Re: Dems holding "far left" positions like abortion - I think voter behavior and opinions being widely reported demonstrate that abortion is not a far left position. The slight majority that Republicans hold in our legislature could be at least changed to a tie, if not switched to Democrat, with favorable results in the few competitive races based on the abortion issue and support for public education funding.
Agreed. Additionally, I find it odd that issues of public health are sometimes associated with a position on a left-right axis that historically has referred to positions on economic or political matters. If someone chooses to wear a mask in a pandemic, are they a leftist? If they think women should have control over their own bodies, are they an extremist? Strange.
Abortion access in general is not a far-left issue, but a position on what level of access to abortion, any restrictions or no restrictions, etc. (which is what the story from the Republic details) falls somewhat along party lines, with people farther left supporting no restrictions. As the top of the Agenda today notes, of course, some level of abortion access is broadly supported.
I mean, the Republic story cites polling that 42% of Arizonans support abortion with no restrictions. I'm not sure 42% of Arizonans could legitimately be considered "far-left".
I don't even know what a far left position on abortion would be - you're not allowed to abort a fetus that can hum the Internationale?
In today's Agenda, you note, re Ray Stern's summary of extremism in our politics (after a paragraph about Qanon etc on the right) "Comparatively, he notes, Democrats running for the Legislature sometimes hold far-left views on topics like abortion or policing."
While it's true that candidates in both parties can have views across the spectrum of possibilities, I hope it's clear to people that the two sides are not mirror images. In his article, Stern notes (while also reporting on Democrats holding views he sees as extreme):
"Republican legislative candidates include Oath Keepers and people who believe in, or have dabbled in, conspiracies like QAnon and a century-old imagined plot that a Jewish banking family manipulates geopolitics.
By contrast, no Democratic candidates for the Legislature appear to have a history in Antifa or other left-wing extremist organizations, and Democrats have not publicly spread false, debunked allegations about the election system."
Let's put it another way: it is one thing to have a views about how public safety money should be spent, or other public issues, that significantly differ from the median perspective in the public, or to use imprudent messaging. It is quite another to deny reality, which has become common for many of the Republican candidates this year.
I adjusted the language of that sentence to include part of the quote about Democrats you mention here. Whether the two parties should be compared in this way in the same story about extremism is a fair question!
I think the other big distinction is that there are elected Republicans who are a part of extremist militias and other nationally organized extremist groups. I'm not even sure if there are organized left wing extremists groups, let alone national ones. AntiFa and Jane's Revenge seem more like names that small groups decide to take on rather than parts of a larger organization
Re: Dems holding "far left" positions like abortion - I think voter behavior and opinions being widely reported demonstrate that abortion is not a far left position. The slight majority that Republicans hold in our legislature could be at least changed to a tie, if not switched to Democrat, with favorable results in the few competitive races based on the abortion issue and support for public education funding.
Agreed. Additionally, I find it odd that issues of public health are sometimes associated with a position on a left-right axis that historically has referred to positions on economic or political matters. If someone chooses to wear a mask in a pandemic, are they a leftist? If they think women should have control over their own bodies, are they an extremist? Strange.
Abortion access in general is not a far-left issue, but a position on what level of access to abortion, any restrictions or no restrictions, etc. (which is what the story from the Republic details) falls somewhat along party lines, with people farther left supporting no restrictions. As the top of the Agenda today notes, of course, some level of abortion access is broadly supported.
I mean, the Republic story cites polling that 42% of Arizonans support abortion with no restrictions. I'm not sure 42% of Arizonans could legitimately be considered "far-left".
I don't even know what a far left position on abortion would be - you're not allowed to abort a fetus that can hum the Internationale?
In today's Agenda, you note, re Ray Stern's summary of extremism in our politics (after a paragraph about Qanon etc on the right) "Comparatively, he notes, Democrats running for the Legislature sometimes hold far-left views on topics like abortion or policing."
While it's true that candidates in both parties can have views across the spectrum of possibilities, I hope it's clear to people that the two sides are not mirror images. In his article, Stern notes (while also reporting on Democrats holding views he sees as extreme):
"Republican legislative candidates include Oath Keepers and people who believe in, or have dabbled in, conspiracies like QAnon and a century-old imagined plot that a Jewish banking family manipulates geopolitics.
By contrast, no Democratic candidates for the Legislature appear to have a history in Antifa or other left-wing extremist organizations, and Democrats have not publicly spread false, debunked allegations about the election system."
Let's put it another way: it is one thing to have a views about how public safety money should be spent, or other public issues, that significantly differ from the median perspective in the public, or to use imprudent messaging. It is quite another to deny reality, which has become common for many of the Republican candidates this year.
I adjusted the language of that sentence to include part of the quote about Democrats you mention here. Whether the two parties should be compared in this way in the same story about extremism is a fair question!
I think the other big distinction is that there are elected Republicans who are a part of extremist militias and other nationally organized extremist groups. I'm not even sure if there are organized left wing extremists groups, let alone national ones. AntiFa and Jane's Revenge seem more like names that small groups decide to take on rather than parts of a larger organization