General Discussions

[PaulP]

Mav, no doubt your knowledge in these areas is better than mine. I heard a figure from Chris Hedges that said the GOP and Democrats agree on roughly 90% of legislation. And I'm not sure exactly how you define mainstream - I suspect the positioning of the Dems as far right as they are is more the work of the DNC, not the rank and file. Bernie Sanders enjoyed considerable popular support in 2016 and 2020, and failed to win the nomination both times. The wealthy elites that have real power in the DNC hate Sanders, they hate his ideals, and they worked diligently to install a more complaint, obedient figure like Biden. The Squad, so far as I can tell, exert very little influence on policy. As much as it pains me to say it,  they seem to be little more than window dressing, existing to give some kind of weight to the idea that the Dems are "for the people." At least that's how I see it.

I'm not really convinced that the failures of the Dems to enact "people first" legislation is solely down to GOP roadblocks, even if the latter is ably led by that despicable Mitch "there's no such thing as too low" McConnell.