The Surprising Popularity of 'Far Left' Policies

[G_j]

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/05/19/surprising-popularity-far-left-policies


Supposedly radical ideals are actually embraced by large swaths of the American public

byJim Naureckas


“The Far Left Is Winning the Democratic Civil War” was the headline over a Washington Post report (5/16/18) on the results of recent primary elections.

So what counts as “far left” to the Washington Post, the newspaper owned by the world’s richest human?

Here are the positions cited by the Post‘s James Hohmann to characterize the “unelectable activists” who are “thwarting” Democratic hopes to take back the House, or are otherwise part of a “leftward lurch”:

Kara Eastman of Nebraska “advocated for universal background checks to buy guns, raising taxes and decriminalizing marijuana.”

John Fetterman in Pennsylvania “campaigned on universal healthcare and legalizing marijuana.” Running for governor in Idaho, Paulette Jordan based her platform on “protecting more public lands, as well as promising to expand Medicaid, relax marijuana laws, reduce incarceration and limit corporate tax loopholes.”

..more..

[Lunabell]

1. K&R!

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread G_j

[lame54]

3. Michael Moore told us this decades ago

[RandomAccess]

4. Whoever thinks what's mentioned here is "far left"

has obviously been propagandized / conditioned by the right.

[G_j]

6. The right has conditioned

this entire conversation for a long time now.

[sandensea]

11. That's the truth.

[RandomAccess]

20. +1

[WhiteTara]

21. I don't think progressives count as the far left

I think they are more disillusioned than forward thinking and they are almost? as conspiratorial as the far right. But that's just my take.

[jimlup]

5. The mainstream is always the last to recognize this

peoples ideals and concepts of fairness have always been "far left" the only thing wrong with the recognition is calling it "far left" They should read a little Chomsky if they want to understand why this is so and why it doesn't result in "left" control of our political institutions.

[Hortensis]

7. Nonsense. Commondreams.com IS far left and dishonest as hell

in pretending ANY of those goals so obligingly listed haven't been mainstream progressive Democrat for a very long time. One day so-called far lefters/radicals/revolutionaries are going to surprise us all by supporting something truly out of the box instead of sticking their label on policies long accepted by the Democratic Party's mainstream progressives.

We need some definitions: Radical policy can just mean out of the usual box (can be just by considering it time for it now) or truly new and different. Reality is, virtually all new progressive ideas and goals came from competent mainstream liberal Democrats. Follow any goal back and check that out. The New Deal was major reforms enacted from within (great power within) by sensible Democrats.

Radical personality is more like farther left than normal strong liberals, suggesting more zealot than extremist. They're the left's counterpart to the tea partiers on the right and significantly different from mainstream progressive Democrats. Both are unable/unwilling to cooperate with others to achieve their goals and tend to abandon them rather than compromise to achieve. They're almost always more of a liability to progress than otherwise. If passionate dreamers crippled with defeatist tendencies could accomplish their avowed dreams, we'd all take a ride. Instead Democratic liberals usually have to fight them AND the right to achieve progressive goals. As in 2016.

Btw, many others on the far and faaar left regard our current would-be "revolutionaries" as mostly just a little variation on typical Democrats. They have forums, too, even if there are relatively fewer of them, that are worth brief visits. Irrelevant due to small numbers and that same inability to ally to achieve, but at least their positions are more than just their labels pasted on mainstream ideas.

[KPN]

12. With all due respect H, wasn't your first statement the point of Common Dreams' piece?

That there IS nothing far left about any of those goals?

Short of full on socialism/communism, there is no far left in the Democratic Party as far as I can tell. The only real internal divides are between those who think we can and those who think we can't yet, those who want (and maybe need) progress now and those who are more patient and, for whatever reason, can wait, and -- at least as I see it -- those who are somewhat to fully satisfied with our current economic structure/trajectory and those who believe it's a major problem that needs to be tackled right now.

[LiberalLovinLug]

13. So...you agree that these "far left" candidates are really main stream?

So....Bernie Sanders and the left wing of the party are actually main stream with their platform? And Democrats that pronounce single payer healthcare is "not going to happen" are the ones out of touch?. Bernies supporters are not radicals asking for unicorns?
I would tend to agree. Especially looking at what other western democracies already regard as a main stream given.
That's great, welcome to the club!

[G_j]

22. this

“Especially looking at what other western democracies already regard as a main stream given.”

[DeeDeeNY]

8. As a reminder . . .

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/90682-if-by-a-liberal-they-mean-someone-who-looks-ahead

[Steven Maurer]

9. The Washington Post's report is BS

Three primary wins make up for 20 losses?

Let's have a look at the three losers in these races:

Costa, was in the news for having to plead guilty for openly smoking pot at a Steelers game and getting in an auto accident.

His cousin, Dom Costa (who lost to Sara Innamorato), was another "barely a Democrat", with a 38% voting record from the ACLU for his terrible voting record for a democrat on abortion, civil rights, immigrant issues, gun control, and police militarization. He refused to even debate at a League of Women's Voters event.

Then, you have a "Jonny Doc" protege going down in Philadelphia. Johnny Doc was wiretapped by the FBI under warrant for over a year due to all the probable cause around fixing labor contracts.


I wish the left well, but they better not imagine that the public now agrees with them just because they've been able to primary out a handful of old-school corrupt mafioso Democrats - some of whom actually endorsed Trump. Hell, I find it amazing that these guys got any votes at all.

But no, a modest tax increase on the top half of 1% of richest corporations failed in 2016. Single Payer went down in flames in Colorado. Those are not conservative states. So there is no sign that the public agrees with a hard left turn.

Small wonder. Instead of trying to persuade the public to do so, the kook left attacks Democrats as "corrupt" instead.

[LisaM]

10. It's not surprising and it's not far left.

Critics of the Democratic party need to get a grip. Healthcare has been a goal since Teddy Kennedy in the 1970s, and it came roaring back with Hillary Clinton in the 1990s. The harm that Reagan's privatization crap and the voting suppression and gerrymandering have done is immeaaurable. Read the platforms. It's all there.

[whathehell]

17. Of course not -- It's basic FDR New Deal Democratic policy

and the Democratic goal of national healthcare started long before Ted Kennedy -- It was first voiced by Franklin D. Roosevelt -- He died before he was able to pursue it.

[DRoseDARs]

14. Everytime I see someone trot out the smear "alt-left" or "kook left" it raises my hackles...

So you don't believe in a stronger social contract with your fellow Americans? A more just legal system instead of daily #(insert verb)ingWhileBlack memes and another dead black person? A prosperous nation that tries to leave no one behind instead of an ever-more growing and unstable gap? A government that responds to the people rather than the money? A political party that has beneficial policy ideas instead of poll-chasing and cowardly spinelessness?



These aren't "alt-left" or "kook left" positions. These are simply how we wish the nation to move forward and better itself and its people. Conservatives conserve the status quo. Progressives seek to progress.

[whathehell]

16. Yes, I recently heard Elizabeth Warren called that by Trust Fund Baby

Donnie Deutsch on Morning Joe...I actually rather liked him up until that moment.

[LiberalLovinLug]

15. The billionaire owned MSM are not our friends.

"Here are the positions cited by the Post‘s James Hohmann to characterize the “unelectable activists” who are “thwarting” Democratic hopes to take back the House, or are otherwise part of a “leftward lurch”:

Kara Eastman of Nebraska “advocated for universal background checks to buy guns, raising taxes and decriminalizing marijuana.”


These positions are regarded as and reported as "far left" policies, still. And you just know that as soon as the next Democrat candidate that pushes any of these issues that would be regarded as moderate and normal in many other countries, the MSM, being desparate to even up the horse race, will be spreading leading questions the way they do ..."Has the Democratic party turned socialist!!!"..... "Is the Democratic party out of touch with average Americans?"...."Are the Democrats heading for a big loss with their new far left radical platform?"

I can only think back to the health insurance debates in Obama's first term. Where the MSM had on mostly pro-industry spokespersons, CNN with their industry shill Sanjay Gupta to corp-splain it all away. Where the MSM never once did what Michael Moore did, investigate other countries systems, which are for the most part all some form of single payer guaranteed universal. The only Canadian I saw interviewed was on Fox News. A dingbat conservative woman that was also charged in Canada with harassment of a former boyfriend with psychotic abuse.

The same corporate overlords that own or have interest in, the insurance corps, that made sure single payer never was able to be properly explained to the American public, will once again make sure that any movement that the Democratic party makes to push for these mild advancements, will be lambasted as going too far. And like all lies, if it is repeated enough, people will just accept that.

[mvd]

18. K&R to the thread and good post

They don't want to cover what hurts the corporate bottom line. They are also after ratings too much. All the Trump scandal stuff needs to get out, but so do all the things affecting everyday life for people.

And as the OP says, that is why I like running progressives most anywhere. Many progressive issues poll well but need the right message/messenger.

[leftofcool]

19. It can be popular all it wants

Just stay away from my Social Security, my Medicare and my retirement and stay out of my home

[sunRISEnow]

23. Lets not kid anyone here. These are Democratic policies.