When George H. W. Bush employed the word liberal as a derogatory epithet during his 1988 presidential campaign , he described himself as a patriot and described his liberal opponents as unpatriotic . Bush referred to liberalism as " the L-word " and sought to demonize opposing presidential candidate Michael Dukakis by labeling Dukakis " the liberal governor " and by pigeonholing him as part of what Bush called " the L-crowd " . Bush recognized that motivating voters to fear Dukakis as a risky , non-mainstream candidate generated political support for his own campaign . Bush 's campaign also used issues of prayer to arouse suspicions that Dukakis was less devout in his religious convictions . Bush 's running mate , vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle , said to Christians at the 1988 Republican National Convention : " It 's always good to be with people who are real Americans " . Bill Clinton avoided association with liberal as a political label during his 1992 presidential campaign against Bush by moving closer to the political center
1988 Republican National Convention
1988 Republican National Convention
Modern liberalism in the United States