Is the Democratic party becoming too extreme?

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Trump is an elite from Wall Street. Occupy Wallstreet already demonstrated you cant trust them after the Great Recession. They will further exacerbate income inequality, and tax cuts already proved it. So, more Dems that support poor, are being elected

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Id say its going a little to far to the left for my taste, but I do like some of the newer Democrats. The Green New Deal is not something Im in favor of in general, but it does have some good ideas. Criminal Justice can unite the left and right. If the Dems keep going hard left on Abortion, and with stooping to Trump's level on rhetoric when it comes to opponents then I might go Independent. However, all in all Im happy with the big tentnesss of my party.

Why don't you support the Green New Deal?

Also, to answer the OP, the Democratic Party is NOT becoming extreme.

[warm istanbul]

It's becoming EXTREME-ly bourgeois, if that's what you mean.

Otherwise, no.

[Mr. Smith]

Yeah, extreme c*(kish centrist bendovers sure.

[Bojack Horseman]

Some days we’re the party of Macron, other days we’re a bunch of communist extremists. Which is it?

[bagelman]

Only on some social issues.

[RI]

Only on some social issues.

Yeah. On economic issues, prominent Dems are clearly moving leftward, but nothing they've seriously proposed is beyond the pale and there's plenty of resistance and more neoliberal types still around. Social issues are another story entirely, and even then it isn't every social issue, just the more salient ones right now: identity issues/AA, abortion, immigration, and a few others.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

As we know, both parties are outsourced to Fed Reserve and Chinese bankers. However, the GOP is the Wall Street party and the needy is all alone when they are empowered.

A shift is needed and there needs to be a permanent Dem majority from 2020-2029= to GOP sweep in 1994, so that the underprivileged are better off

[Mercenary]

Not really.
It is too liberal on a lot of social issues but not to the extent that a lot of social media users are. I would still of course prefer more centrist positions on these issues. At the same time issues like privacy and such it seems just as bad as the GOP in how authoritarian it is.

On economic issues its too far to the right if anything. I dont consider myself left by any means but the ones I agree most with on a lot of economic issues are the supposed "fringe" like Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and Warren.

Its the GOP that has gotten too extreme. About the only issue I side with them on anymore is abortion.

[Fritz]

Shouldn't this thread be somewhere else?

[Big Abraham]

Shouldn't this thread be somewhere else?

Like the trash?

[Fuzzy Bear]

The Democrats have become far too leftist on social issues, and they have embraced some of the absolute worst elements of anti-Christian, anti-Nuclear Family thought out there.  They have also embraced the worst of Identity Politics, which is, I believe, a threat to the unity of our nation, of the ideal of E Pluribus Unum.  ONE is to come out of the many, and the Democrats are bound and determined to throw that baby out with the bathwater.

All of that has to be balanced by the fact that the GOP has become too extreme on economic issues.  They are the New Social Darwinists, whose economic motto is "Finders, Keepers.  Losers, Weepers".  They advocate dismantling the Safety Net, as fast as possible, but not so fast as to be discovered as the culprits in it.  They seem to have totally forgotten what is required to truly build and maintain a Middle Class Society.  In that respect, they are no less irresponsible than the Party that would actually consider Ilhan Omar to be a worthwhile spokesperson.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Shouldn't this thread be somewhere else?

Like the trash?

[Frenchrepublican]

Yeah, the Democratic Party has moved sharply to the left over the past decade.
Many positions which were once limited to the most progressive wing of the party are now common among democratic politicians : Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage (in 2012 Obama called for a $11 minimum wage), but this shift is not limited to economical and health care issues, on issues like immigration and gun control the Democratic Party has become more homogenous and more progressive and that’s why you have a shutdown, for democrats the concept of borders has become a fascist or a racist concept and as they are pretty logical they will be opposed to any proposition which could restrict immigration to the US

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Yeah, the Democratic Party has moved sharply to the left over the past decade.
Many positions which were once limited to the most progressive wing of the party are now common among democratic politicians : Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage (in 2012 Obama called for a $11 minimum wage), but this shift is not limited to economical and health care issues, on issues like immigration and gun control the Democratic Party has become more homogenous and more progressive and that’s why you have a shutdown, for democrats the concept of borders has become a fascist or a racist concept and as they are pretty logical they will oppose a wall

How crazy that some actual Democratic politicians are in the extreme far left 70% of Americans?

[Frenchrepublican]

Yeah, the Democratic Party has moved sharply to the left over the past decade.
Many positions which were once limited to the most progressive wing of the party are now common among democratic politicians : Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage (in 2012 Obama called for a $11 minimum wage), but this shift is not limited to economical and health care issues, on issues like immigration and gun control the Democratic Party has become more homogenous and more progressive and that’s why you have a shutdown, for democrats the concept of borders has become a fascist or a racist concept and as they are pretty logical they will oppose a wall

How crazy that some actual Democratic politicians are in the extreme far left 70% of Americans?

Medicare for all is not supported by 70% of Americans. Many people like the idea when it’s a abstract proposition but when they learn more about it, they reject it and that’s why a proposition to create a public health care system was rejected in Colorado a few years ago in a landslide.

[Woody]

The democrats needs more moderates like Webb, they will die as a nationwide party if they don't.

[Frenchrepublican]

The democrats needs more moderates like Webb, they will die as a nationwide party if they don't.

Unfortunately I doubt it, a large part of the population is becoming more progressive and thus a very progressive Democratic Party will likely continue to enjoy some success as we saw last year during the midterms.

[Frenchrepublican]

Some days we’re the party of Macron, other days we’re a bunch of communist extremists. Which is it?

I can promise you that the Democratic Party is far to the left of Macron : Macron lowered capital gains tax and decreased taxes on dividends by replacing the progressive income tax with a single rate tax of 15%, Macron is pro business and unfortunately pro business democrats have been decimated.

[Blair]

A UK journalist pointed out that British politicos who obsess over US elections spending their whole time wanting the 'centre right' candidate (the democrats) to beat the 'far right' candidate. (the republicans)

But no, the party isn't becoming too extreme.

The best example of why the Democrats need to be much bolder is healthcare. Remember, that only 9 years ago, the party struggled to pass a conservative based policy around healthcare, and only did so after essentially bribing the 'moderate' senators, and after having the common sense ideas (like the medicare buy in) dropped off.

The problem with the 'too extreme' argument is that it fetishes a group of politicians (moderate democrats) who were one of the most spineless, and cowardly cohort to enter the Senate- Bayh, Landrieu, Lincoln, Lieberman etc. They all practiced, and preached a brand of democratism that conservatives are suppose to love- and there crowning achievement was killing off better healthcare for millions, and then ing off to jobs on K Street.

Almost every other country has a functioning social democratic party that believes in firmly tackling economic, and individual inequality, and in using the state as one of the tools to do so. Of course the history of why it's been so difficult to create this in the US is pretty obvious- geography, fear of socialism, strong individualist streak, weak union base etc.

If you've grown up with essentially a conservative party,(which flirts, and then embraces national populism) and a a centrist party (which flirts with liberalism) then sure you're going to think the Democrats are becoming too extreme.

Some days we’re the party of Macron, other days we’re a bunch of communist extremists. Which is it?

I can promise you that the Democratic Party is far to the left of Macron : Macron lowered capital gains tax and decreased taxes on dividends by replacing the progressive income tax with a single rate tax of 15%, Macron is pro business and unfortunately pro business democrats have been decimated.

It's almost as if the French economy is completely different to the American one.

It's stupid to say the democratic party is far to the left of Macron, as that would surely imply the Democrats are closer to PS in France, which they're objectionably not.

[Frenchrepublican]

A UK journalist pointed out that British politicos who obsess over US elections spending their whole time wanting the 'centre right' candidate (the democrats) to beat the 'far right' candidate. (the republicans)

But no, the party isn't becoming too extreme.

The best example of why the Democrats need to be much bolder is healthcare. Remember, that only 9 years ago, the party struggled to pass a conservative based policy around healthcare, and only did so after essentially bribing the 'moderate' senators, and after having the common sense ideas (like the medicare buy in) dropped off.

The problem with the 'too extreme' argument is that it fetishes a group of politicians (moderate democrats) who were one of the most spineless, and cowardly cohort to enter the Senate- Bayh, Landrieu, Lincoln, Lieberman etc. They all practiced, and preached a brand of democratism that conservatives are suppose to love- and there crowning achievement was killing off better healthcare for millions, and then ing off to jobs on K Street.

Almost every other country has a functioning social democratic party that believes in firmly tackling economic, and individual inequality, and in using the state as one of the tools to do so. Of course the history of why it's been so difficult to create this in the US is pretty obvious- geography, fear of socialism, strong individualist streak, weak union base etc.

If you've grown up with essentially a conservative party,(which flirts, and then embraces national populism) and a a centrist party (which flirts with liberalism) then sure you're going to think the Democrats are becoming too extreme.

Some days we’re the party of Macron, other days we’re a bunch of communist extremists. Which is it?

I can promise you that the Democratic Party is far to the left of Macron : Macron lowered capital gains tax and decreased taxes on dividends by replacing the progressive income tax with a single rate tax of 15%, Macron is pro business and unfortunately pro business democrats have been decimated.

It's almost as if the French economy is completely different to the American one.

It's stupid to say the democratic party is far to the left of Macron, as that would surely imply the Democrats are closer to PS in France, which they're objectionably not.

Yeah that’s my opinion, I think the Democratic Party is closer to the PS, of course you have a few pro free market democrats like Josh Gottheimer, but the Democratic Party and the vast majority party of democratic politicians are significantly to the left of Macron
As of now it’s almost impossible to imagine a Democratic Governor or a Democratic President cutting taxes on investment incomes or making though reforms in order to flexibilize working conditions.

[Hollywood]

It's actually pretty well-researched that Democrats are becoming more radicalized.  On a bell curve graph, Democrats continue to flatten and spread between far-left and center-left, where as Republicans tend to cluster around the center-right.  The below Pew research study shows what I'm talking about.  I've seen other studies like it, but I'm feeling pretty lazy at 6 in the morning.

https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/pew-research-center-study-shows-that-democrats-have-shifted-to-the-extreme-left/

Trump is a factor that's creating an extreme reaction, but it's also the media's portrayal and hyperbole regarding Trump that is adding to radicalization.  Trump isn't exactly far-right, but the left utilizes him as a symbol of far-right extremism.  Mostly due to Trump's unapologetic stance to PC culture. It's not like the far-right is noticeably more active than it was during Bush or Obama.  There's more of a difference between Bush and Obama than Obama and Trump as far as far-right extremism.  And sure, opinion polls indicate that people feel it's gotten worse, but the statistics just don't jive with opinions.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

The Republicans fell off a cliff post-Obama and were rewarded with two midterm landslides and a Presidential victory. Maybe the Democratic party should copy them.

[Lechasseur]

Yes, absolutely.

That being said, the GOP has become very extreme too, just in different ways.

I generally agree with Fuzzy Bear's answer.

At this point I think voting in America is really about voting against the party you dislike more than it is about supporting a party.

[Blair]

Trump is a factor that's creating an extreme reaction, but it's also the media's portrayal and hyperbole regarding Trump that is adding to radicalization.  Trump isn't exactly far-right, but the left utilizes him as a symbol of far-right extremism.  Mostly due to Trump's unapologetic stance to PC culture. It's not like the far-right is noticeably more active than it was during Bush or Obama.  There's more of a difference between Bush and Obama than Obama and Trump as far as far-right extremism.  And sure, opinion polls indicate that people feel it's gotten worse, but the statistics just don't jive with opinions.