So, I've seen discussions about nominating a "Centrist" vs. "Far Left" this primary season

[Bettie]

I'm not certain I even know what those terms mean.

They certainly mean different things to different people and lead to arguments, since there is no real definition anymore.

So, if you would be so kind, what do you see as "centrist" positions and what are "far left" positions.

Are there any things that all Democratic candidates should stand for (reproductive choice, civil rights are two examples that come to mind) regardless of their right/center/left status?

What is a centrist? What is a leftist?

[David__77]

1. Not too useful of terms, in my opinion.

...

[Bettie]

2. But, if we're using the terms

it would be useful to have an idea of what people think they mean.

I would really like to know what people think the two "extremes" are within the party.

I'm assuming on a spectrum that most would place Sanders toward the Left end, but who is the farthest Right in our declared candidates? Klobuchar? Biden? Hickenlooper?

[TwilightZone]

3. Although the term is popular, I think "centrist" is a misnomer when applied to our candidates.

In the context of American politics, they're all left-of-center to varying degrees. Well, maybe not Howard Schultz.

Joe Biden, for example, is commonly referred to as a centrist or a moderate on DU (and outside, for that matter), but the basis for this assertion is usually selected votes and positions he's taken in the past and his default tendency toward bipartisanship.

In reality, based on his overall record, he's a liberal.



http://www.ontheissues.org/Joe_Biden.htm

[Bettie]

4. Thanks for the response

and for taking the time to look this up.

[fleabiscuit]

5. OnTheIssues, a good place to start IMHO

For example...

VT Sen.
Sanders

......
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
{A bunch of declarative statements on issues}



Bernie Sanders is a Hard-Core Liberal.
Click here for explanation of political philosophy.
Click here for VoteMatch quiz.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Bernie_Sanders.htm

Opps, doubled up.

[Perrenial Voter]

6. Agreed --the labels aren't too useful. I don't think there is a "far

left" in the Democratic Party--possibly not even in the country. What is typically called "centrist," is what used to be called "right-wing," but none of these actually reflect the opinions of the majority of Americans.

In fact, even the left-wing/right-wing labels are inadequate to describe the shifts that have occurred in this country. There used to be liberal and conservative ways of addressing certain problems such as those stemming from the power of corporations: enforcing anti-trust laws and insuring competition for conservatives; regulation and taxation for liberals. But for a long time, though, neither party has shown much concern about corporate power or concentrations of wealth.

It is true that political rhetoric has changed somewhat since the Occupy Wall Street movement. But politicians tend to change their rhetoric to suit the sentiment of the people a lot faster than they change their policies. Thus, all of a sudden, everyone is jumping on the "progressive" bandwagon.

But were are in a pretty desperate situation in terms of environmental over-reach, in terms of social inequality, and in terms of societal divisions. This calls for major changes in policies--not just tweaking around the edges--so I tend to gauge "progressive" and "centrist" against the needs of the moment, which are not the same as they were 15 or 20 years ago. Based on that, I consider the Green New Deal centrist.

[LonePirate]

7. Centrism is akin to cowardice as it does not make the needed changes our country demands.

[Mr Tibbs]

13. It's completely useless for dealing with Climate issues

As it requires GOP cooperation in everything, which isn't gonna happen.

[Cha]

17. No. Our Midterm BlueWave happened

because of many moderates across the country Flipping Red Seats to BLUE.

These Dems are Not "cowards".. We have a Democratic Victory in the House because of these Democrats.

Dems like Sharice Davids in Kansas District 3..

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211955806#top

[Kablooie]

8. As for me...

I’ll vote for who I think would make the best president according to my judgement. I think choosing someone based on what you think other people would like is a fools errand.

[Nanjeanne]

9. The terms are silly I think. The center of the country is "far left" based on what the majority of

People want for policies and none of our candidates are “far left” the way we had the “far right” nutters.

But the media keeps talking about it like it’s a reality because they can’t get past their outdated talking points.

[Bettie]

10. Yeah, the dialogue overall has been dragged so far toward the right that

there are no "far left" candidates anymore.

In the end, the self-described centrists use "leftist" and "loony left" to smack those they disagree with around and the "Left" and "Progressives" do the same to the "centrists".

And the media makes money off of all of it and proclaims "Democrats in disarray!" while bowing the Republican party and their orange overlord.

[Nanjeanne]

12. +1

[brooklynite]

11. Since you ask...

"Green New Deal" is a far-left position; advancing environmental policies on an incremental basis is centrist.

"Medicare for All" is far left; advancing a buy in or public option is centrist.

A "wealth tax" is far left; reforming Trump's tax changes is centrist.

Reparations is far left; strengthening and enforcing civil rights laws in centrist.

[Voltaire2]

14. Just replace 'far' with'center' and

replace “centrist’ with ‘center right’ and an honest discussion can be had.

[marylandblue]

15. Certain elections change the definition of right and left.

2016 started the change, where conservatism became full authoritarian, evangelical and xenophobic. 2020 will complete the change where the left will put up it's response, which will be an alliance of social progressives, economic progressives and anti-authoritarians.

[Gothmog]

16. Trump would kill a nominee who is too far left

Link to tweet

?s=20

[Trenzalore]

18. Regardless of what the actual policy positions are the nominee will be called "far left"

Trump and his cohorts will say it and the media will repeat it by constantly asking if the nominee is too far left.

We could nominate Max Baucus or Evan Bayh and that would be the case.

We might as well nominate someone whose policy positions can be sold to the country and that we agree with than worrying about the noise the media and Trumpers are going to make.