Stefanie wrote:
Anyone can misuse the term (knowingly or not), but when used appropriately in this political context, "elite" does refer to the control freaks who think that freedom is overrated (be they on the right or left). To equate the use of the term "elite" on the part of the right (be they conservatives, capitalists, or more specifically, Republicans) with an anti-education or anti-intellectual position is... disingenuous.

I don't think thats true. The very word "elite" implies something different from just "control freak." Here are a few sources on the word "liberal elite."
Wikipedia: In the US, the term is most often applied to residents ... who often hold advanced college degrees and are politically left-leaning.
World Net Daily Ah, the hoity-toity pretenses of America's academic elite...
Peggy Noonan (Sorry for the annoying link but its the best reference I can find.) That leaves America's elite--the politicians, wise men, think-tank experts, academics, magazine and editorial-page editors, big-city columnists, TV commentators...

In sum this tends to a kind of anti-intellectualism. If you don't agree with the opinions of learned people you need simply accuse them of being part of the "elite" and ignore what they are saying. Its ad hominem.

Decius wrote:
Oh? One could just as easily assert that the term "elite" is constantly used by conservative commentators in the context of attacking law professors and the supreme court when the constitution is interpreted in such a way that it allows liberal efforts to control people's lives with legislation.

I rest my case. Sure, they raise the "liberal elite" card in cases like Kelo where the court failed to overturn a law they didn't like. They also raise the "liberal elite" card in cases like Griswold, where the court overturned a law they liked.

My point is that you are being disingenous when you say that they raise the "liberal elite" card specifically in cases where they are talking about powerful people controlling everyday Americans. They raise it in every context, whether they are fighting for more freedom or more control. Furthermore, in general they seek more control over people's lives, not more freedom, as you concede.

The Libertarians aren't perfect, but at least I don't consider them to be merely the "least of three evils"... yet.

I'll be the last person who'll tell you that the Democrats are fighting for freedom. Frankly, I'm not too impressed with Libertarians either. Most people I speak to who claim that philosophy are really partisan Republicans who are sometimes fair weather friends of social freedom but would never take a tax increase in exchange for it, but at the same time they are willing to accept all manner of social constraints from politicians who'd give then a tax break. Libertarian circles on the internet seem crawling with the most right wing people these days.

RE: Clinton dismisses 'elite' economists on gas tax plan | Reuters