American political life has reached the stage where a vocal and powerful group uses "liberal" as a term of contempt.... Never before in our history has this been true. Liberals and conservatives have disagreed and, on occasion, have stoutly fought each other; but not in the lifelong recollection of the speaker has any similar attempt been made to convert an honorable word for a socially useful attitude into a sling of mud to be thrown at a political opponent.
