Political Language Matters: the “L” Word for Liberal

By Brigitte L. Nacos

In an article about the end of the Republican intraparty squabble about the treatment of detained terrorist suspects, Charles Babington and Jonathan Weisman write in today’s Washington Post, “Until the breakthrough was announced Thursday, Democrats had let Republicans fight among themselves... Now that McCain and his fellow dissidents have joined hands with Bush, it will be difficult to attack the deal, Democrats acknowledged.”

Why would it be difficult for Democrats to finally fight against legislation that would continue to give the administration’s pro-torture officials free hand in the treatment of detainees? According to the article, Democrats would jeopardize chances to win some of the contested races in November in that “for Democrats to oppose the compromise, which Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has embraced, would subject them to charges of being soft on terrorism.”  

So—McCain gave into White House demands because of his presidential aspirations; the Democrats do not oppose “aggressive interrogation” methods because they want to win mid-term elections. Where are politicians with backbones that allow them to stick to morally right positions?

Well, in the article the “L” word is pressed into service to explain the Democrats' problem with some of their constituents--liberals. As Babington and Weisman write,

Some of the Democrats' liberal constituents dislike the bill, viewing it as a green light for President Bush to resume a CIA policy of interrogating foreign terrorism suspects with harsh techniques that some critics consider torture….

That is not sitting well with liberal activists, whose energy will be important to Democrats on Election Day.

In other words, you have to be a “liberal” or a “liberal activist” to dislike a bill that will continue the violation of human rights in the treatment of detainees? You have to be a “liberal” or a “liberal activist” to demand of legislators and those who seek seats in the Congress to uphold domestic and international values and laws?   

How handy the now derogatory “L” word comes in—not only in partisan put-down discourse but in reporting as well.