarterback with American history, bellyaching over how "evil" we were. Had we had this pack of worthless citizens back then they'd probably have hung George Washington.

To be fair, many in the country did consider Washington a Traitor when he left office.

/Just sayin

Darconix: GoldSpider: Conversely, most of our worst moments-the Native American genocide, the continued justification of slavery and Jim Crow, the Japanese internment, Abu Ghraib -were conservative projects that were driven by narrow-minded xenophobia and short-term greed

Nobody who is intellectually dishonest or stupid enough to believe this is worth engaging in debate. Period.

Liberals love to play armchair quarterback with American history, bellyaching over how "evil" we were. Had we had this pack of worthless citizens back then they'd probably have hung George Washington. They're a pack of self-loathing douchebags who are so miserable due to mistakes they make in their personal lives that they would love to make the rest of us wallow in their misery with them, just so they'd have company. Fark that.

The truly funny thing is that the reason they are so miserable is due to their liberal worldview in the first place. So it's only natural to attempt to impose it on everyone else.

"pack of worthless citizens," "pack of self-loathing douchebags," "wallow in their misery" Someone's projecting on all cylinders.

No YOU would have hung George Washington. We, the progressives/liberals were the ones fighting.

YOU would have called Jefferson, Washington, et al. "a pack of self-loathing douchebags who are so miserable due to mistakes they make in their personal lives that they would love to make the rest of us wallow in their misery with them, just so they'd have company." When you were done mouthing off, you'd go fight with the redcoats against the uppity colonists.

jasimo: We, the progressives/liberals were the ones fighting.

To compare colonial liberals with today's statists is an insult that has likely sent the founding fathers spinning in their graves.

Partisanship is its own brand of idiocy. Anyone who uses phrases like "all conservatives" or "all liberals" to make sweeping statements is at an intellectual disadvantage.

GoldSpider: jasimo: We, the progressives/liberals were the ones fighting.

To compare colonial liberals with today's statists is an insult that has likely sent the founding fathers spinning in their graves.

Even better! Clean energy!!

She's arguing against a strawman on some of these, but I know there are some crazy right wingers who may have these views of liberals.

As a conservative, I do believe liberals have issues with the free market - hell most republicans seem to have a problem with a free market as well. They also tend to want to raise are taxes. I wouldn't say all liberals are Godless though, only the smart ones. All of the other myths are BS.

That article is just a classic typical liberal trying to get justification for their douchebag beliefs.



"We love our troops. We love them so much that we want them brought home safe and sound to their families, as soon as possible."

-even though it is their job, they volunteered and its not done yet.

vartian: The very idea that one must know God..and not any God but their God...to be a good person is simply insulting.


I am going to go ahead and agree with this.

CanisNoir: Wow, that article was a load of Wharrrgarrbrrrll. Creating a caricature, applying it broadly, and then flameing the hell out of it must be a Thanksgiving Tradition. Kind of like setting the Straw Man ablaze.

Darconix

You magnificent farking bastard!!

ftfy

vartian: The very idea that one must know God..and not any God but their God...to be a good person is simply insulting.

Which you'll likely find is a view held by a very small (albeit vocal) minority of conservatives.

darkyn: Partisanship is its own brand of idiocy. Anyone who uses phrases like "all conservatives" or "all liberals" to make sweeping statements is at an intellectual disadvantage.

All liberal and all conservative politicians don't care as much about you as their careers.

/It's true, you know it

The list of myths Libs have about Conservatives would require the entire internets.

I see the freepers are up bright and early this Thanksgiving.

Shouldn't you be upstairs helping mom get ready for today, or is she still passed out on the couch?