Theory: Democrats would be better off if...

[anarch]

10. for real

people who are slightly to the right of, say, Ronald Reagan in most of their thinking are routinely denigrated as "socialists" nowadays.

As a real godless commie weirdo, this seriously annoys me. There isn't even the faintest chance that truly socialist ideas might be reasonably discussed and considered in U.S. political discourse; not in our lifetimes, I'd venture to guess.

As a disclaimer: I've only ever voted a straight Democratic ticket, because at the end of the day I'm a pragmatist. That said, I really hope that someday (if we don't destroy ourselves) human society might incorporate things like universal healthcare, education, housing, sustenance, and true liberty as just the basic rights of citizens.

As it is now, the best I can hope for is that the Republicans don't kill us all.