Democrats and Republicans Both Seen as Too Extreme

[Frodo]

The 'both-sides' narrative promoted by the mainstream media has had its impact:

https://twitter.com/nbcbayarea/status/1580234105005801475

[jojoju1998]

It's the culture wars stuff.

Most Americans agree on the basic economic issues.

But the damn culture wars have swallowed everything.

[OSR stands with Israel]

It's the culture wars stuff.

Most Americans agree on the basic economic issues.

But the damn culture wars have swallowed everything.

issue polling is unreliable though. The fact is people dislike any major change when it comes to economics

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

It's the culture wars stuff.

Most Americans agree on the basic economic issues.

But the damn culture wars have swallowed everything.

issue polling is unreliable though. The fact is people dislike any major change when it comes to economics

The Rs passed 3 excessive tax cuts for the wealthy in this Environment with Biden in the low 40s the Rs should sweep Congress Midterms like Matty/Vaccinated Bear was trying to do with his stance on Biden 41 percent Approvals, but they aren't because Blk people don't like Trump, Bush W won in 2004 because Blk people supported him, McCain with Palin, Romney and Trump got very little Blk support

Tax cuts cut capital gains and inheritance taxes and blks are low on income inequality because we do not have Reparations

Rs keep telling us Ds that we aren't overperforning but what about the Rs in the Midterm Environment they should be well ahead why aren't they they are underpolling with Afro American why Is Vance and Budd tied and not ahead NC and OH has 15 percent blk, Rubio is polling well with Latinos that's why he may win that otherwise that would go to DEMINGS but Rick Scott is more vulnerable than Rubio id Gwen Graham runs in 24 Scott will lose even with DeSantis as Nominee because Blk and Latino vote will revert back D

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

If this is the case then why don't "moderate" candidates win more races nationwide?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Both parties should moderate by moving left.

[T'Chenka]

Somewhere between 2% and 10% of Democrats are extreme woke Twitter socialists.

Somewhere between 50% and 80% of Republicans are either right wing extremists and/or don't prioritize the rule of law and/or don't prioritize democracy, OR they are at least willing to vote candidates into office with those policies or priorities to make sure a Democrat doesn't win.

Capitalism is a hell of a drug for mainstream media though...

[dead0man]

article last week at Reason on a related subject

The Other Divide: Polarization and Disengagement in American Politics, by Yanna Krupnikov and John Barry Ryan, Cambridge University Press, 250 pages, $28.99

With The Other Divide, political scientists Yanna Krupnikov and John Barry Ryan have made a significant contribution to the polarization debate. Wait! What debate? Everyone knows that Americans are more polarized now than at any time since the Civil War. There is no debate. The science is settled.

Well, actually not—or at least not in political science, whatever the average political journalist might erroneously believe.

<snip>

Consequently, we have partisan polarization within an electorate that has not changed much. The middle still exists, but it is not welcome in either party. Debates continue over such matters as whether the sorting is top-down or bottom-up (the latter is a minority view, but one held by some serious scholars); how much the broader electorate has sorted compared to political elites (not nearly as much, many believe, but again some serious scholars disagree); and the size of the middle (there is considerable disagreement about this). There is more agreement about the composition of "the middle": It is heterogeneous, comprising not just moderates but cross-pressured libertarians and populists, the alienated, and the apoliticals.

Some psychologically inclined scholars argued that the ideological differences between ordinary Democrats and Republicans did not seem sufficiently great to produce the level of acrimony that characterizes contemporary politics. They suggested that researchers were looking for partisan polarization in the wrong place; it was not cognitive but affective. In other words, partisans hated each other not so much because they disagreed about Afghanistan, taxation, or gay rights but because they increasingly belonged to different identity groups associated with the parties.

Affective polarization is a major growth industry in political science, and various debates continue here as well. Social identity theory posits that positive feelings about the in-group are stronger than negative feelings about the out-group, but empirical studies find just the opposite. How many partisans really hate members of the other party, as opposed to just making a show for the sake of cheerleading? ("The Yankees suck!") Do partisans really loathe members of the other party, or just the caricatures they form from viewing the extreme cases selected by the media?

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Somewhere between 2% and 10% of Democrats are extreme woke Twitter socialists.

Somewhere between 50% and 80% of Republicans are either right wing extremists and/or don't prioritize the rule of law and/or don't prioritize democracy, OR they are at least willing to vote candidates into office with those policies or priorities to make sure a Democrat doesn't win.

Capitalism is a hell of a drug for mainstream media though...

Secular means Socialist, whom stopped the stimulus checks it wasn't Ds, Rs did they said it contributed to Labor Shortages but they are still giving out stimulus checks for certain people at the state level, Rs just stopped it ar the Natl level due to Debt Ceiling , whom don't want reparations for blk people Rs, Secular means Socialist, FDR passed SSA and LBJ passed Medicare and Obama passed Affordable care Act

Users or some Ds think Socialism means just Socialist like Bernie Sanders no it doesn't every major program is a socialist program that Rs we're against SSA, Medicare and Affordable care Act, and they turned against Stimulus checks after the economy got good

[Calthrina950]

The 'both-sides' narrative promoted by the mainstream media has had its impact:

https://twitter.com/nbcbayarea/status/1580234105005801475

I continue to strongly push back against this "#bothsidesism" claim, which I and many others have been tarred with by some posters on this forum, routinely, over the last few years. To me, this article seems to provide another example of how divergent opinions are between members here and the vast majority of the American public. And the conclusions in the article are not surprising to me at all. Many younger voters are not enthused about the two major parties, and are pessimistic about their future. They distrust the establishment, which they see as having ruined the country and led us into the crises we are now facing. And many people are repelled by the extreme rhetoric and by the hypocrisy of many of our politicians.

[jojoju1998]

It's the culture wars stuff.

Most Americans agree on the basic economic issues.

But the damn culture wars have swallowed everything.

issue polling is unreliable though. The fact is people dislike any major change when it comes to economics

Paid family leave is not drastic. Better childcare isn't drastic.

[Sir Mohamed]

It's the culture wars stuff.

Most Americans agree on the basic economic issues.

But the damn culture wars have swallowed everything.

issue polling is unreliable though. The fact is people dislike any major change when it comes to economics

Paid family leave is not drastic. Better childcare isn't drastic.

It's more about perception, and that has 2 major factors: Dems often not doing well with messaging and, as the OP said, the media successfully promoting the tiresome "muh both sides" narrative.

Overcoming such perceptions can be difficult since these arguments are made up of personal feelings and bias. Arguing against that rational facts hardly works. That's just human nature.

[Torie]

1. Moderates win less and less because they are nominated less and less.

2. Yes, it takes less effort to hate the other side than love your own, and there is self selection going on, because the most political and engaged tend to be disproportionately the angry/dissatisfied ones. Political people tend to not be very pleasant as individuals.

[jojoju1998]

It's the culture wars stuff.

Most Americans agree on the basic economic issues.

But the damn culture wars have swallowed everything.

issue polling is unreliable though. The fact is people dislike any major change when it comes to economics

Paid family leave is not drastic. Better childcare isn't drastic.

It's more about perception, and that has 2 major factors: Dems often not doing well with messaging and, as the OP said, the media successfully promoting the tiresome "muh both sides" narrative.

Overcoming such perceptions can be difficult since these arguments are made up of personal feelings and bias. Arguing against that rational facts hardly works. That's just human nature.

It should be noted with Paid Family Leave, that more and more companies are offering paid maternity/paternity leave because they're competing globally with companies that do offer it( ala Government mandate ).

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

The 'both-sides' narrative promoted by the mainstream media has had its impact:

https://twitter.com/nbcbayarea/status/1580234105005801475

I continue to strongly push back against this "#bothsidesism" claim, which I and many others have been tarred with by some posters on this forum, routinely, over the last few years. To me, this article seems to provide another example of how divergent opinions are between members here and the vast majority of the American public. And the conclusions in the article are not surprising to me at all. Many younger voters are not enthused about the two major parties, and are pessimistic about their future. They distrust the establishment, which they see as having ruined the country and led us into the crises we are now facing. And many people are repelled by the extreme rhetoric and by the hypocrisy of many of our politicians.

I get frustrated, and sometimes angry, at the attempts to portray the Democrats and Republicans as equivalent, or that they ought to be treated the same, because reasons.

I'm well aware that the Democratic Party is deeply flawed and imperfect, but they are attempting to retain the norms that kept out country working for most of the last century. The Republicans, in contrast, are actively destructive to the practice of functional government that limits abuses. Make no mistake, any vote that allows Republicans to win is a vote to destroy any  rule of law in America, which will have horrific consequences.

[Lambsbread]

Republicans: only elections we win are legitimate and if we don't win we're going to shoot people and we're going to have forced birth and we're going to force kids to learn about Christopher Columbus (just the good stuff) but not that racism exists

Democrats: sometimes you have to call someone by their preferred pronouns and maybe a few more people can have health care

Moderates: these are the same

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Republicans: only elections we win are legitimate and if we don't win we're going to shoot people and we're going to have forced birth and we're going to force kids to learn about Christopher Columbus (just the good stuff) but not that racism exists

Democrats: sometimes you have to call someone by their preferred pronouns and maybe a few more people can have health care

Moderates: these are the same

I've never understood why so many leftists (and right wingers for that matter) think 'Moderates' and 'Centrists' are the worst political affiliation.

[Vice President Christian Man]

If this is the case then why don't "moderate" candidates win more races nationwide?

Because the activists are the only people who reliably show up to the primaries.

[Lambsbread]

If this is the case then why don't "moderate" candidates win more races nationwide?

Because the activists are the only people who reliably show up to the primaries.

Yeah, isn't that right President Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Nina Turner and Senator Paula Jean Swearengin

[President Johnson]

If this is the case then why don't "moderate" candidates win more races nationwide?

Because the activists are the only people who reliably show up to the primaries.

Yeah, isn't that right President Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Nina Turner and Senator Paula Jean Swearengin

That applies a lot more to the Republican Party when it comes to primaries. I think Democrats are also more cautious in nominating more left-wing candidates because they fear it costs them swing votes. Republicans don't bother that much and nominate extreme candidates.

The media playing the both sides game certainly plays a role in that perception, and also Republicans successfully tying Democrats to fringe leftist positions the mainstream of the party doesn't even support ("defund the police", "open borders", "late-term abortion just before birth" and so on).

[Inmate Trump]

Let’s say their both too extreme…

Okay, so which side tried to overthrow the government? That’s the extreme end I refuse to be on.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Leaving this here.

[Person Man]

I mean saying there’s a gazillion genders is one thing, but actively enslaving half of the country is another. The left of center is annoying and probably to the point of ruining things but the right of center is actively going Red Giant.

[Mercenary]

Well, they are.

They both have some ridiculously extreme idiotic policies.

The whole anti police pro crime b.s. of the far left lunatics. Say anything about the drug addicts living on the street causing tons of theft and other crimes and theyll act like you hate people who are just "down on their luck" And then there is the whole "gender identity" b.s. where they become as anti science as the right winger climate denialists and act like you are a horrible person just for static biological facts.

Then as just mentioned you have the right wingers who are a bunch of anti science nut jobs, their whole anti science climate change denial, their anti vaccine nonsense and general disregard for most things science. Then you have their anti immigration stuff and how a lot of them are just pretty overt racists in the Trump and post Trump era.

And both parties are just full of pro corporatists nonsense. The right pretends to be for the little guy by talking about "small business" and "tax breaks" and yeah all their regulatory nonsense makes things just as complex as the Ds tax idiocy and only benefits mega corps and mega rich. Ds likewise talk about helping the common person but their tax increase and spending policies screw over basically anyone who has a job and only help people who essentially refuse to work as thats the only way they have low enough "income" to qualify for things like medicaid or food stamps.

Id like a party that actually helps the majority who are actually working hard and could still use help. Would like a more technocratic way of selecting the people leading this country instead of rewarding fools who just happen to either be good at forming a personality cult or benefiting from name recognition of a lifetime in politics. Id like a party that doesnt cater to either the ultra "woke" on the left or the "I hate everyone who looks or speaks differently than me" on the right. Just drop ideological nonsense and focus on finding working solutions. Who cares if it requires government or requires a private corporation to do something, if it works and improves things overall then lets do it.

[Person Man]

Well, they are.

They both have some ridiculously extreme idiotic policies.

The whole anti police pro crime b.s. of the far left lunatics. Say anything about the drug addicts living on the street causing tons of theft and other crimes and theyll act like you hate people who are just "down on their luck" And then there is the whole "gender identity" b.s. where they become as anti science as the right winger climate denialists and act like you are a horrible person just for static biological facts.

Then as just mentioned you have the right wingers who are a bunch of anti science nut jobs, their whole anti science climate change denial, their anti vaccine nonsense and general disregard for most things science. Then you have their anti immigration stuff and how a lot of them are just pretty overt racists in the Trump and post Trump era.

And both parties are just full of pro corporatists nonsense. The right pretends to be for the little guy by talking about "small business" and "tax breaks" and yeah all their regulatory nonsense makes things just as complex as the Ds tax idiocy and only benefits mega corps and mega rich. Ds likewise talk about helping the common person but their tax increase and spending policies screw over basically anyone who has a job and only help people who essentially refuse to work as thats the only way they have low enough "income" to qualify for things like medicaid or food stamps.

Id like a party that actually helps the majority who are actually working hard and could still use help. Would like a more technocratic way of selecting the people leading this country instead of rewarding fools who just happen to either be good at forming a personality cult or benefiting from name recognition of a lifetime in politics. Id like a party that doesnt cater to either the ultra "woke" on the left or the "I hate everyone who looks or speaks differently than me" on the right. Just drop ideological nonsense and focus on finding working solutions. Who cares if it requires government or requires a private corporation to do something, if it works and improves things overall then lets do it.

Don’t worry. That time will come. Will you live to see it? Would you even want to provided the journey? We will see.