[mick_m]

Funny, the two most common labels I am hearing these days are not on the list: 'liberal' and 'conservative'. In political discussions a lot of ideas are suppressed - or at least verbally dismissed - using these labels.

[unalone]

Don't forget "moderate." Nobody liked Giuliani's being moderate, no no no. You're not safe ANYWHERE in the scale. Avoid it and you're "apathetic." Get too complex and you're "elitist" or "flip-flopping" or "hostile" (if the right crowd catches you trying to explain things).

...Man. I miss George Carlin.

[hugh]

Nobody liked Giuliani's being moderate, no no no.

While he was too moderate for some (as was, for instance, Clinton on the other side), can you find me an example where "moderate" was used as a term of abuse against Giuliani?

"Moderate" really doesn't seem to belong on the list. I can't imagine anyone ever looking shocked and saying "That's such a X thing to say" when X is "moderate", but it seems to fit for most of the other examples.

[unalone]

This might just be on reddit, but I've heard it said before. "If you weren't such a moderate perhaps you'd be more prone to logic."

But reddit is a bit wonky nowadays anyway, sadly.

[yelsgib]

God, even worse is -Capitalist-. Socialists say the US is Capitalist, Libertarians say the US is Socialist. Who knows? What a waste of words.

[rw]

Even deeper: The American free-market libertarians pulled a coup when they were able to redefine, in public discourse, what it means to have 'liberty' (compare the definition of 'libertarian' ca. 1900 Europe and ca. 2000's USA).

[gaius]

Or the way the words "liberal" and "progressive" have been hijacked by people who actually believe in the USSR of the 1950s.

[ibsulon]

In what sense? The progressive movement as currently constructed is not enamored with neither Leninism nor Stalinism, though there is sometimes a smidge of respect for Trotsky.

The 80s just called and they want your meme back.