I am a social liberal, pro-choice, don’t care if gays marry, don’t want prayer in the schools, don’t want anybody showing up in my hospital room other than a doctor. If I don’t want the government or a religion telling me what to do in those instances, I certainly don’t want some conservatives telling me either. Nor do I worship at the altar of Sarah Palin.

If the Tea Partiers were more like ArkansasAngie, maybe we could get together.

Identity Crisis – Mad-As-Hellers

Finding a voice in the wilderness is our challenge. Where’s a community organizer when you need one.

With naming rights comes the power to define.

I obviously can’t speak for everyone who is ticked off at Obama, Washington and Wall Street. But … I’ve got a leg up on the partisans out to label us.

Succinctly, the Tea Partiers are dismissed as “they’re nothing but a bunch of scared, ignorant, racists who don’t like taxes.” Gee … I went to a rally or two and didn’t see a single such person. And … while I am scared, if you call me a racist again I might figuratively punch you in the nose.

Word of advice … you’d better be smiling the next time you call me stupid, too.

By the way … while I’d like to limit the tax increases levied on me … I understand and accept that my taxes are going up. It isn’t possible that they don’t … even as they struggle mightily to do so surreptitiously through inflation.

Mad-As-Hellers as pinned by Robert Reich as just little people seeking revenge. Well … I am a little person. And … yes … I do want those who caused the problem to suffer its consequences first. But … that’s not seeking revenge … that’s seeking justice.

I read where Progressives are unhappy, too. Labeled as the far leftist (derogatorily), Progressives like Feingold and Boxer are taking a stand and saying no to Bernanke.

The enemy of my enemy … is my friend.

I’ve got a whole lot more in common with the Tea Partiers, Mad-As-Hellers and Progressives than I do with run-of-the-mill Republicans or Democrats. A pox on both your houses.

We need to take control of our destiny by controlling our label. Instead of allowing partisans to set us up for disproving the negative, we must name ourselves.

In so doing … we’ll find a unified voice from which we can shout … no … there is a better way.

What’s in a name? Everything.

Honestly … the label I’m most comfortable with is American.