No, that is exactly the point: equate liberal with degenerate. No causation, they are simply the same. Full stop. It is like liberal now equals expresso(sic) drinking, book reading, museum patron. If you are a liberal, you drink expresso (sic). If you drink expresso (sic), you area liberal. 'nuff said.
That is why I like the Get Your War on strip from a couple of months ago:
"No, NO! You didn't make fun of the ranch in Crawford, TX? Typical East Coast Elitist!"
"East Coast elitist? Fuck it. Sure, is that what you call it? Fine. I'm from New York City. I can actually think on my feet. I can string two fuckin' sentences together without notes. and I could answer some motherfucker's questions about a war without just spitting out eleven different permutations of the same "goo gah freedom" phrase! So, sue me--that makes me elitist? Good! If 'elitist' just means "not the dumbest motherfucker in the room," I'll be an elitist."
http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war34.html
Kelley
"We're in a fucking stagmire."
--Little Carmine, 'The Sopranos'