Exactly what and who is America's "Extreme Left?"

[Cyrano]

The extreme right consists of QAnon crazies, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and countless other neo-Nazi groups that call themselves by a variety of names. Not to mention the many members of the elected Republican Party who are allied with them.

But exactly what is "The Extreme Left?" Bernie Sanders? AOC? They may be left of center, but I don't see anything extreme about them, or others like them.

Would someone please explain to me what the American "Extreme Left" is, other than some imaginary group that exists in the minds of the very real and dangerous extreme right?

[Walleye]

1. Like you said, imaginary, only exist in their minds

Every time they refer to the extreme left I start looking around to find it. I’ve never seen it. The TV news doesn’t help with their both sidesism

[dclarston13]

2. Bigfoot abd the Boogie man

The Extreme left is a figment of their imaginations

[Lunabell]

3. Me.

I am the extreme left. I support antifa, BLM, feminism and the LGBTQIA community. There may be some who want to burn down our society that are further left than I. But, that's not who they're talking about. Just plain old working class me, who believes that all are equal.

[vlyons]

4. It doesn't mean anything

Just an ugly label RWers use to discredit Dems.

[LakeArenal]

5. I think in their dim brain ...

… they envision AOC and others as Abbey Hoffman or Che Guevara. Karl Armstrong gonna blow up the VFW.

[canuckledragger]

6. That's just it, the extreme left ARE an imaginary group of the right.

The 'Extreme left' is really just the extreme right doing their typical projecting, gaslighting, deflection, etc as they become ever more extreme and violent.

For the dumb 'true believers', they think they have be the way they are to fight the insidious imaginary enemy they've been told to hate, as they are 'only defending themselves' as they ratchet up the violence against their perceived enemies, whose evil deeds they hear about nightly from republican propaganda outlets like fox.

For the smarter ones pushing the hate and inciting followers to do their bidding...it's just scapegoating as usual.

[Thomas Hurt]

7. Anyone that doesn't agree completely with the christofascists is a socialist and extreme left.

[Mosby]

8. Far left and extreme left are different categories.

The DSA is far left. The CPUSA (tankies) black bloc are extreme left.

[AntivaxHunters]

19. CPUSA is not "Tankies"

That term is reserved for those who support crushing social movements by military force.
The CPUSA is against such actions & they're very antiwar. They also support electing Democrats to office.
https://www.cpusa.org/interact_cpusa/why-does-the-cpusa-support-democratic-party-candidates-for-the-presidency-instead-of-running-their-own-candidates/

[ThoughtCriminal]

9. The GOP today would consider Nixon "Extreme Left"

Today's "Centrists" would be what we called far-right 40 years ago.

[FuzzyRabbit]

11. Amen.

[Meadowoak]

23. and Raygun.

[Bettie]

33. Yep.

That's why I laugh at their worship of Reagan. Today, he would be considered WAY to liberal for them.

[leftstreet]

38. +1

[ENO in 2024]

10. Political rivals

That support anything they don't like. Mexico, gay marriage, good books, intelligent people, etc. And any people that don't condemn those things. Extremely Extreme.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

12. Those they accuse of being 'extreme left' are really just pushing ideas that are PRE-mainstream.

[FakeNoose]

13. Repukes are so far right (vs. 50 years ago) that everyone looks "extreme left" by comparison

I wouldn't accept the judgment of any conservative or ultra-conservative as to what's "extreme" right or left in America. They lack the objectivity to judge their own position on the left-right spectrum, and they're easily influenced by the escalating craziness of others.

[kimbutgar]

14. My husband Has a right wing relative who calls are us the looney liberals from San Francisco

Even though we have been married 30+ years and the one that calls us that is divorced and remarried. We are law abiding, pay our taxes, own our own home and financially stable. But we are the looney ones because we Vote Democratic and want everyone to succeed and not just a few. And believe that corporations need to pay their fair share of taxes.

[Cyrano]

18. AHA! You're just "lefty extemists" trying to rationalize what you are!

[zipplewrath]

15. Two things

First, I have to laugh when some GQPer accuses someone of being an "extreme lefty". They think anything to the left of MTG is a radical lefty.

Second, there are some extremely radical lefties out there. Much of Antifa would qualify. I'd probably put Sarandon in that category. Anyone remember Lyndon Larouche? They are out there.

What you won't find is anyone holding a federal office that is particularly supportive of these groups of people.

[Cyrano]

22. Yep. Last year I spotted two Antifa's in Philadelphia and one in Chicago.

[Bettie]

16. It is an imaginary group

For Republicans, it is ALL Democrats except Sinema and Manchin.

For Democrats it is anyone who thinks health care should be for everyone, not only those who can afford insurance.

[betsuni]

26. "Democrats have fought to achieve universal health care for a century. ... as Democrats, we

fundamentally believe health care is a right for all, not a privilege for the few."

That's from the party platform.

"For Democrats it is anyone who thinks health care should be for everyone, not only those who can afford insurance." What?

[Bettie]

29. And yet, every time

universal health care is suggested, there are a million and twelve objections from the various quarters (and posters here) that it costs too much and a for-profit system is necessary.

The US has the greatest healthcare infrastructure in the world, the care? That depends on insurance and how much you can pay for that insurance. The entire system is built around serving those who have money and doing the absolute minimum for those who can't.

And even with insurance, most people are paying a great deal out of pocket.

But single payer, that's a bridge too far, it seems.

[Genki Hikari]

36. More like we don't like the "plans" that the likes of BS

have come up with.

Medicare for all is not the answer. Only someone who has never dealt with it could possibly think it's an acceptable health care plan for the country. Sure, it's better than nothing for oldsters. But only barely.

I know for a fact that the insurance my husband's work provides is cheaper and better than Medicare. Because I'm the one who has to listen to my mother's complaints about how much she's spending (and doing without) with Medicare. I'm able to get meds at a literal fraction of the rate she would have to pay to get the same thing. I pay something like 1/15th for Ozempic of what Medicare told her she'd have to pay to get it. So she does without it, while I don't. I'm not the one having to go to Mexico for my meds to get around a health care plan "donut hole." She is. I'm not the one who had to pay out of pocket to get fully up to date with all of my vaccines (including childhood vax boosters). She is. I'm not the one who has to jump through hoops to see a specialist when I need one. Or wait for approval, either. She is.

Year in, year out, my husband and I spend less on health care--premiums, co-pays, meds--than my mother does with Medicare. And I'm the one who's had cancer, not her. I'm the one who had three surgeries in quick succession in the middle of the last decade. And we still spent less than she did, when she's had better luck with her health.

And then there's how Vermont tried to set up a universal health care system in their teeny tiny state...and FAILED. Go study what happened with that before thinking that anyone is going to buy the excuses about US making excuses for why we're not sold on what has been proposed with universal health care to date.

You've got to do better than a private health care plan if you're going to sell us on replacing what we have, already. Until you do, nobody will buy what BS is selling.

Which is a big heaping pile of BS.

[betsuni]

37. The ACA passed the House with a public option, it was senator Lieberman who wouldn't vote for it

until the public option and other things were removed.

Just like now, when Democrats don't have large majorities in Congress a few or even one person can change things. Not having enough votes doesn't mean universal health care or close to it means the Democratic Party doesn't want it because of some imaginary corruption conspiracy (I blame those who tell their supporters this) -- it feeds into the populist idea that there are simple solutions for problems, the vast majority of Americans want those solutions, but the evil corrupt Congress won't do it (including Democrats who are all bribed and have the same economic policies as Republicans). They used to come right out and say Democrats are corrupt but now it's more often "Congress" with the passive-aggressive implication Democrats haven't been fighting for universal health care for the last hundred years. These people think the ACA is "neoliberal."

Many Americans want to keep their private health insurance plans. Medicare for All has been attempted in some states like Vermont and failed, but someone in future will probably come up with something that does work. John Conyers introduced The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act in 2003 with 38 co-sponsors and did so every year until 2017; Ted Kennedy (whose life work was trying to provide Americans with universal health care and has been saying health care is a right and not a privilege since the '60s) introduced the Medicare for All Act in 2006. Others later came out with bills (one introduced in 2013 with zero co-sponsors), but the important thing is like anything else, it be a detailed plan that works and not a slogan. The larger the Democratic majorities are, because of course there will be zero Republican votes as with the ACA, the more likely health care will improve for Americans, and with the popularity of the ACA, government involvement in health care is looked on more favorably by Americans.

[JCMach1]

17. Extreme Right is now 80-90% of the GOP

Leaving only a rump of Eisenhower and establishment GOPers

[Cyrano]

21. Yep. Many can't see that Ronald Reagan was

only a tool in the hands of his authoritarian handlers. In truth, he was nothing more than an amiable imbecile whom people liked.

[Bettie]

39. I'd say 99.5%

of the GOP.

[JCMach1]

42. Probably being generous. Varies from state to state

[haele]

20. Left does not necessarily mean Liberal or Socialist.

Left general political = Social justice, secularism, adaptive governance, and redistributive policies, which can range from single issue Anarchists to a comprehensive New Deal progressivism, while -
Right = traditional sectarianism, a strong and rigid government, property rights and privileges, and Capitalism in general. Basically, single issue Anarchists to the polite Rotary Club Republicans.

So there's this idea of the Horse-shoe connection, where Radicals on both Left and Right are basically the same other than the one or two issues they've made for their political identities. Everyone else falls pretty much within the bulge area of their particular side. In other words, if they can negotiate, they aren't Radical.

So, the Extreme Left...is 20 times smaller than the Extreme Right in a minimum. The issues occur when the projection starts, and those who are really politically positioned on "the bulge" are pulled down to the radical edges of the Horse-shoe by the opposition party or pushed up to the flat top by the Radicals of their own party.


Haele

[Just A Box Of Rain]

24. Come visit LA City Hall and you will see what extreme left "activists" look like for yourself.

People who are anti-liberal, anti-democratic, anti-Democratic, and increasingly dangerous.

The so-called "The People's City Council."

Don't kid yourself. They are creating chaos here.

[Cyrano]

25. Links to any articles/documentaries that make your case?

[Just A Box Of Rain]

27. Try the LA Times or any major newspaper.

And look for the complete tape of the brawl involving Kevin De Leon.

The same group backed Kevin De Leon when he ran against Dianne Feinstein for Senate and used the same physically threatening tactics against her.

Lay down with dogs and you get fleas.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

28. Democratic LA City Councilperson Monica Rodriguez, who voted to censure Kevin De Leon and

who has called for KDL's resignation, tweeted this several days ago:

Angelenos have every right to peacefully protest, but when protest devolves into wielding physical intimidation, threats and acts of violence, it’s no longer protest—it’s terrorism.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

30. Here is a link to a video from last February that will introduce you to the the guy

who initiated an assault on Kevin De Leon at a Holiday toy giveaway for children the other day.

He and the leader of the far-left extremist "People's City Council" group Ricci Sergienko have both engaged in violence.

Note, when you see Ricci Sergienko's office that the signs of protest on his wall are only aimed at Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg--not any Republicans--as these self-styled "radicals" only attack Democrats, Speaker Pelosi and Karen Bass being other popular targets of theirs.

Take a look:

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/politics/2022/02/28/los-angeles-activists-disrupt-events#

"People's City Council" has grown more disruptive and more violent since the video was made. But one can get a taste.

[XorXor]

41. But is there any significant number of people with such views in power?

These leftist anarchists are the same as the ones in Portland who marched with the signs that said "We don't want Biden, we want revenge." along with images of AK-47s. Other than a few that get elected to some local positions here and there, does that group have any real influence over the country? I mean, other than temporarily getting some mainstream politicians to latch on to what many people consider to be poorly thought out slogans like "Defund/Abolish the police"?

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

43. I'm not afraid of a few wacko anarchists.

I'm worried about the tens of millions of violent, foaming at the mouth armed fascists all across our nation who want to destroy our country and our democracy right now.

This "Extreme Left" red scare stuff got old long before Joe McCarthy was exposed as a nut case.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

44. Yet it is the extreme leftists who are creating havoc in my hometown.

Ignoring the fact that there are violent ideologues on the so-called far-left who are virtually indistinguishable from the violent extremists on the far-right, is a big mistake.

That is how liberal democracies die.

[Cyrano]

46. My cousins and friends in San Francisco don't seem to be living in the same

city you're describing. They fear right wing extremism. And they've never mentioned any of the "far-left violent ideologues" you're speaking about. Hmm. Wonder why.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

47. I'm not describing San Francisco, I'm describing Los Angeles.

They are both cities in California, perhaps you are confusing them?

[Cyrano]

49. Also have relatives in L.A. who are politically aware and

never mentioned anything you're talking about.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

50. That undercuts the idea that they are "politically aware" or maybe they are just embarrassed?

It is all over the local news and prominently covered in the LA Times and other newspapers.

Did you look at the stories I provided at your request? You never thanked me or acknowledged them in any way.

Yet you make personal insults. Bad look to provide cover for anti-Democratic elements on a pro-Democratic forum, in my point of view.

[iemanja]

31. There is no far left in America anymore

The Communist Party and Marxists were the left, and they have long vanished due to purges.

[Yavin4]

32. There is no left in America either.

The left in America would be considered centrists in most other democratic nations around the world.

[TheProle]

34. Depends on what one considers "extreme"

The "extreme" left—as embodied by Weather Underground, who bombed the Capitol, the Pentagon and the State Dept—faded by the mid-70s, but spawned the May 19th Communists who did their own bombings in the 80s.

Since then, the more extreme elements of the left have integrated into more mainstream ideology.

[Mysterian]

35. All Democrats and everyone else who doesn't want Trump to be king of the USA

are extreme left according to the nazis on Fox News.

[XorXor]

40. I don't consider any democrats in power to be extreme left

The "extreme left" that I see tends to be limited to the internet. They have popular blogs, "news sites", podcasts, and stuff like that. They also have a loud vocal group of supporters who seem to mostly exist on the internet. They might occasionally come out during protests and attempt to make it all about themselves too. But generally I don't see these people being in government in any significant amounts. AOC and Bernie are not extreme left. They are, as you said, left of center. Perhaps even further left than many folks (even on here), but they are not extreme.

Some examples of the extreme left would be greyzone or globalreasearch.ca, etc.. I might even put Jimmy Dore on the border of that group. But really, a lot of these people fall more into the category of Tulsi Gabbard. Is she left? There is something more that unites these people that goes beyond the simple left/right thing.

[Voltaire2]

45. The good people who show up armed to protect drag queens from armed nazis.

Seriously. These people understand where this is all heading.

[maxsolomon]

48. It's whatever I hear Dori Monson whinging about on KIRO-FM.

Every f-ing day: "the extreme left" this, "extreme left" that. His audience is resentful suburbanites who rarely venture into Seattle, because it's "dying".

Basically, when you're a propagandist, it's any Progressive Dem.

[ProfessorGAC]

51. They're Certainly Out There

But, they're not democrats or liberals. And, none of them hold national office with a "D" after their name.
So, the radical left as they describe is anyone with whom they disagree. But, that makes them neither radical or far left.
In other words, they're making that up.