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Comment by ryandvm

6 hours ago

Wonder if there are any groups out there tracking a "Democracy Loyalty Rating" (i.e. the opposition)...

6 comments

ryandvm

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bilbo0s  6 hours ago

Just Devil's Advocate, but this being the US, the opposition doesn't necessarily support pure democratic ideals either.

It's just that the conservatives are so much further along the authoritarianism scale that the liberals appear to be freedom loving democracy activists by comparison. But I guarantee you, if you were to drop the average US Democratic party politician into Germany, Australia, or Canada, they'd be considered to be so far right of center that people would question whether or not that politician even believes in democracy.

  • SpicyLemonZest  27 minutes ago

    It's absolutely not the case that the average Democratic party politician would be considered far right of center in Germany, Australia, or Canada. The Democratic party has an entirely normal center-left platform. Policy outcomes consistently end up in a space that most countries consider right-leaning, but this has nothing to do with what the average Democratic politician wants. It stems from the frequent necessity of compromising with arch-conservatives to form a majority.

  • ratelimitsteve  6 hours ago

    The ratchet effect is real. American liberals have comfortably positioned themselves as the counter to authoritarianism but you'll notice that they never actually make things less authoritarian. They're thrilled to keep the direct power seized by the right, and to expand their own soft power where possible.