No Opinion == Liberal?

I want to make something perfectly clear.

I have no opinion on abortion.

I’m never going to get an abortion for myself. There’s no need. I’m male. The whole argument has no power for me, because I really don’t care one way or the other which way the laws go. Since abortion is currently legal, if some member of my family ever needs or wants one and approaches me about it, I’ll discuss their ethical questions and then drive them to the clinic if need be. If their religion has particular proscriptions on the practice, I’ll encourage them to explore those prior to taking such an action, since I understand it may have profound impact on both family and ecumenical relationships.

If abortion were made illegal tomorrow, I’d regard that law with similar apathy, and help family members explore legal options if my opinion were ever given any weight on the issue.

But I really don’t care.

I don’t care if you get an abortion. I don’t care if you don’t get an abortion. I don’t care if your mother wants an abortion, or if you wish you were aborted. If you were supposed to be an abortion and it didn’t work out, I’ll chalk that up to serendipity and be grateful that we’re together to talk, while pointedly trying to steer the conversation to one of the myriad issues I really do care about. Like music, Joss Whedon’s latest projects, Brittany (sic) Spears’ latest hairstyle, who makes the best beer in the greater Salt Lake City area, or what I had for lunch today.

As for the last two, lunch was at MacCool’s Public House at The District in Riverton, UT. There I had an excellent — and enormous — chicken pot-pie, a few friend potatoes, and some fine Cherny Bock stout from the Bohemian Brewery, an excellent local brewery in Sandy, Utah. The Cherny Bock stout has a really rich flavor with just a hint of bitter and little aftertaste. On tap, it compares favorably to a nitro-tapped Guinness or perhaps the local Squatter’s Brewery “Captain Bastard’s Oatmeal Stout”, though the CBOS has quite a bit more hoppy finish while tasting smoother in the mouth. I really enjoy all three, depending on the situation, though if the Guinness is not on nitro tap I may choose something a little lighter.

I’m still a newbie at beer comparisons, but I like most of the darker porters and stouts. And if we ever go somewhere and I order a beer that’s new to me, you should come along because if I don’t like it, I won’t finish it and will give the rest to you. If it’s Corona (with or without lime), Coors Light, or Budweiser, you keep it. I’ll go for a soda or water instead. Enjoy.

See? There’s a discussion we can get into, have strong disagreements, and nobody leaves the discussion labeling the other person as anything except perhaps a neophyte or an uncultured, Hefeweizen-hating stout or porter beer snob.

That said, I have no opinion on abortion, and think the current situation is perfectly fine the way it is.

This makes me, according to apparently every right-wing talk radio host and local Republican in Utah, a “liberal”.

Why does that label bug me so much when it clearly doesn’t apply to my moderate, civil-rights-leaning independent-minded Registered Republican outlook?