“Reactionary” means (as I understand it – haven’t checked the OED yet) someone who dogmatically defends the old order, old beliefs, old power structures, etc., and “reacts” negatively against change. Formerly employed as a term of abuse by the hippie generation, it now fits many of those same self-styled “liberals” and “progressives” perfectly.

I think you’ve nailed it, Ascher.

This is certainly the feeling I’ve had about the Democrats recently — that what they’re doing is trying to react to 9/11 by pushing politics back to the days when politics were about who could buy more votes with government goodies and the big media got to choose who and what was news.