In your opinion, is DU left, right , or center ?

[kentuck]

At first, it was very left with a few freepers thrown in for good measure. Then it was decided to find a way to keep freepers from posting. Then more moderates came on board. DU drifted more toward the center. Then many of the far left...left. DU, some would argue, became more centrist. Some might say it became another "freeperville"?

However, thru it all, most opinions have been accepted, with a few rare exceptions, mostly to do with the Israel/Palestine issue or the gay "issues". Still, it would be hard to find a more open space on the Internet for issues that concern the left or the liberal side, in my opinion.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I'd say it leans left

at the very least.

[MADem]

2. It is left of the mainline Democratic center

IMO.

[Sherman A1]

3. Agreed

I actually don't think the labels work real well. We are all a mix of liberal, conservative and centrist. It varies by the issue. As for the neocons, they are not conservatives but more like thieves in my opinion.

[Poppyseedman]

4. On a scale of 1 to 10

"one" being extreme left. "ten" being extreme right.

DU is a "three" overall.

[Yupster]

92. I'd say a two, but

it would have been a three if Deibold wasn't counting the votes.

[Hubert Flottz]

5. DU is Right and the others are Wrong!

I'm a democrat and have been all my life!

[Crewleader]

69. I'm with you Hubert.....

how you doing my friend...:hi:
Democrat all my life but I'm open to the fact that some in both parties need to go, Independents have always been welcomed.

DU has always been a place to discuss,express and share opinions.Leaning left, middle to right as long as we work together, it can be a comforting place among friends.

Great thread Kentuck...:hi:

[kentuck]

70. Hey Crew!

how ya doing! Should I tell all these youngsters how long you've been here? :)

[Crewleader]

71. January 20th, 2001

Lurked for two days then registered and it's been a wonderful opportunity to make friends with the best people I know, thanks kentuck. I'm doing fine my friend! :hug:

[Hubert Flottz]

93. If you're with me Crew, I must be on the right track!

Good to see you posting. I hope everything is going okay in your part of the country. I was just wondering the other day, if you were still fighting the good fight. DU has missed you. You sweetened up the place!

[Crewleader]

95. Thanks Hubert.....you made me smile.

DU is always home, it's where my friends are and you're one of the best! :hug:

[madokie]

83. simply put.

[Hubert Flottz]

94. I try to keep it simple so that the Freepers who slip in can dig it.

DU is a GREAT freeper swatter...it keeps the trolls at bay, is what I like about the place. A good place to get away from the Reich Wing propagandist's lies and to get the straight skinny. DU filters out a lot of the bad air from freepie town and I like it!

[Demeter]

6. Volatile

There are some posters who remind me of the more possessed Fundies--so fixated on their little handle on the larger world that they must convince or browbeat everyone else into submission. Definitely to be avoided or ignored.

There are the terminally cynical--masters of snark, good for a bon mot and a snort of humor.

There are the starry-eyed, to breathe out fresh air and ideas.

There are the practical ones, full of good advice and sound techniques to teach us.

And there is the run-of-the-mill citizen, who has had enough and is looking for a way out.

I'd day that DU has more sane people than most places.

[eviltwin2525]

7. Are you kidding?

Even when the freepers manage to infiltrate, DU is WAAAY Left. I'm pretty much of a socialist, and the overall "shading" of the board is definitely to my left. Always. Seriously, always. Anybody who thinks DU is "centrist" or "moderate" is leading a FAR too sheltered life. And that's why I like it here.

[readmoreoften]

9. I hardly think I live a sheltered life. Having lived in other countries...

I know what a real "leftist" is. We're all at the center of the political spectrum here. Most people here are not pure socialists or fascists.

[Xipe Totec]

17. More like all over the map

And, perhaps, that is a good thing.

[nealmhughes]

60. I have to agree, I am considered very left myself, but in an international

context. I'd be considered a centerist in France!

[benburch]

46. Your idea of left is very right...

People think I am way leftist, and I'm not AT ALL. I've seen WAY LEFT people. I know many of them, and I am not one of them! I am just a bit to the left of center. More-or-less a Roosevelt Democrat.

[Duncan Grant]

48. Stick around for 3 years and you'll see that its not "WAAAY Left".

I'm way left, DU isn't. Just watch all your would-be progressive friends jump on the bandwagon when it comes to delaying GLBT rights in order to win elections. They call it 'pragmatism', I call it unconscionable. And, everyone knows I don't pull any punches about it.

[readmoreoften]

8. Center-left for the Dem Party. Center for the political spectrum. /nt

[Mojambo]

22. I'd agree with this. n/t

[I Have A Dream]

10. Left of center. (Thank goodness!) n/t

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. Left.

[onehandle]

12. Left of reality. nt

[Raine]

53. Yeah

really, I totally agree.

[zoeb]

13. Apparently we are left of

some conservative sites. Because they come over here to steal threads to discuss at their sites. Since their pres is a big, ol' hugh loser, and they don't dare discuss that, it's easier for them to gripe about liberal threads.

[kiahzero]

14. Um... what?

How on earth can you say that DU "became another 'freeperville?'"

[Catch22Dem]

15. DU tends to be left of me...

And I'm the most left person any of my friends, family, and co-workers know. To them, I'm Ted Fucking Kennedy, yet DU often drifts left of my beliefs.

[ovidsen]

40. It's all relative

Seriously!

DU's a little to my left, which is okay. The more the merrier. My family ranges from Goldwater conservative to screaming wingnut. And to some of them I'm a wild eyed Bolshevik.

I like the relative lack of flame wars here, probably the result of swift tombstoning. And that's okay. If I really feel the need to read rightwing ravings I can always just go to the sources.

[Placebo]

16. DU is pretty far left.

I would say.

[readmoreoften]

18. So, if everyone thinks DU is so "left of themselves", then why come here?

Why not find a more centrist site to post on? I don't get it.

[Endangered Specie]

39. because its "Democratic" Underground

as in supports Democrats for office.

No matter how left, right, or centrist Im accused of being, theres no question who I'll vote for

[readmoreoften]

59. Interesting. Fair enough. /nt

[Raine]

56. Cause for me

I'm a Yellow Dog Democrat and as long as this site is the DEMOCRATIC Underground I'll be here and I'll donate.

[blm]

19. On a football field, I'd place it on the 30. The down markers move left or

right from there depending on the issue but rarely more than 10 yards either way. The sensible and the factual tend to keep the place steady overall.

[TahitiNut]

24. I put it at the 40 ... and the Bushoilinis at the other 15.

Any board where the complacent opinion is that Kucinich is/was "unelectable" can't be further left than the 35.

:shrug:

[blm]

29. My opinion is that ANY Democrat could win if we had an honest media and

secure voting machines.

Most of us realize that General Jesus Christ would be unelectable according to the GOP controlled media and the electronic voting machines.

[blm]

30. My opinion is that ANY Democrat could win if we had an honest media and

secure voting machines.

Most of us realize that General Jesus Christ would be unelectable according to the GOP controlled media and the electronic voting machines.

[MoseyWalker]

20. I'm seeing it as

left of center, and personally think that is a good thing.

[Gatchaman]

21. This place is pretty left wing

hence the "underground" tag in the name.

[skipos]

23. Very left by the standards of politicians today. nt

[catmother]

25. left. but not "whacko left" as people like O'reilly call us. although

i've met a few like that here.

[beyurslf]

26. It is left.

[givemebackmycountry]

27. You know what I say?

WHAT THE HELL DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE WHAT WE ARE?
RIGHT OF CENTER, LEFT OF CENTER, IN THE CENTER, IN THE MIDDLE, LEFT OF THE MIDDLE, RIGHT OF THE MIDDLE, KIND OF IN THE MAINSTREAM, NOT QUITE IN THE MAINSTREAM, YOU KNOW WHAT WE ARE?

WE ARE RIGHT.

THAT'S WHAT WE ARE.

[LWolf]

28. Center.

It was more "left" a few years ago. As it has grown, it has become more centrist, which is probably inevitable. It's also true that many of the far left have left.

I miss them, frankly.

[pecwae]

36. Where did they go?

I've missed a few 'faces', like Moonbeam Starlight.

DU feels slightly left of center to me now, especially in the last 6 months or so. When I began lurking in 2002 the DU compass felt much farther left.

[LWolf]

75. 3 of my old friends have died.

;(

Many of the rest went looking for non-partisan discussion groups, where issues take priority.

[acmejack]

44. They didn't leave willingly!

They were Banned, since they were deemed unacceptable by the powers that be.

[LWolf]

73. Yes, some were. As DU has become bigger,

along with the move to the center there has been a shift in what constitutes an acceptable pov, as well.

[earth mom]

31. I'd like to see DU move further left.

Sometimes it feels too centrist, but maybe it seems that way because of all the freepers that hang around like nasty little pesky flies! LOL!

[SensibleAmerican]

32. Left

n/t

[Just Me]

33. It's all over the place *LOL*,...are you kidding?

:rofl:

IT IS DEMOCRATIC,...ALLOWING VOICES ACROSS THE SPECTRUM,...unless you're a psycho/sociopath and behaving like an insane barbarian. Then, well, you're sick, and need help and should be excluded (although, I confess, it seems to me a great deal of sociopathic expressions are allowed here,...but, what the hell, they're allowed on teevee, too).

[Jazzgirl]

34. Yes.

n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

35. Center left. Slightly to the left of the Democratic Party.

But, still toeing the Party Line and viewing "politics as usual" as, at best, inevitable, at worst, desirable.

[Endangered Specie]

37. It leans pretty far to the left imo...

more than I do.


If a may point out some examples:

- Major support of Chavez, some of it rather blind support.
- Not as much as above, but a good deal of pro-Castro sentiment .
- A lot of centrist Democrat bashing, more so than bashing of left leanind Dems.
- Almost universal support of gay marriage, im for it, but is not the majority opinion of this country or registered democrats.
- Almost universally pro-choice
- Almost universally anti-capital punishment (again, minority in the country and the dem party in general)
- Definite hostility towards nationalism/patriotism in general
- Conspiracy theories: JFK, 9/11 etc... abound here, each side has their conspiracy theorists, and they are well represented here.

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WiseButAngrySara]

47. Interesting first post! Welcome to DU! I hope it's not too

"closed" for your tastes....

[npincus]

41. left

[WI_DEM]

42. by and large it is the very left leaning but not only democratic but

leftists of many varieties including Greens and socialists and most of the democrats, I think, on board are activist left-wingers or "The Democratic wing of the Democratic party."

[jonnyblitz]

43. only in the USA would this place be considered left. nt

[texasleo]

45. far left

[ulysses]

68. that's only because

we wear cheap shoes. ;-)

[Raine]

49. FAR left

left of the county and left of the Democratic party. I thought I was left till I came here.:eyes:

EDIT: I meant to say countRy not county. :spank:

[annabanana]

51. which county?. . . . . . n/t

[Raine]

61. Ops

sorry that was a typo should have been countRy. I'm in Los Angeles County though and still find that DU is farther left than most voters here. I'm in the South Bay area which just recently became more Democratic but is BIG on defense.

[Minstrel Boy]

50. Much more moderate-centrist than when I joined,

which places it uncomfortably to my right. So it's not the habit it used to be for me.

[Blue_Tires]

52. left of the American center

but to the right of me:bounce: :party: B-) :hide:

[Buck Laser]

54. I'll go with center left, but amazingly tolerant

I think it's way more centrist than its uninformed critics think, and being Democratic, it's inherently contentious. That's a good thing.

[lynne]

55. EXTREME LEFT -

Much of DU is as extreme as the Evangelical Right - just without God and all the religious stuff.

[tomp]

67. i don't think so.

extreme left is (generally) violent overthrow of the government to institute socialism/communism. there are a few, but not a lot, of those folks here. there are FAR more democratic party stalwarts, some right of center, some left of center, some dead center.

it is one of my pet peeves that people think if you're to the left of john kerry or even dennis kucinich you're "extreme left". we need a little more perspective than that.

the right wingers think that if you're to the left of zell miller you're extreme. but they shouldn't get to define the political spectrum.

[Warren DeMontague]

57. I'd say it's refreshingly left. With a twist of lime.

I actually think some views which are fairly well accepted here on DU- issues like ending the drug war, self-determination on end of life issues, or reproductive choice- are more mainstream in America than the conventional wisdom nabobs want to let on. I happen to think there is a much strong MYOB current on social issues in American politics that neither party effectively addresses.

Personally, I'm a left-libertarian secular whackjob. I think I agree with most of the people here, most of the time.

[stray cat]

58. Extremely left in general

[KoKo]

62. well...........kinda seems "all over the place" some days, and other days

it drifts toward the DLC Right...and then back to Center.

I think though that DU is much more "Centrist" than it was when you and I joined, Kentuck. Or, maybe it's just that the first folks who knew Election 2000 was stolen were just more "aware" than the rest of the populace...and we might have been more in sync with each other over the election being stolen than what our true politics of our "being" was.

Who knows? It's alot of mish mosh now...because it's bigger, I guess.

[kentuck]

63. For all those that answered "extreme left or far left" ..?

Does that mean you consider yourself more toward the center? Much can be interpreted from these responses.

[Just Me]

64. I'm kinda',...um,...numb by many of the responses.

"Extreme left",..."far left",....

,...just, like,...freaking WOW!!!! :wow:

[lumberjack_jeff]

79. Unlike real life, I never get into arguments here...

...because my views are too far left.

I consider myself an aggressively populist leftist. Many here confuse this with nationalist.

[MODemocrat]

65. DU leans left in my opinion

The thing I admire the most on this forum, and why it seems to be leaning left, is because of the great tolerance that the majority of DUers have. It seems to me most members here can see both sides to every story, something I find admirable; and, that is being liberal. That's how my Mother described democrats. She was as left as one can be.:thumbsup: :hi: :dem:

[Freedom_Aflaim]

66. Relative to what?

Relative the world population, Relative to the US, etc.

In some countries, DU would be considered Centrist.

In the US, I'd say its proably far left.

[Cvortex_10]

72. Left of the democratic moderates

[GreenPartyVoter]

74. left to center spectrum

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

76. Yes.

:evilgrin:

[Swamp Rat]

78. ditto

:D

[bryant69]

77. It's distrubing that there could even be a question

It's pretty far left. Maybe not on an international scale, but on the framework of American politics. We are a bit left of the party, and considerably left of the general public.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Xenotime]

80. We are the center..

The right wing media makes it see we are left.

[Finder]

81. I think it is a mixture and representative of society...

with some DUers far left or far right on certain issues but rarely overall. I know my views on many issues have changed due to information and discussions here as well as some being strengthened over the years. I know I am not the only one who has benefitted by the exchanges.

Where else can you find someone who is a card carrying member of the NRA and ACLU at the same time?

[DemExpat]

82. It did become more centrist IMO, although there are viewpoints

here that go all over the scale......but I do also think it is the best place to look for discussions on all issues of (center) left and sometimes far left concern.

:kick:

DemEx

[anarch]

84. I'd say center

but that's because I am basically a godless communist.

[Balbus]

85. Extreme left

[rman]

86. Ranging from far left to center-left

I don't think the majority is center-left.

[LeftHander]

87. DU - Still #1 For Progressive Democrats

Over the months DU has shifted a little to the center, but it is still very left and the mainstay voice for Democratic Party progressives on the internet. It will sway gently left and right on the parabolic arch of public awareness and we simply just have to ride along, stay true to our vision and keep promoting the causes we know result in peace and prosperity.

Yes lots of long time regulars left or post very infrequently now.
Yes there are more trolls.

But a few of us still hang on. I am as far left as you can get...and will go toe to toe with any centrist or GOP paid troll here as will many. Many of us are upset beyond anything we could of imagined 6 years ago. For some it has deeply effect their ability to look ahead and retain hope for a better future.

Most here react to every little news item and the trolls make sure we keep responding to every left division creating story. They gang up and coordinate posts to keep divisive issues on the front page. Despite this we still have the ability to enter into meaningful discourse on topics that matter and LBN is still the best and mose diverse breaking new source on the internet.

So all is not bad. Because I believe this, I am still here.

I really believe the future is in progressive politics and DU is the best place to formulate ideas that will propel us into the future.

I believe the future will bring us:

Socialized medicine and higher education, reduced military spending, renewable energy investment, conservation and shifting our focus from a global market consumer/oil based economy to a more localized community scaled economies (one of my favorite topics). i.e. Each community produces what it needs to flourish and trade with other communities. Rather than having one country produce the food another produce the shoes another produce the steel...we go smaller and throw the "economy of scale" economic mantra out. "Economy of Scale" is only useful for large conglomerates to maximize profit and crush competition, it does nothing else beneficial. Goods and services suffer, as does the environment and society in general as corporations grow so large they influence culture and effect international relationships.

In addition to economic reform society will change as well, Marriage Equity will be a reality and we will see the overtly obnoxious narrow vision of the Christian right fade in the public eye.

We will prevail. We all know this is where the future lies. But our regressionist friends, greedy bigots and war profiteers will continue hold sway over us for a time, but their time will end soon and we will still be here. With all our ideas, all our passion for better future for our decedents.

So take heart and and look to the future, stay focused that world can be a better place sometime, maybe not for us now.

We set the example for the next generation that will change the world.

Peace.

[slackmaster]

88. A mix of left and center n/t

[The Anti-Neo Con]

89. To me, just slightly left of center.

Let's say we have a scale of 1-100 with 1 being the most extreme left, and 100 being extreme fascist, I see DU being at around 42.

I see it that way b/c I'm very far left. I'd rate myself at a 3 on that 1-100 scale.

[eridani]

90. Center left from my standpoint

I'm much farther left than most posters here.

[welshTerrier2]

91. it's all in the definitions

consider the following views from what i consider the left:

1. demanding greater economic equality no matter what it takes to achieve it
2. capping wealth
3. nationalizing the oil companies
4. recognizing that all US foreign policy is imperialistic
5. not supporting anyone who funds bush's wars
6. total, no compromise support for all human rights including gay rights, women's rights, everybody's rights
7. call for a new American revolution to restore our Constitutional freedoms and to restore our democracy
8. no private money in election campaigns
9. execute all paid lobbyists and anyone who accepts a penny from them
10. radical and immediate lifestyle changes to prevent global warming
11. completely dismantle the military-industrial complex and the stranglehold it has on our country

the list could probably go on and on and on ... i don't see much of this on DU ... i think most DU'ers are capitalists ... when i talk about capping wealth, i get all the "i earned it; it's mine" .. i get the "you'll kill incentive" ... they don't care for my "yeah but wide variations in wealth corrupt our democracy" ...

there are all sorts of views here on DU ... overall though, especially among those who put party ahead of issues, and there are many of those, i think (on average) we're just a tiny bit, a very tiny bit, to the barely liberal side of the "real world" Democratic Party ...