Maybe you've heard of this Facebook thing, and maybe you've seen the Facebook user profile that asks everyone to fill in the blanks when it comes to their political views.
People say all sorts of things. (One favorite: "Don't get me started....") But by the hundreds, and presumably by the thousands and millions, one Facebooker after another is describing themselves as "liberals."
Not once have I seen anyone say they are "progressive."
All I can say is shut my mouth.
Words matter, and in the world of American politics the word "liberal" has become a pejorative. Talk shows and politicians have lately become so progressive they are terrified of having their names and the word liberal lumped together in the same sentence. I now refer to "con games," my talk show in Aspen, as "the last of the liberal talk shows."
And I ain't kidding. Blame Moveon.org and Air America for this sordid state of affairs. And give all the credit in the world to the Conservative bowel movement, so relentlessly repetitive and repressive they have made the term "liberal" an airborne defecation in American politics.
But Facebook is telling a different story, one that I find almost shocking: liberals on Facebook are self-describing as liberals. How come? Plain old people have no reason to run away from the term because they're not running for office. They embrace the word because it accurately describes who they and what they believe in.
As Mel Allen used to say: "How 'bout that?"
This phenomenon is flying by unremarked and is not likely to change the banishment of liberals as we now know them in the public square. The quivering pols and commentators who run like hell from the word are not about to look back--or look online.
Just take a look-see at Facebook to find out all you need to know.
Liberals are alive and well. We love America like all get-out. Want to be our friend?