We have all seen how the teahadists and birthers have sundered the Republican party between its corporate elite and the frothing at the mouth base.
The Washington Post has a but, but Democrats are divided as well article up.
Though more united than Republicans, Democrats nevertheless face simmering tensions between the establishment and a newly energized populist wing, led by the unabashed liberalism of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and the fiery rhetoric of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
But at least they publish the real kicker:
“There’s been consensus in both parties since the 1990s Clinton days where big corporations run the show and both parties suck up to them and everything else falls into place from there,” he said. “The Elizabeth Warren wing really believes in challenging the current state of who has power and who has influence.
We have all seen the vast expenditure by billionaires in support of the extreme right wing of the Republican Party because that wing will only enrich them further in the short term.
There is no equivalence of that here on the left, even though the right think there is some New World Order seeking to turn the US communist. They also seem to forget the collective centrists attacks on the Occupy Movement, which really did stand for inclusion and equality.
Both the left and the right know that the vast sticky center of our corporately sponsored elite is that there is something fundamentally wrong with the system.
The subtle difference is that
The right wing want to divide then purify the country in their own image.
The left want to knock the elite down a peg or three, and include all.
If only it was individualist [although there is a tiny group of these on the right] v collectivist [we also have a few libertarians on the left], it's more the hive mind v social cohesion.
The right seeks out groups to deride, women, people of color, other religions and gays. It promotes a imaginary golden age, which seems to involve rich christian white men and their obedient wives living in perfect harmony; with all others excluded from or serving this hell on earth.
The left strives for unity and inclusion and is not afraid of using collective power to bring into line those that have accumulated too much power.
The main difference in approach is to my mind
The extreme right are prepared to slash, burn and exclude all that do not conform.
The left want to build and improve the situation of all.
That is at least my view from here on the left, and yes we do have a few on our side that get quite excited.
Oh and just a note what the US corporate media and elites deem to be extreme leftist communism if not bordering on fascism. Kristallnacht! Hitler! Stalin! is pretty much centrist European politics.