Define "far left" and "centrist."

[Garrett78]

Durbin spoke of a "sensible center," while many on DU have mentioned a "far left."

Are people just throwing around these terms without ever thinking about what they mean?

What does "far left" mean to you? What constitutes a "centrist?"

[gopiscrap]

1. far left is the center to me

[guillaumeb]

2. Well put, fellow centrist. eom

[gopiscrap]

3. thank you

[lagomorph777]

16. I'm on the far left

HRC is center-right
Adam Shiff is centrist

[guillaumeb]

4. All of these terms are vague.

And they all depend on where the speaker is standing on the political spectrum.

I would call Bernie Sanders a center left politician. I would call Barack Obama a mildly right centrist.

[4now]

5. divisive labels

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Fuzzy math

[VOX]

7. Example of "far left" weirdness: musician/activist Tom Morello calls Ted Nugent a "good friend."

After some of the outrageously hateful shit Ted has said about Barack, Hillary, amd other Democrats, I don't know how any self-respecting liberal/progressive could even tolerate the presence of Nugent. His "content of character" is likely emptier than #45's. Remember these Nugent gems?

“If Barack Obama becomes the next president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” (That particular crack earned Ted a visit from the Secret Service.)

"I've never suggested anybody get hung, except the one time after Benghazi, I recommended that Hillary Clinton be charged, arrested, tried and hung," Nugent said... "What she did as secretary of state was certainly treasonous, and I stand by that."

"Obama, he's a piece of shit, and I told him to suck on my machine gun. Let's hear it for him. And then I was in New York. I said, "Hey, Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless bitch. Since I'm in California, how about [Senator] Barbara Boxer [D-CA], she might want to suck on my machine gun. And [Senator] Dianne Feinstein [D-CA], ride one of these you worthless whore. Any questions?"

http://abcnewsradioonline.com/music-news/2017/9/28/tom-morello-says-ted-nugent-is-a-good-friend-we-have-very-si.html
AABC News, September 28, 2017

Tom Morello says Ted Nugent is a "good friend": "We have very similar views on freedom of speech"

Given their vastly different political views, you might think Tom Morello and Ted Nugent wouldn't get along. However, the Rage Against the Machine and Prophets of Rage guitarist says the outspoken conservative rocker is "a good friend."

"We have very similar views on freedom of speech," Morello tells The Guardian. "His libertarian edge and my anarchist edge overlap considerably."

Morello does say he'll reach out to Nugent, who visited President Donald Trump with Kid Rock and Sarah Palin at the White House earlier this year, when he "says something outrageous that will fire up his racist base."

"I'll text him to say, 'Dude. What are you on about?'" Morello says. "We're able to talk about it as friends as opposed to people on the opposite sides of the barricade."

Morello and Prophets of Rage released their self-titled debut album earlier this year. The rap-rock supergroup will hit a number of festivals this fall, including Louder than Life, Voodoo and Ozzfest.
- - - - -
Note: On a recent overtime segment of Bill Maher's "Real Time", Morello recently confirmed his friendship with Nugent, mentioning that he texts his pal Ted when "he's out of line." Like that'll make Ted straighten up and fly right.

[HughBeaumont]

8. I'm a Second Bill of Rights kind of Progressive.

Apparently, that means "ponies" to some and "politically impractical" to others.

[cbreezen]

9. A centrist is, to me, a DINO or RINO...

in other words, a fence-sitter. What "far-left" means, is dependent on how left you are of the center.

What are your thoughts?

[Willie Pep]

10. They are hard to define.

But I would define "far left" as somebody who wants to work toward changing the economic and social system to some form of socialism. The far left tends to distrust institutions because they are all tainted by capitalism to some degree or another but some people on the far left are willing to work within the system to push it closer to socialism. This is the traditional social democratic position.

A centrist is somebody who does not agree with all aspects of liberalism. For example, some centrists might be more conservative on economic issues but liberal on social issues while others might be more conservative on social issues but more liberal on economics. They are a combination of liberal and conservative. So pretty much Blue Dog Democrats, although even this term is somewhat vague and differs depending on the candidate and to a certain extent the region they are from.

Between centrists and the far-left you have consistent liberals.

[frazzled]

18. Youve notably left out foreign policy

Which is, of course, increasingly important in the globalized (and unstable) era in which we live. I have noted that those associated with the farther left regions of the party (or outside it) are often closer to conservatives in their fairly isolationist views.

Then there is the issue of those on the left who chose to believe that economic policy alone will suffice to take care of those pesky issues of social injustice (sort of a “trickle down” social policy). I wonder how that works with Black Lives Matter or the victims of the Harvey Weinsteins of the world.

There are some so-called centrists who are more liberal in certain areas than the so-called left, and some leftists who are more conservative in certain areas than the centrists.

It’s better to scrap the labels and consider individual policies in real time. If we stopped hewing to stereotypes and labels, we’d get more done and end up with better policy across the board. All I’d like to see is less ideology and more progress. Ideologies are limiting, rigid, and in general nonproductive, on all sides.

[Laffy Kat]

11. To me, a leftist rejects reform and supports revolution.

At least, that's it for me.

[Blue_true]

12. My take.

Far left is so resistant to anything except exactly what it wants that they can't see clear and present danger.

Centrists may have a viewpoint, but at least you can make an argument to them.

[GulfCoast66]

13. On DU and in the left circles of America today

The far left rejects anyone that does not agree with them on all points refusing to see that perfect is the enemy of good. And in the US always loses.

Centrist means a Liberal who accepts progress even if it is not exactly what they want understanding that historically progress happens in fits and starts.

[Garrett78]

14. "Centrist" and "Liberal" are synonymous?

I would think a "centrist" is someone who takes a middle of the road position on issues, or someone who takes a left wing position on some issues and a right wing position on an approximately equal number of other issues.

[GulfCoast66]

15. 3 years ago I would have agreed.

i want health care for 100% of Americans provided by a mix of public coverage, employer based coverage and nonprofit insurance coverage. And that no one will ever lose their home or go bankrupt because of Medical bills. But because I do not support single payer or Medicare for all I guess I am a centrist.

[Liberal In Texas]

17. Michael Smerconish

Center?
Right of Center?
Left of Center?
Leftist?
Righty?

Guess it depends on your point of view. I think he's it the rightish zone. Not a neocon or a Nazi, jut a lot right from what I think is the sensible place to be.

I'm sure the cons think he's a flaming liberal. Not me. He's a sell-out kinda-left wishy-washy guy with no courage to speak out about the right wing fascism taking over the country.



So FU Michael...get some balls.