The death penalty is hardly "hard right"
I don't like it but ceased to think of it as any kind of litmus test when I was about, oh, 22 or so. Not sure what took me so long.
It's morally wrong for many reasons but many people support it in this country. (Last I checked it was a majority.) Most Democratic politicians either support it or don't want to talk about it.
I wouldn't call it progressive but it's far from a "hard right" position.
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