If words by Barack Obama’s chief of staff are any indicator, some of us can come out. As “liberals.” Ben Smith reports:

[At] concert hosted by the New Republic last night, Rahm Emanuel — amid a stream of praise for Rep. Barney Frank, also in attendance — embraced the word.

“[Frank] is — to all of us who are liberals — our congressman,” Emanuel said.

The usage is predated by Wonkette’s increasingly frequent use of the word “libtard,” which I choose to read as a reclamation of sorts.