 liberal elite is a political stigma used to describe politically left-leaning people, whose education had traditionally opened the doors to affluence. it is commonly used with the pejorative implication that the people who claim to support the rights of the working class are themselves members of the upper class, or upper middle class, and are therefore out of touch with the real needs of the people they claim to support and protect. the phrase "liberal elite" should not be confused with the term "elite" as used by writers such as vilfredo pareto and c. wright mills. they use the term to mean those who exercise the most political power. the label is essentially a rhetorical device with flexible meaning depending on where in the english speaking world it is used. as a polemical term it has been used to refer to political positions as diverse as secularism, environmentalism, feminism, and other positions associated with the left. the originating usage in the united states is applied with various changes to other english speaking countries and by extension to left-leaning elites in other countries. however, the term "liberal" does not have the same political connotation in all english speaking countries. in australia it has the opposite connotation to that which it enjoys in the us. it is associated with the liberal party, a conservative and powerful party whose name is based on their objective to liberalise the market economy within australia. in the uk, the liberal democrats occupies the political centre between the rightist conservative and the leftist labour parties. ==united states usage== in the united states, the lifestyle of the liberal elite is often considered noteworthy.the atlantic monthly, december 2001today's farmer | may 2002 | blue vs. red columnist dave barry drew attention to these stereotypes when he commented, "do we truly believe that all red-state residents are ignorant racist fascist knuckle-dragging nascar-obsessed cousin-marrying roadkill-eating tobacco-juice-dribbling gun-fondling religious fanatic rednecks; or that all blue-state residents are godless unpatriotic pierced-nose volvo-driving france-loving left-wing communist latte-sucking tofu-chomping holistic-wacko neurotic vegan weenie perverts?"http://www.adammessinger.com/2004/12/13/barry-heals-nation during the 2008 presidential election, republican candidate john mccain likened democratic candidate barack obama's celebrity appeal to that of pop star britney spears and socialite paris hilton.{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2008
Pejorative_terms_for_people Political_terminology_of_the_United_States Social_class_subcultures