Know Thy Enemy: The Difference Between a Liberal and a Leftist


Democratic activist Van Jones speaks to the crowd during the women

Written by Steve Deace

Never be disappointed when progressives show you who they really are.

Disgusted? Sure. That gag reflex you feel is a good and healthy response. But you must also acknowledge that leftists are doing you a favor when they cast aside their disguises and simply allow themselves to be seen in the full light of day.You know, like when they refuse to stand in the well of the House of Representatives when a war widow is being recognized during a presidential speech.

Much has already been written and said about this already, but my take concerns how such a stand reflects upon progressivism’s totalitarian and pathological commitment to see their agenda through to the bitter end. And rest assured, since progressives are really history’s losers — dare I say, they’re really regressives — pushing policies and values that always fail the people they’re supposed to help the most, the end will most definitely be bitter.

This is where an important distinction between being liberal and being a leftist comes into play. A liberal will disagree with you, and quite often that disagreement will even be heated or go overboard. But what remains possible in the mind of a genuine liberal, no matter whether they are on the winning or losing side of an argument, is the possibility or requirement to coexist on some level with their countrymen.

While they may be at war with the ideas of the person they are debating, they are not fundamentally at war with the person themselves. Not so with leftists. The level of imposition that those fiends are willing to cast upon your life and livelihood is well established by now. Yet, I think many of us who consider ourselves right-of-center continue to believe that something resembling a cultural compromise with modern-day progressivism is still possible.

It is not.

Open war is upon you, whether you like it or not. Accommodation is a two-way street in any culture, and if the other party won’t accommodate you it doesn’t matter whether or not you’ll accommodate them — because you don’t matter to them anyway. Just ask Barronelle Stutzman.

I’m old enough to remember when liberals tried to co-opt our platforms as their own, as Colmes did for years on Fox.

Liberals we contend with, but leftists we must defeat. Know thy enemy:

  • The liberal seeks to mold civilized society in ways we oppose. Mainly because they have a different definition of compassion, or have a different view of the role government should play in our lives. The leftist seeks to dismantle civilized society altogether.
  • The liberal believes in things we think are unconstitutional. The leftist pursues an agenda that is anti-constitutional. They’re not simply perverting the general welfare clause, but attacking the very integrity of the Constitution itself.
  • The liberal will contend for your free speech, even if they think you’re an unevolved troglodyte. The leftist believes you forfeit your free speech entirely if you dare disagree.
  • The liberal believes those who disagree with him or her simply need to be educated or exposed to diverse cultures and ideas. The leftist believes those who disagree are automatically racist/misogynist/homophobic bigots.
  • The liberal believes government is the primary tool to carry out his or her ideology. The leftist believes government is the primary weapon to punish those who oppose his or her ideology.

Unfortunately, liberals as we used to know them are a dying breed these days. Just look at the way leftists chose to show no class whatsoever in attacking dyed-in-the-wool liberal Alan Colmes after his death. All because Colmes used a conservative-leaning platform to spread his gospel.

I’m old enough to remember when liberals tried to co-opt our platforms as their own, as Colmes did for years on Fox. Now leftists just want to crush them. Colmes’ sin here was defying leftist perpetual rage by daring to treat those he disagrees with as co-workers, let alone human beings.

Or like a segment on CNN Wednesday, which featured the Left’s response to the network’s progressive commentator Van Jones. That’s right — the Left’s response to the Left. All because Van Jones dared to dabble in intellectual honesty by saying Donald Trump gave an effective speech to the nation Tuesday night.

These are windows to the soul-less. For if this is how the leftists treat their own like Colmes and Jones when they think for themselves, what hope is there for the rest of us with contrarian views in the coming progressive dystopia?

The answer is none — which is why you must defeat them before they end you.


Article originally published at ConservativeReview.com.