quotations about liberals
Liberalism is to freedom as anarchism is to anarchy.
ERNST JUNGER
Eumeswil
Nowadays, what is meant by "liberalism" is progressivism, socialism, the welfare state, statism; systems that American conservatives lump together as "Big Government."
JON N. HALL
"What's Wrong with Europe", American Thinker, June 1, 2016
The only way liberals win national elections is by pretending they're not liberals.
RUSH LIMBAUGH
"35 Undeniable Truths of Life"
What health is to the animal, Liberalism is to the polity. It is a principle of fermenting enjoyment, running over all the nerves, inspiring the frame, happy in its mind, easy in its place, glad to behold the sun.
WALTER BAGEHOT
Literary Studies
Though I believe in liberalism, I find it difficult to believe in liberals.
G. K. CHESTERTON
attributed, The Offensive Art: Political Satire and Its Censorship
Conservatives want to make the poor rich, while liberals want to make the rich poor.
MARK W. SMITH
The Official Handbook of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy
Enraging liberals is simply one of the more enjoyable side effects of my wisdom.
RUSH LIMBAUGH
attributed, The Nastiest Things Ever Said about Democrats
I believe in a relatively equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth and poverty. I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law. That makes me a liberal, and I'm proud of it.
PAUL KRUGMAN
The Conscience of a Liberal
The Republican Party either corrupts its liberals or it expels them.
HARRY TRUMAN
attributed, Wit and Wisdom of the American Presidents
The True conservative seeks to protect the system of private property and free enterprise by correcting such injustices and inequalities as arise from it. The most serious threat to our institutions comes from those who refuse to face the need for change. Liberalism becomes the protection for the far-sighted conservative.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
speech, Sep. 29, 1936
Begun mainly in the experiments of the 1960s, modern liberal thought adventures have far surpassed the breadth of Western Civilization's four other great mental prison breaks: ancient Greece, the Judeo-Christian ethical revolution, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment. In addition, three of these brain gains reached only a few thousand intellectuals. Thanks to modern media, the brain break of the '60s reached billions.
BILL BRANYON
Liberating Liberals
The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand them.
LENNY BRUCE
"Politics", The Essential Lenny Bruce
Being a liberal is the best thing on earth you can be. You are welcoming to everyone when you're a liberal. You do not have a small mind... I'm total, total, total liberal and proud of it. And I think it's outrageous to say "The L word". I mean, excuse me. They should be damn lucky that they were liberals here. Liberals gave more to the population of the United States than any other group.
LAUREN BACALL
Larry King Live, May 6, 2005
If liberalism has grown so weak and ineffective, why does it evoke such alarm on the part of conservatives? It turns out that while liberals are weak and spineless, they are also sneaky and clever.
ERIC ALTERMAN
Why We're Liberals: A Political Handbook for Post-Bush America
The Liberal party is held together, not by forces within, but by a force above it. It consists, like the being that declined a chair, of two wings and a head.
LORD ACTON
letter to Mary Gladstone, July 10, 1880