A huge lie has become embedded in our culture, our society.

[shockey80]

Center, commonsense views are now considered far left socialist views. This has to change.

We Democrats are not far left socialists. We are the center, commonsense people of America.

The right to choose is not a far left socialist view. The right to choose does not force anyone to do anything. It gives women the right to control their own reproductive health. This is commonsense, this is the center.

The Republicans want to use the full power of the federal government to ban all abortions. One could argue, using the government to take complete control of the American peoples reproductive health, process, is the definition of socialism.

Doing something about the climate crisis is not far left socialism. It is commonsense, it is the center.

Believing in gun regulation is not far left socialism. It is commonsense, it is the center.

Believing in health care for all, a national health care system, is not far left socialism. It is commonsense, It is the center. Every dam democracy in the world has moved to a national health care system. We are the last idiot hold outs.

The Democrats of America must stop the Republicans, the true extremists, from labeling us far left socialists. It's a lie.

We the Democrats are the center, commonsense people of America and we should make sure everyone knows it. We have to start fighting back against this great lie.

When someone asks you what party do you belong to. Tell them you belong to the center, commonsense party of America, the Democrats.

[defacto7]

1. To the rw, when all else fails move the goal posts.

That's all they can do.

[czarjak]

24. Standing strong on those conservative principles is a goalpost the won't move.

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. Yes, like the DEFINITION of liberal is what you almost HAVE TO BE to be a journalist, for instance

open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.
"they have more liberal views toward marriage and divorce than some people"
2.
(of education) concerned mainly with broadening a person's general knowledge and experience, rather than with technical or professional training.

[The Wielding Truth]

3. John F. Kennedy quote on what it means to be a "Liberal".

John F. Kennedy
“If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal", then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.”

― John F. Kennedy, Profiles in Courage

[SCVDem]

16. Also repeated by

Jimmy Smits on the West Wing running against Alan Alda!

Powerful!

[Karadeniz]

23. THANKS!...I'D FORGOTTEN THIS!❤

[HAB911]

4. Finally got tired of 'discussing' with a RWNJ

Are you ready? She worked as a fireman/EMT for 20 years until a medical diagnosis of MS, whereupon she received SS disability and now rails on and on about socialist democrats. unbelievable stupidity

[Cetacea]

17. A pattern I've noticed

Most people I have met who are receiving SSI or SSDI parrot FOX News talking points. I have no idea why, but I suspect it is coming from the people who run various Disability Centers, as well as the VA Centers.

[napi21]

37. I don't know how much influence doctor's waiting rooms have on their patients, but every

waiting room I've been in has FOX playing on their TV. I have no idea why. I think there must have been some incentive, like FOX will provide the TV free as long as FOX is on all the time.

[Cetacea]

41. Yes

Fox is free. It's everywhere where I am, too.

[maxsolomon]

43. TV B Gone

https://www.tvbgone.com/

[Cetacea]

46. Brillant

Thanks!

[Whiskeytide]

45. Many physicians believe they have a vested interest ...

... in opposing a national healthcare system. Fox is on their side concerning this issue. I know several physicians that are very liberal thinking. But they vote against democrats every time.

[maxsolomon]

44. People on SSI or SSDI often consume a lot of TV or Radio

and it comes from there.

[Traildogbob]

18. Damn dm socialists

RWNJ are wetting their pants to send our socialist military to die so the anti socialist GOP leaders can make shits loads of Money that THEY will not pay taxes on. Who pays for war in lives and cash? Not the anti socialists GOP leadership. MAGA

[Wednesdays]

39. ...

[Cetacea]

42. LOL

Keep guvmint out of my socialist Medicaire, Morans! 1111!11

[Claritie Pixie]

5. America is a continent that includes other countries. It's United States of America.

Not trying to be snarky, just accurate.

The middle way, the center, as the Buddha would say, is made up of general and specific ethical practices as well as philosophical views that facilitate enlightenment by avoiding the extremes of self-gratification on one hand, and self-mortification on the other.

The middle way is the only way forward for this country, for humanity.

Each person must come to this realization on their own however. None of us have the power to enlighten anyone, and fighting solves nothing.

[JHB]

6. I've taken to calling myself an "Eisenhower socialist"...

...when I think I can make a point about just how expansive that word has been redefined.

And that's when I'm not calling for "English Only ... For Republicans! Not that weird dialect they have that uses the same words as English but has completely different meanings."

Fifty years of relentless propagandizing have mainstreamed a wildly expansive definition of "socialist" that was once only used by soapbox cranks and country-club barflies grousing over their gin and tonics.

[colsohlibgal]

7. +1000

The Bulk of the blame for this change of perception, IMHO , is Reagan and his minions.....followed by the influence of right wing media....which has bled down to many democrats.

I hope this changes. The latest Gold Standard Iowa poll, from the Des Moines Main Newspaper has Bernie leading followed closely by Warren. Biden is 4th. I hope it’s a trend, we have to try to convince voters to stop carrying water for Billionaires and the Black Hole that is the Defense Budget.

[PatrickforO]

14. I LIKE that kind of talk!

In fact, this is a really good thread. I've bookmarked it because this idea of what constitutes 'socialism' has moved further and further toward the center, and even center right.

As to the 'black hole that is the defense budget,' I'm not even going to call it hyperbole, because you aren't exaggerating.

[J_William_Ryan]

8. "We Democrats are not far left socialists. We are the center, commonsense people of America."

Exactly.

In many respects Democrats are the conservatives, seeking to safeguard the Constitution, the rule of law, and our democratic institutions from rightwing extremists and the authoritarian, reactionary right.

[Wellstone ruled]

9. William F Buckley

was the Coiner of most of the Socialist Tags slapped on our Democratic Party . No one in the Media ever challenged his Lies and false Equivalences until the labels stuck and were repeated by any Media person wanting a shock talking point.

[shockey80]

10. Isn't it crazy how the far right has been able to label pro-choice as pro-abortion.

We the Democrats have allowed these lies to infect our culture.

[stillcool]

11. when asked "are you a Democrat"?

my response used to be..."I am an American", or better yet.."I am a human being". I despise labels, it's not like I'm a piece of laundry that needs to be sorted. What is worse than labels, is the lies. The lies behind the labels.

[JudyM]

12. Government supporting big business (donors) is perfectly ok, though, in their eyes.

Which is another effective line to throw back at them.
“free market economy,” what a load of crap they spew.

[bucolic_frolic]

13. The political spectrum has shifted rightward by GOP lies

Democrats and the center compromised too much, and had and have no concerted agenda to move it back. But it will swing of its own mass. Nothing stays the same forever.

[Harker]

15. Yes. I'd go further to say that our culture /society

are built largely on a massive foundation of big lies.

[Caliman73]

19. The problem is ignorance. When you are ignorant, you can be lied to easily.

For instance. The government restricting access to reproductive care is NOT the definition of socialism. Socialism is mainly an economic system that favors putting the means of production (factories, capital, etc...) in the hands of the workers as opposed to a small group of owners.

What you are describing is AUTHORITARIANISM which can be present in any type of governmental system. Capitalism certainly sparks authoritarianism by concentrating the money, power, and decision making in the hands of a few people.

The problem we are having right now with Trump and the GOP is that Trump is an idiot CEO of corrupt businesses where he has been the decision maker. He has no experience in public service where you consider the needs and desires of the constituents you serve. Conservatives value a hierarchical power structure and the idea of people being "in their place" within that structure.

Democrats are a big party with lots of different ideas. Some people are center, some people are further left. When the Roosevelts (Theodore and FDR) made fundamental changes to the nature of how government interacted with the people, they were not doing it from the center of American politics. They went further left than the center was at their respective time periods. Theodore left the Republican party and formed the Progressive party because both parties were stagnated (the Republicans in the gilded age mentality, and the Democrats in the rural agrarian ideal). FDR went left to avoid a full blown Socialist or Communist Revolution. But make no mistake, NEITHER of their plans for how the government should interact, were Center. They have become the planks of the modern Democratic Party but to say they are not left leaning is in my opinion, wrong.

When people ask me what party I belong to, I say the Democratic Party because I believe that government should have a role in making sure that people without wealth and power have a decent life and are not exploited by those with power. If that is center than so be it, but am not going to participate in division because people are afraid of embracing left leaning ideas because the GOP has lied to the ignorant about what they are.

[Jeebo]

30. Wasn't that the Bull Moose Party?

You said TR formed the Progressive Party. I think it was the Bull Moose Party.

-- Ron

[Wednesdays]

40. You're both correct. nt

[patphil]

20. The biggest difference between Democrats and Republicans is that the Democrats are flexible.

We can hold a variety of positions on a whole spectrum of ideas, situations, and individual experiences of the tremendously diverse population of this great nation.
We can sing harmonious songs with hundreds of different religious and cultural groups throughout the nation.
The Republicans only seem to be able to sing one song...the I, me, me, mine song.
Their song is a song of selfishness, greed, possessiveness of what they have, and denial of sharing anything with anyone who isn't just like them.
Their song is a song of domination and control over the "not us" that they so deeply distrust and fear.
Democrats are not bound up in this rejection of the "not us".
We acknowledge that the strength of our country comes from its diversity. We also understand that to help ourselves, we should help others since the nation is made up of all it's citizens, not just a certain self-ordained group of "patriots".
To us the concept of socialism is simply caring for the country, which is made up of the citizens.
It's not about control, it's about empowerment. We help others to help themselves.
We understand the concept of compassion as expressed through the various religions of our citizenry.
We know that all these social programs are investments in the future of the nation.
We know that true greatness is measured in love, not hate; in inclusion, not exclusion, in opportunity encouraged, not discouraged.
We know that healthy people are happier and more productive.
We understand what Lincoln meant when he referred to the "government of the people, by the people, and for the people".
It's ironic that the party of Lincoln has forgotten his words, and the party that once supported slavery has embraced them.

I reject the Republican talking point about the Democrats being far-left socialists. We don't seek to control the means of production, or the ability of people to make their own way in the world.
But, for any Democracy to effectively serve the people, it has to have social policies and programs to do that.
If the caring, supportive, inclusive policies of the Democrats is socialistic, then I am all for it.

Patrick Phillips

[Caliman73]

22. Good post.

I agree fully. Republicans label everything as "socialist" because there has been an irrational fear of socialism since 1917, and a concerted effort to demonize the idea that the common person should have a democratic say in their economic well being.

I do not espouse full on socialism but as you said, for a decent society to exist, all people have to have enough to survive and to thrive. That means clean water, food, education, and some leisure.

Unrestrained capitalism will NEVER provide that for everyone because it is not designed to do so. We need government (which comes from us) to make capitalism work for everyone, if we are to continue to use it as an economic engine.

[patphil]

26. It's a balancing act.

Capitalism provides the wealth, and it's up to government and society to use that wealth wisely to the benefit of the nation and all of its citizens.
Unfettered Capitalism is very selfish, and unfettered socialism is very domineering.

When one takes control over the other, things get out of balance and the nation suffers. You need both in balance to do the job.

There is more than enough wealth in this nation to provide the rich with the money they so desire, while caring for the needs of the citizens.
Together, they are the reason this nation has achieved so much.
Now the Republicans want to pull everything out of balance and demolish the middle class.
They want a 2 class system with the rich ruling and the poor working for them.
They forget that it was the wealth of the middle class that carried this nation upward and is actually responsible for most of the money the rich have.

[llmart]

31. Excellent post.

Most people in this country have no idea what "far left socialism" is. However, the Republicans know how to label things so the lazy, incurious ones in our society don't have to do any thinking for themselves. They end up voting against their own interests time and time again, getting the same results, and never even asking themselves why that is.

We're going to have to accept that there are a large number of people in our country who will never understand that they've been used by the Republicans. The best we can do is hope that our policies change a few minds. I actually think the ACA was a start. Many people who can now get health insurance and health care will get a rude awakening when the GOP removes the mandate to insure those with pre-existing conditions.

[BamaRefugee]

21. We really need better, 8th grade level, messaging or it's only going to get worse.

You know why MAGAts hate the press?
Because a newspaper FORCES YOU TO READ! Something they have loathed since the 3rd grade.
Dems need some really biting and memorable bumper sticker level messages.
Telling the truth shouldn't take more than 2 lines of words, or 50% of Americans eyes just glaze over and they go back to the right wing one-liners. So much easier for them.
For a start, something like replacing tRUMP's "impeachment" with tRUMP's "Un-American Conspiracy" trial.
Something, ANYTHING, we have so many talented people, somebody must be able to come up with some great stuff.

[lambchopp59]

25. RW pundits have shoved the overton window so far right

That the astonishing feat of convincing millions of working class citizens to vote against their own interests in the name of "patriotism" has reached a zenith in my view. Holy crap, what's the next step for these crass fuckers to convince their faithful of? They've already taught them to ignore all scientific authority, to turn a blind eye to overwhelming evidence of corruption and believe, believe, beeeelieve duh Donald is Jeebus Christ reincarnate. Selling them on "alternative facts", "what you see is not what's happening", "stable genius"... holy moly what a house of cards.
Destined for a resounding crash in the light of reality, floods, droughts, searing temperatures, fires and famine. The notion these are actions "good christian values" while 7 children have perished of neglect in internment camps? I believe many are fated to discover the real effects of "deregulation" when doing their taxes this year, as well, rendering this great "economic recovery and tax cuts" rhetoric the codswallop it is.
They've already started on the road to their own demise with calls for violence and civil war to the gun nuts.

[Cosmocat]

27. True story

nm

[BarbD]

28. And the Media in an attempt at balance

are forced to deal with the unbalanced.

[uponit7771]

29. THANK YOU !!! Most support left views

[smirkymonkey]

32. K&R

[Jeebo]

33. List the issues...

Shockey80, I want to thank you for writing this. It's something that needs to be said and has needed saying for ... well, for decades, actually. I think it's something that Democrats not only should be saying, but a theme they/we all should be HAMMERING on. DRILL it into the collective consciousness of the American voting public.

Shortly after Bernie Sanders announced his run for the presidency four years ago, Thom Hartmann ran a whole show on his radio program about Bernie, destroying the myth that Bernie is some kind of far-left nutjob. Hartmann pointed out that going through a whole long list of issues, and comparing Bernie's positions on those issues with the positions of Americans generally according to public opinion polls, Bernie was in line with 60-plus percent of Americans on those issues. He focused on those 60-plus percent issues, but I kept wondering, if that list was expanded to 50-plus, how much longer would it have been?

I kept thinking all through the 2016 campaign that Bernie should have been hammering on that point, but I rarely heard him mention it.

I think Democrats -- including all of the Democratic candidates -- should be hammering on this point all through the 2020 campaign. Let's make it our mission to SHATTER this myth. Down-ballot Democrats, too.

-- Ron

[Mr.Bill]

34. Whenever some wingnut uses the word socialist or coommunist

I immediately challenge them to tell me the definition of those words. I have never gotten a correct answer.

[MasonDreams]

35. 3 cheers ! I am so tired of hearing their combination of oversimplified misrepresentations.

If we don't support the endless abuses of faceless industrial conglomerates, then we are far left. Not so.

Taxes for anything except WAR is socialism.

For profit health care is keeping us sick and poor, but reforms promoting the general welfare is socialist, and therefore a horrorible nightmare
Not so.

They called Obama a socialist and he called his political philosophy "1980s moderate republican". Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Clinton's were not far left.

Public Education is not far left.
1st they demonized the hell out of the word Liberal and we let them. If you can't open your mind enough to consider new ideas, then you can't think. It's time for more Liberal Arts Education not re-education gulags.

[alterfurz]

36. "In 30 years I've moved from being a moderate Democrat...

...to being a flaming ultra-liberal socialist without changing one single position." -- reddit

[Nature Man]

38. Don't talk politics

with anyone who hasn't read a book since high school.