Ultraliberalism today translates into a whimpering isolationism in foreign policy, a mulish obstructionism in domestic policy, and a pusillanimous pussyfooting on the critical issue of law and order.

Agnew’s sentence is a characteristic piece of late-1960s/early-1970s conservative rhetoric: it reframes “ultraliberalism” not as principled reform but as a cluster of perceived weaknesses—retreat abroad (“isolationism”), obstruction at home (“obstructionism”), and timidity on crime and public disorder (“pussyfooting” on “law and order”). The alliterative piling-up of insults is meant to delegitimize opponents by casting them as simultaneously soft and stubborn, and to position the speaker’s side as the only credible guardian of national strength and social stability. The emphasis on “law and order” reflects the era’s political realignment around crime, protest, and cultural conflict.