Editing Limousine liberal

{{short description|Pejorative American political term referring to hypocrisy in liberals}}
{{use mdy dates |date=February 2021}}
[[File:Mega limo - Flickr - dave 7 (1).jpg|thumb|The term references [[limousine]]s as a symbol of affluence.]]

'''Limousine liberal''' and '''latte liberal''' are pejorative U.S. [[politics|political]] terms used to illustrate perceived [[Hypocrisy|hypocritical]] behavior by affluent political [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberals]] and other left-leaning people of [[upper class]] or [[upper middle class]] status. Related terms are [[Champagne socialist]], silver-spoon socialist, Mercedes Marxist, and Red Nobility.

==Formation and early use==
===Procaccino campaign===
[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[New York City]] mayoral hopeful [[Mario Procaccino]] coined the term "limousine liberal" to describe incumbent [[Mayor]] [[John Lindsay]] and his wealthy [[Manhattan]] backers during a heated [[New York City mayoral election, 1969|1969 campaign]]. Historian [[David Callahan]] says that Procaccino:

{{Blockquote|conjured up an acid image of hypocritical wealthy dogooders insulated from the negative fallout of their bad ideas.  This theme has remained a staple of conservative attacks ever since.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Callahan|title=Fortunes of Change: The Rise of the Liberal Rich and the Remaking of America|url=https://archive.org/details/fortunesofchange0000call|url-access=registration|year=2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|page=[https://archive.org/details/fortunesofchange0000call/page/123 123]}}</ref>}}

It was a [[Populism|populist]] and [[producerism|producerist]] epithet, carrying an implicit accusation that the people it described were insulated from all negative consequences of their programs purported to benefit the poor and that the costs and consequences of such programs would be borne in the main by [[working class]] or [[lower middle class]] people who were not so poor as to be beneficiaries themselves. In particular, Procaccino criticized Lindsay for favoring unemployed minorities, ex. blacks and Hispanics, over working-class [[white ethnic]]s.<ref>''[[The New York Times]]''. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02EFD61E38F936A15752C0A96E958260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/L/Lindsay,%20John%20V. "Mayoral Follies, The 1969 Edition "] Published January 25, 1998.</ref>

One Procaccino campaign memo criticized "rich super-[[assimilation (sociology)|assimilated]] people who live on [[Fifth Avenue]] and maintain some choice [[mansions]] outside the city and have no feeling for the small [[middle class]] shopkeeper, home owner, etc. They preach the politics of confrontation and condone violent upheaval in society because they are not touched by it and are protected by their [[courtiers]]".<ref>''The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York'' by Vincent J. Cannato, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Upv5ezVPBOMC&dq=%22john+lindsay%22+%22limousine+liberal%22+mansions&pg=PA428 page 428].</ref> ''[[The Independent]]'' later stated that "Lindsay came across as all style and no substance, a 'limousine liberal' who knew nothing of the concerns of the same '[[Silent Majority (Politics)|silent majority]]' that was carrying [[Richard Nixon]] to the White House at the very same time."<ref>''[[The Independent]].'' [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20001222/ai_n14346783 "Obituary: John Lindsay "] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107210317/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20001222/ai_n14346783 |date=2008-01-07 }}. Written December 22, 2000 by Rupert Cornwell.</ref>

===Desegregation===
After the Supreme Court ruled against [[School integration in the United States|school integration]] delays in [[Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education]], former Alabama Governor [[George Wallace]] denounced the court's opinion and called the Justices "limousine hypocrites".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Brethren|last1=Woodward|first1=Bob|last2=Armstrong|first2=Scott|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1979|isbn=0-671-24110-9|title-link=The Brethren (Woodward and Armstrong book)}}</ref>

==Later use==

''[[The New York Observer]]'' applied the term to [[2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2008 Democratic presidential candidate]] [[John Edwards]] who paid $400 ({{Inflation|US|400|2007|fmt=eq|r=-1}}) for a haircut and, according to the newspaper, "lectures about poverty while living in gated opulence".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kornacki |first1=Steve |title=Is Edwards An Easy Mark? |url=http://www.observer.com/2007/edwards-easy-mark |access-date=February 7, 2021 |work=[[The New York Observer]] |date=May 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107124004/http://www.observer.com/2007/edwards-easy-mark |archive-date=January 7, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Steve Fraser|title=The Limousine Liberal: How an Incendiary Image United the Right and Fractured America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cpzSDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA4|year=2016|publisher=Basic Books|page=4|isbn=9780465055661 }}</ref> 

Civil rights leader [[Al Sharpton]] used the term ''latte liberal'' to criticize (mostly white and high-income) left-leaning people "sit[ing] around [[the Hamptons]]" who advocated for the [[defund the police]] movement and ignored the concerns of African-Americans that suffer under high crime rates and rely on a strong police force.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/515448-msnbcs-sharpton-defunding-police-something-a-latte-liberal-may-go-for|title=MSNBC's Sharpton: Defunding police 'something a latte liberal may go for'|access-date=December 7, 2021|date=September 8, 2020|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|author=Joe Concha}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/al-sharpton-defund-the-police-is-just-something-latte-liberals-support|title=Al Sharpton: Defund the Police Is Just Something 'Latte Liberals' Support|access-date=December 7, 2021|date=September 8, 2020|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|author=Justin Baragona}}</ref><ref name="Cuza 2020">{{cite web | last=Cuza | first=Bobby | title=Black Council Members Push Back Against Protester Budget Criticism | website=Spectrum News NY1 &#124; New York City | date=July 1, 2020 | url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2020/07/02/council-members-allege-outside-agitation | access-date=December 28, 2020|quote=My working-class people, my homeowners, my tenants, my neighbors—they are not out there screaming and yelling, because they have to work.}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Boba liberal]]
*[[Bobo (socio-economic group)]]
*''[[Bobos in Paradise]]''
*[[Champagne socialist]]
*[[Chattering class]]
*[[Gauche caviar]]
*[[Liberal elite]]
*[[Luxury belief]]
*[[Radical chic]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [[Francia, Peter L.]], et al. "Limousine liberals and corporate conservatives: The financial constituencies of the democratic and republican parties." ''Social Science Quarterly'' 86.4 (2005): 761–778.
* Fraser, Steve. ''The Limousine Liberal: How an Incendiary Image United the Right and Fractured America'' (Basic, 2016). viii, 291 pp.
* Stark, Andrew. "Limousine liberals, welfare conservatives: On belief, interest, and inconsistency in democratic discourse." ''Political Theory'' 25.4 (1997): 475–501.
*{{cite journal |last1=Fraser |first1=Steve |title=It's Time to Take Woke Capital Seriously |journal=Dissent |date=2022 |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=107–114 |doi=10.1353/dss.2022.0013}}
==External links==
*{{Wikiquote-inline}}
{{Liberalism}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Limousine Liberal}}
[[Category:Class-related slurs]]
[[Category:Liberalism]]
[[Category:Upper class]]
[[Category:Political metaphors referring to people]]
[[Category:Political terminology of the United States]]
[[Category:Political pejoratives]]
[[Category:Political pejoratives for people]]