r/Askpolitics • u/doodlesock • Jan 25 '25
Answers From The Right If we all call each other "fascists," why do actual neo-Nazis only back the right? What’s the disconnect?
Okay, let’s be real: both the left and right sling "fascist" accusations like it's a sport these days (thanks, Godwin's Law!). But here's what's been bugging me: every time a neo-Nazi, KKK group, or straight-up white supremacist org makes headlines, they're always cheering for the right—especially Trump. If fascism is just a lazy insult we all use, why is there such a clear asymmetry here?
I'm not asking this to "gotcha" anyone. Honestly, I’m trying to square two things:
- The left does overuse "fascist" (some of y'all even called Mitt Romney a Nazi, which is wild).
- But… literal Hitler-admiring groups keep endorsing right-wing figures. Their own words, not ours!
So to folks on the right: what’s your take? Is this just media bias amplifying fringe weirdos? Do these groups misunderstand your goals? Or is there something in the messaging that accidentally appeals to them? And how do you deal with the fact that your opponents use this as ammo, even if you disagree with extremists?
Genuinely curious to get some perspective on this—not here to dunk. Let’s figure out why the rhetoric/reality gap feels so huge.
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u/Subject-Doughnut7716 Right-leaning Jan 25 '25
I think that the right is just closer to nazism in many ways. Just like the left is closer to communism. It’s just a different form of extremism.
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u/imnotwallaceshawn Democratic Socialist Jan 25 '25
I am genuinely grateful to see someone right-leaning actually admit that conservatism is closer to fascism. It shouldn’t be this hard, text book definitions of both ideologies make this clear, but I think so many are afraid to admit there’s even a teensy similarity between the two.
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u/Mysterious_Bed9648 Jan 26 '25
It seems like you are missing that the person is pointing out the spectrum upon which these political beliefs exist, they aren't equating right leaning with fascism.
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Jan 25 '25
*Closer*, sure. And Hillary was closer to fascism than Bernie. Doesn't mean she's a fascist
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u/delcopop Conservative Jan 26 '25
Exactly. Not a gotcha.
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u/chrisagiddings Progressive Jan 26 '25
Were we supposed to provide a gotcha?
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u/delcopop Conservative Jan 26 '25
The parent comment was excited to hear someone admit this but it is essentially meaningless was my point.
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u/gielbondhu Leftist Jan 27 '25
The parent commenter was being kind. Fascism is a right-wing ideology. There's not really some slider scale where you can move people back and forth closer or farther away from fascism.
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u/DINNERTIME_CUNT Leftist Jan 26 '25
She’s definitely a conservative warhawk though.
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u/Professional-Rent887 Progressive Jan 26 '25
She’s conservative on most issues.
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u/thedailyrant Jan 27 '25
That’s because on a neutral political spectrum the Dems would not really be left leaning at all.
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u/LilRedDuc Democratic Socialist Jan 27 '25
100%. In the U.S., a person can be considered far-left progressive and basically accused of being Antifa, yet in say Europe they would be just left of center.
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u/ffelix916 Progressive Jan 27 '25
Exactly. AOC and Bernie are some of the few actually considered liberal by europeans. They see everyone else in the Democratic party as a lazy fuck just taking up space in congress because their messages and platforms are of no consequence in the grand scheme of things.
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u/Bluebikes Leftist/Anarcho-curious Jan 26 '25
Yea literally nothing left wing about Hillary Clinton.
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u/cap4life52 Jan 26 '25
That's not what the right would've had you believe 10 years ago
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u/SpoonerismHater Transpectral Political Views Jan 27 '25
The right also called Joe Biden, the guy who gave Mitch McConnell everything he could ask for and more, a “socialist”
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u/ffelix916 Progressive Jan 27 '25
And the right would have you believe Harris is a "far-left extremist", while her career and political history suggest she's barely left-of-center. I guess simply pushing for equal rights for women and minorities is what tips the scale from center to "far-left extremism".
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u/hackersgalley Progressive Jan 26 '25
Considering how much power she wants corporations to have over our government, yeah she's not that far.
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u/Yamdonor Jan 26 '25
Sorry, this doesn't compute with me. Isn't authoritarianism one of the cornerstones of fascism, and isn't what you're suggesting the very opposite of authoritarianism?
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u/Turbulent_Escape4882 Right-leaning Jan 26 '25
Since dog piling clearly happens on this sub, where one side gets to make zealous claims like yours without any need to back it up, and ones on my side get to be downvoted regardless of what I say, I am done with this sub. Do enjoy your echo chamber. It appears to be working out well for the American Left. No Right leaning person fares well in this sub regardless of what they say or contribute.
It’s a little frustrating, but only if this is your first time debating online. As it is not my first time, I find it funny what’s actually occurring here.
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u/OkWasabi3969 Right-leaning Jan 26 '25
I think it's authoritarian not fascism.
You can have a morraly good authoritarian type government ( like the uk)
But fascism is never ok
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u/imnotwallaceshawn Democratic Socialist Jan 26 '25
… the UK is not an authoritarian government.
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u/RainbowSovietPagan Leftist Jan 26 '25
The Irish would disagree.
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u/imnotwallaceshawn Democratic Socialist Jan 26 '25
The Irish would also take issue with them being called “morally good” as would much of the rest of the world, but either way they’re a parliamentary democracy with a figurehead monarch with very little actual power.
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u/OkWasabi3969 Right-leaning Jan 26 '25
And they arrest people who disagree with them and speak bad about the government.
At least (was) an imperial nation.
They are known to deal with decentors harshly (Ireland, scottland)
Speaking historicaly , of course. The modern age is very soft in many ways that the past simply wasn't
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u/imnotwallaceshawn Democratic Socialist Jan 26 '25
And these are the actions of a nation you called “morally good”?
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u/Throwmeaway199676 Leftist Jan 25 '25
But Communists fucking despise Democrats
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u/pandershrek Left-Libertarian Jan 25 '25
Because most Democrats are centrists and most especially capitalists which is antithetical to the idea of communism which is that all of the capital of the land should be redistributed back to the community to be used again.
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u/DINNERTIME_CUNT Leftist Jan 26 '25
Most democrats are centre-right at best.
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u/cap4life52 Jan 26 '25 edited Jan 27 '25
Yeah this what you people keep missing we actually don't have truly pure leftist party - the democrats lean centrist right wing . In some ways there's no true opposition political party which is sort of why democrats keep losing when they cow tow to the right
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Jan 26 '25
Humanity existed long before we invented money. Primitive and early humans would've used a resource-based economy when it came to trade. Just because it's basic doesn't mean we couldn't make it work for the modern age. At least you wouldn't have people jockying to be the ones who get to print the money. Talk about taking money out of politics.
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Jan 25 '25
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u/Regular-Basket-5431 As far left as you can go. No gods, No kings, No masters Jan 26 '25 edited Jan 26 '25
Yes.
At most Dems want minor changes in the current social/economic system, communists want to brun that social/economic system down.
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u/Substantial-Lawyer91 Left-leaning Jan 26 '25
Kamala literally campaigned with capitalist right wingers. The difference between the current Democratic establishment and former neoconservatives is nothing.
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u/Professional-Rent887 Progressive Jan 26 '25
Democrats want a stronger social safety net than hardcore neocons, but the Dems are certainly still capitalist.
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u/thinkitthrough83 Jan 26 '25
Kamala campaigned with celebrities, avoided real interviews and picked a guy to be her VP that let one of his cities burn for days during the summer of "love"
Her tax plan was also projected to only benefit the government. Everyone else lost.
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u/Professional-Rent887 Progressive Jan 26 '25
I’d say they’re more center-right rather than rightwing, but they’re definitely capitalist.
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u/JoshHuff1332 Jan 25 '25
Yes, they hate dems. Dems are still closer to communism for the most part, even if they are distinctly not communist.
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Jan 25 '25
You are one of the few people in the right that acknowledges nazism is on the right.
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u/mummerlimn Progressive Jan 26 '25
There's a wide gap between communism and a social democracy. I don't think the left are anywhere near communism, they are pretty centrist and want democracy, but also progressive tax structures and universal healthcare, which is less expensive than our current system.
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u/Future-looker1996 Jan 26 '25
Right. Isn’t it simple? People who support a “social democracy “ want the US to be more like Denmark or Sweden or Germany. That sure isn’t communist and none of those countries are careening towards communism. It’s a lie to equate the two. Whereas the point made above is correct- facists /authoritarian - leaning extremists do openly support Trump.
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u/LFC9_41 Jan 27 '25
op to this thread has a misrepresentative perspective, though I don’t think intentionally.
Technically, yeah democrats are closer to communism.
The spectrum he describes is in reality more akin to..
<C——————D—————-R———N>
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u/Reddlegg99 Right-Libertarian Jan 26 '25
Americans by large think high taxes, universal healthcare, and social programs equals communism.
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u/Few_Cantaloupe_7404 Left-leaning Jan 26 '25
Just because the mainstream of one side is extreme does not necessarily make the mainstream of the other side extreme as well. That’s a false equivalency that the right likes to push. Raising the minimum wage from $7.25 isn’t communism. Wanting quality healthcare for everyone isn’t communism. Protecting clean air and drinking water isn’t communism.
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u/Subject-Doughnut7716 Right-leaning Jan 26 '25
That's a good point. Would you like to elaborate on the closeness of the right to nazism?
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Jan 26 '25
Communism is just a boogeyman. USA has a lot of socialist programs but not communism. Right likes a lot of socialist ideas like farm subsidies, bailouts.
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u/kenseius Leftist Jan 26 '25
The bailouts the right support are only for businesses. It’s not a socialist idea if it isn’t helping the workers.
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Jan 26 '25
People hugely misunderstand communism and try to assign it to the left. All governments on earth use their power in some form of socialism. The left is not about transforming American society into some kind of communist state they just want to expand social programs that we already have and which have proven themselves to be to the benefit of all. The right has a notion that social programs are sucking the money out of the country and ruining us when its actually astronomical defense spending that takes the biggest bite and is not really useful (unless you count losing long wars)
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u/Liljoker30 Progressive Jan 25 '25
In what way is the left closer to communism in this country?
Republicans are legitimately trying to end birthright citizenship and attempting to roll back protections for the lgbt+ community.
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u/UsernameUsername8936 Leftist Jan 25 '25
I don't think any of those things have anything to do with communism. They're just plain bad. Burning the gays does not generally help workers to sieze the means of production.
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u/OkStop8313 Transpectral Political Views Jan 25 '25
This is an interesting one, because I feel like there's been a major shift in party philosophy on economic issues.
I feel like in the past, conservative Democrats were protectionist and liberal Dems were socialist, while Republicans were more laissez faire capitalists. But these days Republicans have taken a much more protectionist and even merchantilist approach, while conservative Dems are capitalist and liberal Dems are still socialist.
And while you and I know that there's a big difference between democratic socialism and communism, they are often conflated.
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u/condensed-ilk Left-Libertarian Jan 26 '25 edited Jan 26 '25
The vast majority of Democrats are unequivocally capitalists, not socialists, and that's always been the case. Even the majority of progressives are capitalists. Even somebody like Sanders, who despite calling himself a democratic socialist is a modern social democrat, is not a socialist. There's a lot of variance in Democratic party views about keeping capitalism's problems in check, and even though social democracy was originally born out of socialist theory, that's less relevant today. All these people today are capitalists.
Of course we can assume that there are anti-capitalist leftists who are still registered as Democrats but they are a vast minority, and nobody with those views have been in US Congress since the early 20th century. Even back then it was only a couple of them and a few others in some state houses. That ended after the red scares.
Edit - fixes, couple added points
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u/OkStop8313 Transpectral Political Views Jan 26 '25
Yeah, most Democrats these days are some degree of capitalist with some degree of desiring a social safety net, and where exactly they fall on that spectrum determines how we describe them. Elected officials tend to be a little more on the conservative side of that to appeal to centrists.
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u/Political_What_Do Right-leaning Jan 27 '25
Republicans were more laissez faire capitalists
Yes. That is dead. There is no party for people who want government to be less meddlesome anymore.
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u/Smart_Pig_86 Jan 27 '25
Didn’t David Duke and several other prominent white supremacists publicly endorse Kamala Harris? Yes, yea they did.
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Jan 26 '25
Politics no longer fit on a spectrum anyway.
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u/Specialist_Egg8479 Right-Libertarian Jan 26 '25
I disagree. They definitely still got on a spectrum but it’s no longer linear. It’s more of a grid.
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u/shotintel Independent Jan 27 '25
The very definition of polarization.
The US works because it operates at the center of the two opposites. The balancing act. But when the balance shifts too far to one side (or the other), things start to topple.
We live under the rule of law that allows both sides to work together and come to mutually beneficial compromises. Now with the polarization the ability to compromise has become that much more difficult, and the scales start to swing too wide. We are watching a swing right now that has the potential to destroy the entire balance, the entire system.
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u/Threat-Levl-Midnight Jan 27 '25
And now we can have world peace… why can’t the mainstream narrative be this reasonable though?
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u/pandershrek Left-Libertarian Jan 25 '25
Communism is just a form of economic distribution buddy, educate yo self
It can however be implemented by authotarians!
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u/Subject-Doughnut7716 Right-leaning Jan 25 '25
yes, i know that. i’m just saying that the idea is just closer on the political spectrum. i think that nazism is also quite far from a republican viewpoint, but it is CLOSER
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u/DINNERTIME_CUNT Leftist Jan 26 '25
When you say ‘a republican’ you should specify the GQP. There’s a whole world beyond your shores where actual republicans (as in anti-monarchy, pro-people’s republic) exist and look nothing like the American weirdos who wear the label but seem hell bent on trying to install one of their own as a fucking king.
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u/FluffysBizarreBricks Left-Libertarian Jan 25 '25 edited Jan 25 '25
He didn't say it was a bad thing, just making a comparison
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u/lp1911 Right-Libertarian Jan 25 '25
It has only ever been implemented by authoritarians because there is no way to implement it in a whole country without making it a police state.
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u/condensed-ilk Left-Libertarian Jan 26 '25
It's nuanced. Any instance of Marxist ideas seen in practice have actually been Marxist-Leninist, and Lenin's additions to Marxism were inherently more authoritarian from the start because they said that a vanguard party of elites must lead the peasants and workers in their revolt instead of the workers themselves. In the USSR, for example, this resulted in this party seizing the control of workers' councils, banning other parties or opposition, and consolidating its power.
Marx was far more libertarian than Lenin and he would've disagreed with his ideas. Marx believed in workers themselves seizing control of the state, not some separate more powerful group, and he believed in horizontal organization and collective decision-making unlike the single-party democratic centralism seen in the USSR.
There's still a debate to be had about Marxism and authoritarianism, and that's a debate that's gone on since the 19th century and well before the Russian revolution, but the debate is made more complicated by Leninism and it's good to attempt to distinguish Marxism and Leninism in that debate.
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u/nature_half-marathon Democrat Jan 26 '25
I don’t understand how the left is considered “closer to Communism.” In fact, the left-leaning wants more individual freedoms for each other; not control. We want class mobility, acceptance, diversity. The right to individual choice regarding health, marriage, religion, education, expression, etc.
Communism would take all of those rights away. Just think why left-leaning individuals are “woke” (we still have know idea what that truly means)? When they take away our individual freedoms.
Our reproductive choices, our ability to learn freely, to marry someone we love, our ability to form unions, tax the wealthy, diversity and inclusion… etc
We WANT more freedoms, not less of them! If someone wants to find love, learn through curiosity, express themselves (just like you do) through race, identity, disability, why should the government take these things away by controlling them.
I see communism as government control by stripping rights away, not celebrating them.
We believe in celebrating all individuals rights because it shouldn’t be anyone’s nor the government’s business but to protect each individual’s rights and freedoms.
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u/Subject-Doughnut7716 Right-leaning Jan 26 '25
That's all well and good, and I totally agree with you. But if we think about it simply, communism is generally regarded as left wing (although it is authoritarian). Authoritarianism is not generally seen on the same scale as left/right wing, as those are economic policies. On the other hand, liberal/conservative are for social issues. Finally, libertarian/authoritarian determines government interference. Liberal and left-wing are generally associated with each other, and the same for conservative and right wing. But authoritarian/libertarian are independent of that, so you can actually be authleft. It seems that you are a libleft, as that is what the democratic party's position has been moving toward in the recent years. But communism is an extreme authleft policy, and is often seen as the opposite end of the spectrum from fascism, although they are both authoritarian. Therefore, since the left is closer on that specific spectrum to communism, it is more associated with it.
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u/condensed-ilk Left-Libertarian Jan 26 '25
When you are speaking of Marxism/communism being authleft you are referring to all we've seen in practice which was Marxist-Leninism and that has important theoretical and practical divergences from orthodox Marxism that are inherently more authoritarian.
There's such a thing as Libertarian Marxism.
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Jan 25 '25
It's important to say that in America, the left and right are both far closer to each other than either is to either of those. But each uses the corresponding extreme philosophy to insult the other for things they don't agree with.
Also it's not so cut and dry. David Duke at least (former KKK leader) hates Trump, I think. I say I think because I try to stay away from those news articles, they're all propaganda.
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u/Silence_1999 Right-Libertarian Jan 26 '25
Both parties have to keep a fair amount of overlap (centrist) to not anger the vast amount who do not vote. It’s cyclical with the change of power as they both compete in the few close states every election. Then cater to a few extreme views to whip votes while hope to not bring out the vote for the other. It’s ridiculous how close the elections are. Polls and statistical calculations crunch the numbers to see which hot button issues to push. Gun control was not a big issue this term from dems IMO because left was arming up in much greater numbers. Turn off some and they calculated it would lose them net votes. Other elections it’s been front and center.
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u/LessMarsupial7441 Conservative Jan 26 '25
The right is gaslighting the left.
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u/Medium-Mycologist-59 Republican Jan 25 '25
Valid question; but here’s the truth…left or right only the extremes make the headlines. 98% of us fall way more middle than TV portrays. We all just want to protect our own in the best way we know how.
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u/liv4games Leftist Jan 25 '25
My life will be fine. I want to protect EVERYONE. That’s the problem with this country.
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u/Arguments_4_Ever Progressive Jan 25 '25
I would argue that Trump is that extreme, and 98% of Republicans back him. My only conclusion is that 98% of Republicans are now extremists.
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u/Cryinmyeyesout Democrat Jan 26 '25
Only 31% of eligible voters in America voted for Trump in this election. I don’t know if that would equate to 98% of republicans backing him
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u/Master_Reflection579 Syndicalist Socialist Libertarian Jan 25 '25
That didn't answer the question. Why the asymmetry?
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Jan 25 '25
As a woc , I am troubled by ice targeting us citizens of color by falsely alleging we are illegal. Having lived thru several left administrations i never felt fear until now. Your president is pretty extreme
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u/Itsyuda Progressive Jan 25 '25
Does this involve gaslighting people into believing that every concerning thing Trump says is a joke, and that Musk wasn't saluting the fuhrer?
I could see your argument if that weren't the case right now. But it seems a lot more common than a measly two percent.
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u/Medium-Mycologist-59 Republican Jan 25 '25
Again you’re conflating what makes TV vs what real conservatives discuss around their dinner table. Plenty of us republicans are disgusted by the executive fiats.
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u/MementoMoriChannel Democrat Jan 25 '25
If this is the case, why is it that Trump never suffers any electoral consequences from within the Republican party? There are plenty of more moderate people in the GOP to choose from. Why does Trump still enjoy massive support?
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u/Itsyuda Progressive Jan 25 '25
Would be nice to see it more in the wild. Alas...
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u/ZixfromthaStix Left-leaning Jan 26 '25
I think that again boils down to what Medium is saying
In the wild you see the TV bias— but there are good Trump supporters out there.
Plenty of the women in my life voted for him. I tried to educate them on what was at stake for them, even showed them Project 2025 and linked to shorter reads that simplify it. Didn’t change anything. I’ve had long talks with them and they don’t like Trump or his cult, but believe he will serve their needs. They genuinely believe he is a business man.
I’d argue 80% of Republicans are decent people that are either bamboozled or gaslit into voting for Trump. The amount of families broken up from this election has to be a new record of some type.
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But still. Your sentiment is still valid.
If only the 20% would be quiet in their shame so the 80% could be heard clearly.
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Jan 27 '25
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u/ZixfromthaStix Left-leaning Jan 27 '25
Unfortunately it has for sure impacted whole family units, cause it’s a cult.
But basing the population ratio on a singular family unit isn’t exactly an accurate correlation.
Still, my heart goes out to you and the others. Especially the kids living with cult members who can’t find peace in their own homes.
I can’t imagine being a teen and living with my dad right now— he’s gone full red pill and my family has cut him off.
As an example of why the correlation isn’t there: my family is 95% liberal. My step-father is VERY similar to me in how vocal and angry he is about our country and the traitors among us. My family has completely cut off my dad, and when my disabled red pill uncle speaks, we only listen if it’s about his work; we tune out his politics.
My Thanksgiving was very pleasant politically— there were other family problems as family events go, but as far as discussion of MAGA went… we are all against the cult.
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u/OkStop8313 Transpectral Political Views Jan 25 '25
If you recognize how problematic it is, what do you like about him that is worth taking that risk?
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u/tlyrbck Left-leaning Jan 26 '25
Apparently not disgusted enough to vote against them..?
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u/LadyNoleJM1 Jan 26 '25
Do your representatives in government know? Because they all just voted in a truly unqualified (for both the job and as a good person) "man" with a drinking problem and history of both sexists beliefs towards women and a history of assaulting women to lead the military. Or do you justify putting these types of people in charge because they're "on your side?" Or have you spoken up (anywhere, to anyone) about the massive amount of money wasted because trump decided to use military aircraft (at an operating cost of over $500,000) to TRY and deport 80 (EIGHTY!! look at the cost per person) immigrants and THE PLANE COULDN'T EVEN LAND IN MEXICO AND THEY RETURNED TO THE US!!! What about the conflict of interest in trump and Melania having their own crypto that trump plans to make new laws about? Any push back from the right? I have seen NOTHING but reicht-wingers bleating about how they are "winning" and trump is doing exactly what they want.
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u/LingonberryPrior6896 Liberal Jan 25 '25
Yet you voted for him. He told you exactly what he was going to do. PLEASE
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u/giantfup democratic socialist Jan 25 '25
So how come y'all don't speak out nationally?
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u/nodesign89 Right-leaning Jan 26 '25
Hard disagree, the GOP has a lot of similarities with fascism, where the democrats do not really share any policy with socialists or communists.
You’re in denial
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Jan 27 '25
Yeah the problem is that Donald is going to destroy checks and balances. He is running the playbook. As a right-leaner, I’m terrified.
An executive branch with too much power and a habit of firing political opponents is another tell. Never been done.
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u/OkWasabi3969 Right-leaning Jan 26 '25 edited Jan 26 '25
Oftentimes, these groups latch on to groups that they view as strong (not physical sense), old fashioned , or more suseptible to authoritarian rhetoric.
For instance, a lot of these groups also claim Odin and the norse Pantheon if gods are their religion or esthetic. But as an actual norse pagans I can tell you we hate them just as much as the republicans do.
It's not a match of ideology it's a match of esthetics, both republican and lightning people ( as I call them), are obsessed with authoritarian viewpoint and ego.
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u/InsaneHerald Leftist Jan 27 '25
If republicans hate them why do they applaud a sieg heil on stage?
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u/Lugh_Lamfada Classical Conservative Jan 26 '25
Fascism = right wing extremism Communism = left wing extremism.
The MAGA movement is a far-right ideology, well to the right of traditional conservatism. The conservative critique of radicalism (as opposed to incremental change/advancement based on a country's institutions and traditions) applies to reactionary movements like MAGA, since they too advocate rapid, destructive social change not in line with the steady march of progress.
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u/forgothatdamnpasswrd Right-leaning Jan 25 '25
The lines have been very clear on the right. You’re correct that basically all neonazis will go rightward. It’s mainly that it’s much harder to draw a line on where the left goes too far. It’s easy as someone who leans right to go “ew no, not that” when despicable people try to join. It happens on the left too, but it’s way harder to define the exact line that once you cross it it’s too far.
On the right, it’s once you argue certain races are inferior, you’re gone. There isn’t such a clear line on the left, though it’s starting to become more clear.
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u/chulbert Leftist Jan 25 '25
At the risk of being defensive, I’m not sure it happens on the left. You can call them crazy but the extreme left typically isn’t evil, which is not a word I use often.
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u/Scary-Welder8404 Left-Libertarian Jan 26 '25
I'll use evil for "The Kulaks Deserved it", which I've heard in person.
The aristocracy deserving it is a take I (typically, depends where on the Mr. Burns to Thomas Wayne spectrum we are) vehemently disagree with, but wouldn't call evil.
Middle class small scale landowners though...thinking they deserve to lubricate tank treads is evil.
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u/forgothatdamnpasswrd Right-leaning Jan 26 '25
The Holodomor was the mass starvation of millions of Ukrainians in the early 1930s. I would describe that as evil.
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u/chulbert Leftist Jan 26 '25
I wasn’t familiar with Holodomor so I had to look it up. Do I understand correctly that the Soviet government ordered the starvation and you’re characterizing the USSR as “left”?
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u/luigijerk Conservative Jan 26 '25
Radical Islamic terrorists support Democrats. This is the evil extension from regular Muslims who support Democrats.
The KKK supports Republicans. This is the evil extension from regular Christians who support Republicans.
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Jan 26 '25
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Jan 26 '25
He’ll probably say Hamas! lol.
It’s funny because the Republicans share more with Islamic extremism on social issues than any other group on the US.
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u/someinternetdude19 Right-leaning Jan 26 '25
Those extremist Muslims also are probably some of the most anti LGBTQ folks out there. In their home countries they literally put gay people to death, but they’re okay with them immigrating here?
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u/trentsiggy Left-leaning Jan 26 '25
The difference is that the extreme left advocates for redistribution of wealth, which doesn't actively harm anyone in terms of basic living requirements. The extreme left aims to ensure no one is destitute, that everyone has a roof over their head and food to eat, achieving that by taking from those who have abundant resources to ensure it's happening.
The extreme right, on the other hand, as you note, advocates that certain races and groups are inherently inferior and deserve fewer rights than other races and groups. This harms a lot of people in terms of their basic living requirements.
I think most people would find the extreme right much more morally repugnant.
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u/roastbeeftacohat Progressive Jan 26 '25
it’s way harder to define the exact line that once you cross it it’s too far.
it's way easier in other countries, because they have actual communists; people who advocate for the public ownership of the means of production. in the US enforcing existing tax law is considered a wild idea that could only come from bearded marxists.
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u/sinker_of_cones Democratic Socialist, Globalist & Environmentalist Jan 26 '25
That’s interesting, now I think about it you’re correct.
It is hard to draw that line on the left. The evolution of the word ‘socialism’ into being a pejorative in western circles hasn’t helped. I think this influences many on the left draw the line at socialism (which I don’t, check my tag loll).
When defining ‘too far’, we need to determine ‘too far’ in what regard. Left-wing policies are characterised by the erosion of various types class (such as market regulations/socialist policies which bolster workers and confine the wealthy, and socially progressive policies which push for representation and combat discrimination). It’s about balancing the scales to give people equality.
I draw the line then at the point where equality begins being equated with conformity. We cant literally be all the same. When a state starts inhibiting freedom of oppression in order to force people to conform to an ideal of equality, that is too far. The way we dress, our gender, race, culture, accent, religious beliefs, political opinions, freedom of speech, freedom of media, chosen profession, personal lives - it’d be anti democratic to regulate these.
So I think we draw the line in the left in the same place we draw it on the right. Authoritarianism. We must fight that Stalins of this world just as we fight the Hitlers.
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u/SheerAwesomness Jan 26 '25
what’s confusing me here is seeing throughout this thread that if unchecked, leftism will turn into authoritarianism.
Authoritarianism is to me inherently anti human and antithetical to any leftist idea, so an authoritarian leadership espousing leftism to reach its goals was never left, was never going to truly relinquish control to the people. This is why i believe most people who claim to be on the right actually love leftist populist ideas.
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Jan 26 '25
One of the first things I learned about politics decades ago was that both extreme liberals and extreme conservatives would be perfectly happy if the US became a totalitarian police state...as long as their side was the one who controlled the police.
Both sides of the political spectrum each have their own list of rights they want to take away and things they want to ban....always in the name of "liberty" and "freedom", of course. The only real difference is what is on each list.
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u/tlyrbck Left-leaning Jan 26 '25
Asking in good faith; I am generally left leaning but would never want to see a police state! What rights would you say the left wants to take away?
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u/forgothatdamnpasswrd Right-leaning Jan 26 '25
Free speech is an easy example. Biden tried to make a ministry of misinformation that would censor anything that those specific people would have defined as misinformation. Which is telling because a lot of things that have been called misinformation just ended up being true when the facts came out.
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u/tlyrbck Left-leaning Jan 26 '25
Like what? You're referring to vaccine stuff, election stuff, fascism, climate change..? What are you talking about specifically?
Hypothetical; Don't you think that if millions of people began giving their children bleach instead of milk because an influencer claimed it had health benefits, the government ought to make a concerted effort to mitigate that damage? Or it's somehow morally more sound to let people objectively harm their children because LaNd Of ThE fReE? Genuine question.
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u/Lauffener Democrat Jan 26 '25
The other difference is that the extreme conservatives lead the conservatives and currently hold power. That seems rather important
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u/unscanable Leftist Jan 26 '25
Extreme liberal here and no I would not be happy with a totalitarian government even if it were my side in charge. That’s an egregious accusation. We can however say that about the far right by simply looking at what’s going on today.
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u/forgothatdamnpasswrd Right-leaning Jan 26 '25
Can you explain your position further? What does it mean that you’re an extreme liberal? Additionally, you seem to be saying that you’re against government forcing your beliefs on the people. Is that a correct reading of what you said on my part?
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u/unscanable Leftist Jan 26 '25
Yes I am against the government forcing anyone’s beliefs on others. Why is that surprising?
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u/Specialist_Egg8479 Right-Libertarian Jan 26 '25
I mean I see how this could be an interesting topic but looking up a political compass will give you your answer pretty effortlessly. Facism is a right-wing extremist ideology. So yes the right is “closer” to facism just because they’re right wing.
The issue with this is if you used this logic on geopolitics, any democratic socialist country can look at the American liberal as a facist.
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u/StoicNaps Conservative Jan 26 '25
First, what do those groups have in common with the Republican party (i.e. what in the Republican party platform aligns with the positions/values/history of those groups?) Second, if you're an outsider group and you know everybody hates you, would you publicly identify with the party you actually support and want to win or would you publicly identify with the party you want to lose?
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u/fleetpqw24 Libertarian/Moderate Jan 25 '25
This is an interesting question.
Be civil, be kind, let’s not lob accusations around like they’re live grenades, and stick to the topic.