When did 'liberal' become such a bad word?

Posted by Racer on February 14, 2006, at 1:46:28

There was a piece on the news tonight about a town in Southern California boycotting San Francisco. The councilwoman being interviewed about it said they were doing it to punish San Francisco -- because they were so ... liberal. Said with such malice.
How did "liberal" become an insult? It has a few meanings, such as "tolerant, open-minded;" and "in favor of democratic reform;" it also means "generous" and teaching more than just technical skills. (<< The infamous "Liberal Arts" education we all allegedly got.)
That's so sad to me, that a perfectly good word, which means things that are generally GOOD, should become such a venomous insult.

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When did 'liberal' become such a bad word? Racer 2/14/06
Re: When did 'liberal' become such a bad word? » Racer James K 2/14/06

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