(The following is a revision of a response to another diary)
Be proud of the silly stereotypes tossed off by righties. Wear them as a badge of honor, nor horror.
. . . .
One thing that drives me crazy about liberals -- and I used to be among you -- is how eager some of you are to throw the rest of the left under the bus in order to escape those right-wing stereotypes.
Stop it. Just, stop it.
First of all, whenever you run away from socialists and the folks to your left in general, you weaken your own political power. Just from a cold-eyed point of view, a practical, pragmatic view, you want us to be strong -- those of us to your left.
Why? Because when we're strong, when we're viable, you become the place of compromise. The "center", so to speak.
Think about the Tea Party. It, of course, was never anything more than a rebranding of the furthest right among the Republican party, aided and abetted by the so-called "liberal media". But their power, their viability, pushed the center much further right. They made the "compromise" position firmly within their own Republican ranks, which was a stroke of genius, and the Democrats fell for it. Via stupidity, gullibility, cowardice or just plain agreement with the right.
The Democrats must take a page from the same playbook, if they actually want to shift that center away from conservative policies.
In the 20th century, primarily from the 30s thru the early 70s, the left was much stronger, and that set up the dynamic I suggest above. The Social Democrats in Europe were actually seen as "the middle way" between communism and fascism. Fear of communism or socialism pushed many into the arms of the Social Democrats, who were seen as far less "radical". Even the American New Deal was a "compromise" position between two political polls. It was never the "radical" or "far left" alternative, but a rather centrist compromise of sorts. Because the world tilted left at the time, the "center" was on the left.
Want to get back to that dynamic, those of you who consider yourselves liberals? Want a return to the days when liberal positions were seen as "centrist" in a sense? Then start supporting socialists, left-anarchists, Occupy folks, even those of us who promote a small "c", non-political, anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist, truly egalitarian democratic communism. Yes, by all means, draw strong contrasts with us. State your own positions as an alternative to ours, but do so while respecting us and our ideas. Our greater strength makes you the preferred "center".