Editor's Choice of Comments on Herbert's Article This Morning

EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 7:59 am
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Thank you Bob Herbert for standing up and proudly saying the truth. I am so tired of the right making "liberal" a bad word. The Obama camp needs to read your article and bring up those very points in the debates against McCain and, especially, Palin, who, as you noted, couldn't conceivably be where she is today without the laws liberal politicians and, dare I say it, "community organizers" fought and died for. I always love your editiorials, but this one especially struck a chord.
— C. Pope, Farmington, NM
Recommend Recommended by 332 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 11:02 am
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As someone once said, "A conservative is someone who worships yesterday's liberals."
— charles almon, brooklyn NYC
Recommend Recommended by 43 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 12:02 pm
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Three cheers for Bob Herbert's column on the many achievements of liberals in Congress over the years. Speaking as a former Republican member of Congress for 14 years, I find it tiresome for so many Republican leaders today to be so ultra conservative and downright extremist in their views. Harris W. Fawell
— Harris W. Fawell, Membert of Congress, (Retired), Naperville, Illinois
Recommend Recommended by 40 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 12:11 pm
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Quoting Bob H. "Troglodytes on the right are no respecters of reality. They say the most absurd things and hardly anyone calls them on it. Evolution? Don’t you believe it. Global warming? A figment of the liberal imagination."Just a word of defense for troglodytes. First, many evangelicals believe in what's called "theistic evolution". This is the belief that God is behind the evolutionary process--a fact which is not ruled out by an accurate reading of Genesis where the opening words are, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." And as for global warming the evangelical world is rapidly embracing responsibility to be good stewards of the earth recognizing that whether humanly caused, climatically caused, or a combination of both at this point global warming has validity.Tell you what Bob if you'll refrain from calling Sarah Palin and by implication evangelicals troglodytes we'll resist coarsening the political conversation by calling you and your ilk Godless tree huggers. Deal?
— FM, Virginia
Recommend Recommended by 7 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 12:12 pm
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I think the point that is lost on Herbert that it is bitter partisanship that is the problem, not liberals or democrats.Most Americans recognize that both liberals and conservative have made significant contributions to our society. Herbert is right to decry wholesale condemnation of liberals. However, his argument loses all moral authority when he engages in such demonization himself by calling conservatives "troglodytes" and constantly accusing us of being racists.We could do without demonization from either side, thank you.
— Chris L, Atlanta, GA
Recommend Recommended by 10 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 12:22 pm
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I call it the Dukakis syndrome. I will never understand why Gov. Dukakis, when he had the attention of the nation, did not stand up and say, "You're darned right I'm a liberal and I'll tell you why."
— Tim C, Columbia, MD
Recommend Recommended by 17 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 12:24 pm
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As always spot on by Mr Herbert. It's the great mystery of American politics, and not only to Europeans, obviously, how so many Americans consistently - and blatantly - vote against their own interests. I really hope that liberals learnt their lesson from the smear campaigns against Al Gore and John Kerry and fight back this time. The fact that McCain seems to be back in the race is beyond belief.
— Makoo, London
Recommend Recommended by 38 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 12:24 pm
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Yep. Liberals are wussies. By allowing the conservatives to define what they are, instead of defiining themselves, the word liberal is always uttered with some form of contempt... self-contempt by liberals themselves.Me... I'm far left of the American centre and proud of it. I support enviromentalism, I support peace, I support equality of people, I support the proper usage of the planets resources, I think that we all should share the world, I support local and world peace, I dont support the war in Iraq, Afghanistan or Georgia, I dont support torture, I dont support pollution, I dont support children labouring to make Nike shoes at an abysmal 3 cents an hour, I didnt support the carpet bombing of Baghdad and the death of nearly a million Iraqis, I dont support terrorism in any form, I dont support the use of mines as a tool of war, I support a womans right to choose, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, even freedom to own a gun, I support womens rights, gay rights, civil rights. I support the banning of harmful substances in our food, an increase in minimum wage, immigration rights. I dont support corporate control of our lives, exploitation, higher oil profits, indecent corporate behaviour, the bush government or Dick Cheney.I'm liberal. Wow. Whats not to be proud of.
— David, Ft Lauderdale
Recommend Recommended by 49 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 12:25 pm
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I was born in 1934, near the height of the great depression. My parents were staunch conservatives -- they hated Roosevelt; to them he may as well have been the anti-Christ. Had my father been a banker or an industrialist I might have understood his feelings. But he was nothing of the sort: he was a newspaper man, sports editor on a small mid-Western daily. My mother had been a school teacher before she married, but now was just a housewife. How was it, I always wondered, that such ordinary people could hold such anti-New Deal sentiments during a time of widespread economic misery. My father always talked about the importance of self-reliance and the evil of encouraging people to rely on the government to support them. I finally decided that it was the fact that he was employed while most of those around him were without jobs that made him feel that way. The depression, one might say, had been very, very good to my father. It had made him, in comparison with the vast number of those without jobs, a member of the privileged class and he enjoyed the status. But Roosevelt threatened all that, so my father hated him. And that, I think, is what is behind all this anti-liberal trash talking that has gone on ever since: the attitude that I made it on my own, so why should my taxes go to help out those who haven't been so fortunate. It is the smug self-satisfaction of the petty bourgeoisie who never stop to think, when they see people less well off than themselves, that there, but for the grace of God, go I.
— Walker Peterson, Arroyo Seco, New Mexico
Recommend Recommended by 84 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 12:26 pm
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Bravo, Mr. Herbert! Yes, it is ironic that the "liberal" label is shunned when liberalism has advanced this country immeasurably. But don't be disheartened. Despite repeated victories by conservatives, progress made by liberals is rarely reversed. The center of gravity, when seen over time, creeps slowly leftward. Example: In England, both conservatives and liberals defend the National Health Service. Any conservative who tried to abolish it would be rejected. In America, no one would campaign against Medicare or Social Security. (Such attempts are done covertly). We should be encouraged that major liberal initiatives are rarely reversed. The rate of progress may be slowed, but it is not arrested.
— Steve Blevins, Oklahoma City
Recommend Recommended by 16 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 12:27 pm
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Thank you for a great editorial. You are correct on all points.I would like to see the word 'liberal' rehabilitated as I would like the word 'conservative' rehabilitated.As ‘liberal’ has been cast as a synonym for evil, so has ‘conservative’, in the eyes of my friends.This was wholly unnecessary, of course. If my memory is correct, it is Ronald Reagan who first specifically and distinctly demonized liberals. And sadly, some of us liberals are effectively disallowed to ascribe any positive quality to the word conservative. This is because the word has -purposely- been perverted by the far right to signify the meanest, least positive, least in touch with humanistic values that is possible for people.I hesitate to say least Christian among us because all religions of the world, at their inner core, teach peace and love of God and teach responsibility as stewards of Creation. But certainly the Christian right has usurped and perverted the message of Christ just as they have perverted the idea of conservative. This is plain to any thoughtful and observant person.So what does that make a modern conservative? Someone who is heartless and heedless as far as I can tell.Colorado NativeB Carson
— Barbara Carson, B Carson, Fort Collins, Colorado
Recommend Recommended by 27 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 12:55 pm
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I think most of the comments here show a wrong idea of Republicans and the ideals of conservatives.Republicans are not necessarily against all these social programs. We are against the Federal Government implementing them. All of these federal programs should be left up to the states: education, health care, abortion, and the list goes on.You see if we leave it to the states then each state acts as a test subject to see what the best ideas are. When you have the feds implementing the programs there are no alternatives, no imagination, and thus most of the programs are doomed to failure. Imagine if there were five or six different methods that were being tried to fix social security. One of them would prove to be the best and then the entire country would follow. That was the intention of the founders, not an all powerful federal government deciding one direction and sticking to it no matter what the data says.Republicans do not see democrats as the devil. We think you are misguided in your zeal to have government "fix" things. We do believe there is a healthy role for government but most of that role should be decided by the states not the feds.
— Paul, Williamston, USA
Recommend Recommended by 9 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 1:15 pm
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These guys should call themselves socialists and get over with it.The idea that the government can take care of everything is very old: "the government that does everything you want takes everything you own""Is not that are taxing us too little they are just spending too much" (Ronald Regan quote)Big social programs should be only for the very neededI do not need a bureaucrat to choose my doctor or my children teachersWhy not school vouchers?Read Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose"If you are under 30 and are not a liberal you do not have a heart. If over 30 and not a conservative you do not have a brain (Winston Churchill)Guess my age bracket?
— Marcos Sastre, M.D., Plymouth, MA
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 2:21 pm
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A partisan idea log is the only way I can describe Bob Herbert. Think for yourself for once. All of you pieces mush into a narrow liberal philosophy. They are boring, lack creativity and substance.
— Bill, Pennsylvania
Recommend Recommended by 4 Readers
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EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)
September 09, 2008 2:36 pm
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Its funny that the contradictions inherent in Conservative talk-points are not really exploited and exposed. For example pro life anti-abortion stance does not gel with gun toting macho hunter image that the conservatives want to project. Is it their argument that god only creates humans and all other life forms are an just an accident? Whether one believes in global warming or not, if you are god-fearing, is it not your duty to support environmental preservation opposing destruction of nature as God created it? While they want less government in matters that are vital to national wellbeing (economy, infrastructure, regulation, education and health care), they want more government in purely private choices with no national ramifications (homosexuality, abortion, euthanasia)Its surprising that Liberals, whose philosophy is more attuned to the best interests of average citizen, get called as 'Elite'.
— Sriram, LA
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