Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Swartz
Not hard to figure out really. Some examples:
** People who want abortion on demand with no restrictions
** People who don't just want healthcare, but want the government to run the system. Anything this side of Medicare 4 all is not radical left
** People who don't just want clean energy, but want us to drive the oil business out essentially immediately and won't consider nuclear as a transitional option.
** People who think racism is a severe enough problem in modern America that it justifies tearing down the justice & law enforcement system, not merely reforming/adjusting them
** People who believe the 70% top marginal tax rate in the 1970s was not excessive, and that we generally should use Denmark etc. as our model for economic policy.
Etc.
Look at any issue, see what the general consensus is, then find the position that's left enough that said consensus is unacceptably moderate to them. Or similarly, right enough - there's certainly a plethora of positions we could stake out as radical there as well, though that wasn't the question here. That's the 'radical wing'. I might add that there's nothing wrong with being radical. I'm radical on prisons (axe them all), I'm radical on abortion and individuality, radical on constitutional matters in general and the rule of law, and I'm borderline radical economically as well in the liberal direction. The only responsibility I think radicals have is to be straight up that they're being radical and not dress it up as mainstream.
If you're radical, just own it.
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Sure, I'll buy most of those, but there is nuance. FWIW, I don't know anyone who believes that. I think most of the congresspeople and senators don't either. Electing Jon Osoff does not mean you can abortions on every street corner and have it paid by the government, but that term is thrown so loosely around (radical left) that everyone fits it. Nobody I know wants to defund the police (including Biden), but rather re-prioritize spending.
I would not mind seeing no oil and fracking anywhere. They are both horrible for the environment and none of the companies ever take responsibility for trashing nature. How many times have we heard some pipeline that needed to be built through a conservation area leaked/broke and we are left holding the long-term bill.