Do leftists ever refer to conservatives in positive terms?

Does it seem fair that we constantly compliment them with positive-sounding words like ‘progressive’, ‘liberal’, and ‘democrat’?

When was the last time you heard someone from the other side of the political aisle refer to us in positive terms? For most in the freedom community, the word never comes to mind. 

To be sure, there are times when they will appear to act civilly, and at least try to act adult-like ‘around company’, non-political moderates they want to influence.

However, like toddlers way past their bedtime, leftists will quickly drop the façade when no one outside the political realm is watching. The most recent example that springs to mind is what Democrat Rep. David Cicilline said in response to a polite request from a fellow lawmaker in reply to his juvenile invective “spare me the bullsh** about constitutional rights". When he takes on the persona of a petulant 8-year-old and spews forth “no I will not yield and I’m not going to yield for my entire five minutes so don't ask again”.

That is what the ‘adults’ of the alleged ‘party of freedom’ think of your constitutional rights and what they say when they forget the cameras are rolling and they can barely keep their abject disdain for their political opposition under control.

If you haven’t been online and subjected to the childish insults and vitriol of the nation’s socialist left, consider yourself lucky. For those of you who have, well, that is why we asked the question. Even on their ‘good days’, they barely manage to keep it together, casting minor aspersions on our intelligence and/or sanity.

But it’s when they let fly with their biggest lies and projections that they show their true nature. The saying ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’ is more than appropriate here. We’ve discovered that not engaging in that behavior, but calling them out when they do takes that advantage away from them. There is nothing more hilarious than when they discover their childish insults are meaningless and they are being shown up as not having an intellectual argument.

In many ways, their lack of creativity in this field makes for a dreadfully boring debate. Day after day on discussion boards around the world, dyed-in-the-wool denizens of the national socialist left will falsely hurl the fascist accusation (who did Nazi that coming?) It’s historically and logically wrong on multiple levels since socialists of all stripes all have the same characteristics.   

So, to answer our question, we would say no. Remember, these are people who have no qualms over taring us as ‘domestic terrorists’, ‘insurrectionists’ and whatever suits them at the moment. So, why do many of us regularly praise them with positive-sounding labels they’ve conveniently chosen for themselves?

To understand why consider the logical and basic arrangement of the political spectrum. An arrangement of ideologies based on their level of governmental control with minimum and maximum levels at each end. The maximum level belongs on the left since socialism is the standard leftist ideology with wealth redistribution and a centrally controlled economy. The minimum level belongs on the right with the emphasis on liberty and limited government. As we outlined in our proof that the Anti-liberty Left is Fascist.  

The pro-freedom side of the spectrum is based on individualism and the economic liberty of the free enterprise system, along with private property rights and limited government. This is contrasted with the anti-liberty side that is based on collectivism, socialism, the negation of private property rights, and unlimited government. So, you have a choice, do you pick the one based on liberty or the one based on big government?

If you presented those two choices to most people, most are going to pick the pro-freedom side. This is why the anti-liberty left never talks about their socialist national agenda in those terms. It’s couched as one of ‘fairness’ and ‘equity’; you’re just not supposed to notice that it’s going to take governmental force to take ‘From each according to his abilities’. Which is why they always want to confiscate your guns; can’t have the great unwashed shooting back now, can we?

This is why they obsess over language and change the meaning of words on the fly. The labels they use are the building blocks of their deception, with this quotation from Ludwig von Mises framing it perfectly:

"The champions of socialism call themselves progressives, but they recommend a system which is characterized by rigid observance of routine and by a resistance to every kind of improvement. They call themselves liberals, but they are intent upon abolishing liberty. They call themselves democrats, but they yearn for dictatorship. They call themselves revolutionaries, but they want to make the government omnipotent. They promise the blessings of the Garden of Eden, but they plan to transform the world into a gigantic post office. Every man but one a subordinate clerk in a bureau. What an alluring utopia! What a noble cause to fight!"  

This is why we should stop using the favorite terms they have for themselves. When you say they are ‘progressive’ it falsely implies they favor progress. When you say they are ‘liberal’ it falsely implies they favor liberty. They’ve chosen those labels for themselves precisely because it gives everyone else a false impression about who they are. It’s time we stopped helping them in this endeavor. 

Originally published on the American Thinker.