The latest McCain ad ignores Wright, Rezko, and Ayers and instead accuses Obama of a single, supposedly disqualifying, grievance: Being liberal.
But I argue over at Ablogistan that this assumes too much and, after this election (assuming Obama holds onto his lead and wins), Republicans are going to finally come to the realization that “liberal” isn’t the dirty word it once was.
It may just be a generational thing. Being liberal picked up a very negative connotation from “culture war” politics, and for years conservatives won elections by accusing their opponents of being liberal, and liberals won elections by portraying themselves as anything but.
But I’m not so sure that strategy carries the same weight with Generation X and Y voters. A snippet:
For those of us who became politically aware under either Bill Clinton or George W. Bush, liberals haven’t the bad guys. Liberals didn’t start an unnecessary war in Iraq. Liberals didn’t mishandle Hurricane Katrina, or drastically expand programs to spy on Americans, or earn us a reputation as torturers. And liberals aren’t the ones denying our friends basic rights based on their sexuality.
They may have been complicit, but they weren’t the primary culprits. If you want to find a negative label that instantly turns off Generation X and Y voters, don’t call your opponent a liberal. Call him a neoconservative.
That probably isn’t the audience McCain is trying to reach with these ads anyway. But after eight years of “conservatives” being in charge, we need a better explanation about why being liberal is in itself such a bad thing.