Are you a liberal?

[Mulholland]

This seems a pretty good objective test for establishing ones positions, cohesively. Mind you, it is from Dennis Prager's website, who is a Jewish Conservative...If you feel it necessary to attack the messenger, so-be-it, but the questions are no less true and therefore objective.

Dennis was a liberal...to quote him, "the first time I voted Republican, I thought I was sinning...SINNING!"

Do you believe the following?

1. Standards for admissions to universities, fire departments, etc. should be lowered for people of color.

2. Bilingual education for children of immigrants, rather than immersion in English, is good for them and for America.

3. Murderers should never be put to death.

4. During the Cold War, America should have adopted a nuclear arms freeze.

5. Colleges should not allow ROTC programs.

6. It was wrong to wage war against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War.

7. Poor parents should not be allowed to have vouchers to send their children to private schools.

8. It is good that trial lawyers and teachers unions are the two biggest contributors to the Democratic Party.

9. Marriage should be redefined from male-female to any two people.

10. A married couple should not have more of a right to adopt a child than two men or two women.

11. The Boy Scouts should not be allowed to use parks or any other public places and should be prohibited from using churches and synagogues for their meetings.

12. The present high tax rates are good.

13. Speech codes on college campuses are good and American values.

14. The Israelis and Palestinians are morally equivalent.

15. The United Nations is a moral force for good in the world, and therefore America should be subservient to it and such international institutions as a world court.

16. It is good that colleges have dropped hundreds of men's sports teams in order to meet gender-based quotas.

17. No abortions can be labeled immoral.

18. Restaurants should be prohibited by law from allowing customers to choose between a smoking and a non-smoking section.

19. High schools should make condoms available to students and teach them how to use them.

20. Racial profiling for terrorists is wrong -- a white American grandmother should as likely be searched as a Saudi young male.

21. Racism and poverty -- not a lack of fathers and a crisis of values -- are the primary causes of violent crime in the inner city.

22. It is wrong and unconstitutional for students to be told, "God bless you" at their graduation.

23. No culture is morally superior to any other.

Those are all liberal positions. How many of them do you hold?

[widebody911]

First, you need to define 'liberal' - and slapping the label on political positions to which you object is not the way to do it.

Can you define liberal, outside the context of contemprary political hot buttons?

In 1915, you'd have been posting some nonsense such as "a liberal is someone who thinks women should have the right to vote."

In the mid 1800's you'd have been posting "a liberal is someone who thinks niggers should be allowed to own property (or vote even!)"

First we have to separate the terms 'liberal' and 'conservative' from the political entities "Democrat" and "Republican"

A "conservative" is one who wants to maintain the status quo; a liberal is one who wants changes, which are usually social. There have been liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats.

Your latest cut-and-paste tirade would find a mix of Republican and Democrats agreeing with any given line item; for instance, there are lots of Republicans against Iraqnam. You're attempting to impugn them with the color of 'liberal' (as if it were a bad thing) because they haven't signed onto your chickenhawk NeoCon agenda.

[ubiquity0]

What a bizarre exercise. I would answer ‘yes’ to maybe 4 or 5 of those- that means I’m ‘conservative’?
How is this ‘liberal’ position?
“7. Poor parents should not be allowed to have vouchers to send their children to private schools”

& how does this one espouse any political viewpoint whatsoever:
“8. It is good that trial lawyers and teachers unions are the two biggest contributors to the Democratic Party.”

I love the old ‘switch & bait’ question:
“11. The Boy Scouts should not be allowed to use parks or any other public places and should be prohibited from using churches and synagogues for their meetings.”
Ie. -‘No, Boy Scout meetings should not be held in a church’
-‘What’s that you say- that the Scouts should not be allowed to use parks?’ gimme a break

“13. Speech codes on college campuses are good and American values. “ Huh?

“14. The Israelis and Palestinians are morally equivalent. “ Which Isrealis & which Palestinians? Israeli children versus Palestinian terrorists? A Palestinian kid versus Sharon?

“17. No abortions can be labeled immoral.”
Kinda hard to answer ‘yes’ isn’t it? What if the mother doesn’t consent? Few wackos would say then it is moral & I don’t see how those people would be ‘liberal’

“18. Restaurants should be prohibited by law from allowing customers to choose between a smoking and a non-smoking section.“
‘Conservatives’ would prefer an ashen environment to enjoy their fois gras?

[ubiquity0]

What a bizarre exercise. I would answer ‘yes’ to maybe 4 or 5 of those- that means I’m ‘conservative’?
How is this ‘liberal’ position?
“7. Poor parents should not be allowed to have vouchers to send their children to private schools”

& how does this one espouse any political viewpoint whatsoever:
“8. It is good that trial lawyers and teachers unions are the two biggest contributors to the Democratic Party.”

I love the old ‘switch & bait’ question:
“11. The Boy Scouts should not be allowed to use parks or any other public places and should be prohibited from using churches and synagogues for their meetings.”
Ie. -‘No, Boy Scout meetings should not be held in a church’
-‘What’s that you say- that the Scouts should not be allowed to use parks?’ gimme a break

“13. Speech codes on college campuses are good and American values. “ Huh?

“14. The Israelis and Palestinians are morally equivalent. “ Which Isrealis & which Palestinians? Israeli children versus Palestinian terrorists? A Palestinian kid versus Sharon?

“17. No abortions can be labeled immoral.”
Kinda hard to answer ‘yes’ isn’t it? What if the mother doesn’t consent? Few wackos would say then it is moral & I don’t see how those people would be ‘liberal’

“18. Restaurants should be prohibited by law from allowing customers to choose between a smoking and a non-smoking section.“
‘Conservatives’ would prefer an ashen environment to enjoy their fois gras?

[Mulholland]

"I'm gonna catch me a chicken today or my name ain't Henery Hawk!"

Gotta love them Looney Tunes

[Mulholland]

These are simple left-wing establishment beliefs...Yes or No?...If you divurge, you divurge from the party line...It is not a comprehensive test, but will give you a good idea if you are a liberal.

[jm951]

Ubiquity- on #7, the DNC maintains that the issue of vouchers detracts from the funding for poorly performing public schools. But not to issue them is to condemn the children of poor parents to said schools with no recourse. Liberals don't like the idea of losing thier captive audience.

[techweenie]

Dennis Prager is a joke.

The list is a joke.

If I said 'physically intimidating liberals' is a good policy for making progress in conservative politics or that 'God gave us nature to rape and pillage' would you call these 'conservative beliefs'?

These are paraphrases of Ann Coulter statements that most conservatives do not agree with... or divurge[sic] from, if you prefer.

[ubiquity0]

Originally posted by jm951
Ubiquity- on #7, the DNC maintains that the issue of vouchers detracts from the funding for poorly performing public schools. But not to issue them is to condemn the children of poor parents to said schools with no recourse. Liberals don't like the idea of losing thier captive audience.

Maybe thats the Democratic party position, but I can't see how that could be defined as 'liberal'.

[ubiquity0]

Originally posted by Mulholland
These are simple left-wing establishment beliefs...Yes or No?...If you divurge, you divurge from the party line...It is not a comprehensive test, but will give you a good idea if you are a liberal.

So is a 'yes' on 5 points (others are 'no' while some I can't answer as either they don't make sense, or a yes/no answer isn't possible) 'liberal' or 'conservative'? Isn't this more intended as a (badly formulated) test of how much someone agrees with Democratic party positions?

[island911]

Mul, c'mon, #3 ain't right.

It should read:

3. Murderers should never be put to death. . . unless they've murdered a spotted-owl while cutting down a tree, or a dolphin in a tuna net.

[VINMAN]

Mul #2 is another point. We need to change our language to conform to all the immigrants and illegal aliens coming here. How dare we make things hard for them!!
After all I'm sure they would do the same for us in their country.

First, you need to define 'liberal'

A man without testosterone?

[widebody911]

Originally posted by island911
[B]
3. Murderers should never be put to death. . . unless they've murdered a spotted-owl while cutting down a tree, or a dolphin in a tuna net.

Or gay spotted dolphins!

[island911]

Originally posted by widebody911
Or gay spotted dolphins!

Hey, are you trying to change the subject to cameras in football locker-rooms?

This isn't going to help prove your testosterone levels.

[notfarnow]

"Or gay spotted dolphins!"

As a gay spotted dolphin, I take offense to that.

[nostatic]

yet another specious "survey" with an instrument that is totally skewed. These people wouldn't know proper (social) science if it hit them in the head with a 2x4.

[notfarnow]

Hey what about adding some questions to see if yer a conservative?


hmm... let me start...

Should Rosa Parks have just sat where she was told?

[dd74]

On paper, this is a great test, because it can cause a liberal to doubt themselves as being such by the sheer fact that no one is going to answer any of those questions in a strictly partisan manner. If they do, like Mull says, they stray from the party and that can bring doubt to the average non-thinking liberal who is fooled by this test in general. In short, this is a great tool to cause little cracks here and there in the opposition's platform.

But I have to agree with Thom. First, one has to define what a liberal is - and mostly to themselves. There are many forms of liberals; conservative liberals even, just as we are now seeing there are liberal conservatives who are against the war in Iraq.

With that, taken with an open (and wary) mind, the questions are biased and full of conjecture - one has to read into them to see the trap. That's what makes it a good test - not of party loyalty - but of party resolve.

[Mulholland]

Originally posted by nostatic
yet another specious "survey" with an instrument that is totally skewed. These people wouldn't know proper (social) science if it hit them in the head with a 2x4.

Howz this one..."Do you believe that pro-choice should also apply to people's hard earned tax-dollars?"

The answer for a liberal is "no"...fascists.