RussD wrote:
one more time.
We do not have a Left in the US.
Clinton, Kerry and Obama are practitioners of 3rd way, neo-liberalism (not to be confused with classic democratic capitalist neo-liberalism which includes most of you conservatives actually).
The Democratic Party 3rd way movement has typically labeled "Clintonite" as he was it's most notable and successful proponent. It essentially borrows a pro business, pro market approach from the right and marries it to light liberalism. Usually this means acceding to demands of labor and environmentalists. However, the goal of clintonite neoliberalism is economic growth, not progressive t***sformation. So any labor, environmental or other liberal causes are SECONDARY to the primary goal of growth.
As for actual Left parties. We have C*******t Party USA, which in typical C*******t fashion has been run by one person, Bob Avakian, for decades.
There are socialist parties as well, however neither the CP nor any of the little baby socialist parties ever do anything beyond sell T shirts and books. They are as marginal as Lyndon Larouche.
Face it, we have a Far Right and a Moderate Right.
The Democrats are surely to the Left of the GOP but are not a Left party at all.
one more time. br We do not have a Left in the US... (
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We will have to agree to disagree on this issue.
According to Alan West, there are about 80 Democrat members in Congress who are c*******ts; according to author Trevor Loudon, that number is more than 100. The reason they can't come clean with their real identities is because most Americans would not v**e for an avowed c*******t, so they hide this fact from the public. "If it walks and talks like a duck...".
Democrats are notorious for asking the "Bureau of Euphemisms" to re-name things people normally wouldn't accept. They are now called "Progressives" because everyone likes progress, don't they? And for the Republicans, if they're not progressive, then by default they must be against progress or regressive and that's bad, right? Taxes are "contributions" or "getting the wealthy to pay their fair share" even though they pay the lion's share of income taxes already. K*****g a baby inside the mother for nothing more than convenience is called "a women's health issue"; I*****l a***ns are "undocumented Americans"; Interfering with a parent's discipline of their unruly child is "standing up for children's rights" and so on.
The description you gave to the Clintonian brand of rule is actually what a Rockefeller Republican is - fiscally conservative and socially liberal. It has been around a long time and in most grassroots circles, they are called RINOs.
Your description of the Right has taken on some poetic license. If you look at the political spectrum, on the far left side you have c*******ts, Marxists and tyrannical rulers. There's no liberty at all and the state owns or controls all the property;
On the far right side you have NO government. It's like the days of the Wild West where the only law or government was the gun on your hip. Basically, this is anarchy and it may seem like people are free, but when you have to carry everything with you to guard it from thieves, then you actually don't have freedom.
Our Framers tried to place the political stance somewhere in the middle. From time to time the pendulum swings one way or the other, but not too much. Here is where nearly all conservatives are or what you call "the Far Right". Conservatives want individual freedom in an ordered society; They want less government interference in their lives and business; they want a limited, accountable government; they also realize they have the right and duty to change things from time to time as need be through legal, established means. The reason you see this as the Far Right is because the country as a whole has shifted to the Left - far enough to where the Framers would be disgusted and angry. Like it or not, Conservatives reside in the middle of what this country was founded on.
You may or may not agree with my perspective and that is fine - so be it. Having a different point of view is not evil or destructive and being able to discuss as adults this is very much American as Mom and apple pie.
Have a pleasant day.