(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . It’s Not Both Sides — Both Parties Are Not The Same [1] ['Greg Dworkin', 'Matt Z', 'Douglas Schonenberg', 'Bill In Portland Maine'] Date: 2026-07-06 A talking point that both parties are equally extreme has recently emerged in the wake of a handful of Democratic Socialist victories. The Republicans, the coporate press and even some Democrats are making this argument. The reality is that this talking point is nonsensical since Democratic Socialists are not nearly as radical and powerful as the dominant MAGA wing of the Republican Party. The following is an excerpt from an article by Perry Bacon in the New Republic: “The idea that the U.S. now has a far left that is equally dangerous and radical as the far right is entirely wrong, no matter how many powerful people and institutions hint or claim otherwise. America’s extreme right wing is by far the country’s big problem, and it’s hard to address that problem when powerful elites insist that the trouble is with “both sides.” Why is this analogy so far-fetched? First of all and most importantly, the political left in America believes in and practices democracy. Until leftists collectively try to use judicial and then violent means to overturn an election that they clearly lost, as MAGA Republicans did in 2020, I don’t want to hear any bullshit false equivalences between leftists and MAGA conservatives. Conducting free and fair elections and respecting their results is fundamental to democracy. MAGA’s leader, Donald Trump, refused to accept the 2020 results, as did dozens of Republican members of Congress and state officials. In contrast, Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, the Democratic Socialists of America, Avila Chevalier, and other powerful people and groups on the left don’t deny Trump was elected in 2024. And it’s not just ignoring election results. The socialist left is trying to win power the democratic way — getting average Americans to vote for their candidates. The MAGA right is trying to gain and expand its power through gerrymandering, voting restrictions, and other undemocratic means. They’ve spent years making up claims of voter fraud. Let’s move to the allegedly “extreme” agenda of the far left. Avila Chevalier, Mamdani, and other socialist politicians are pushing ideas like abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, cutting U.S. funding for Israel’s military, and limiting corporate monopolies. But guess what? None of that is anywhere as radical as giving an unelected billionaire (Elon Musk) the authority to fire federal workers, unilaterally shuttering federal agencies, and using the presidency to enrich yourself and your family. Yes, some on the left in the past, advocate abolishing prisons, police, and borders. These are ideas that are truly radical. But ideas seem less outlandish after they have happened. And the right has managed to turn some extreme notions into U.S policy: the right to a “well regulated” militia in the Second Amendment actually means that virtually any restriction on gun ownership is illegal; the right to free speech means billionaires and corporations can spend almost unlimited funds on political campaigns; the constitutional amendments passed in the wake of the Civil War should be interpreted in ways that make it easier to force Black people from Congress. Finally, any equivalence between the socialist left and the MAGA right falls apart when you consider the huge differences in power between the two sides. There are probably two dozen House Democrats, a dozen mayors, five senators, and two Democratic governors who would attend a DSA conference. And most of them would not call themselves socialists. In contrast, MAGA Republicans control the White House, about half of the seats in Congress, half the governorships, and at least two seats on the U.S. Supreme Court (Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito). MAGA Republicans are the president, vice president, and top policy adviser to the president (Stephen Miller). MAGA Republicans are the dominant faction in one party; socialist Democrats are a minority bloc in another party. Anyone suggesting that the two blocs are anywhere close to each other in influence is either stupid or dishonest. What the U.S. desperately needs is socialists, traditional liberals, independents, and pro-democracy conservatives to disagree with one another during Democratic primaries but then join together to defeat the MAGA right in general elections. “ The reality is that center-left or moderate candidates have dominated the Democratic primaries in almost two dozen competitive U.S. House seats so far. In contrast, Democratic Socialist candidates are largely winning in deep blue districts that will not decide the battle for control of the U.S. House. In order to compare the extremism (real or imagined) of both parties, let’s compare the records of the last three Democratic and Republican presidents. Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden between the three of them presided over the creation of 50 million new jobs, insured 24 million additional Americans, reduced unemployment and increased middle class wages when adjusted for inflation. Obama ended U.S. involvement in Iraq and Biden withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The Republicans bitterly opposed all of these policies. George W. Bush, Trump 45 and Trump 47 have a much different and much more extreme record. Bush 43 presented bogus intelligence to take the country into war in Iraq, a war in which over 200,000 civilians were killed. Trump 45 blew the pandemic and his negligence caused 180,000 unnecessary deaths from covid. In 2020, the U.S had 4% of the world’s population and 20% of the world’s covid deaths. Trump got a free pass for this disastrous response to a crisis. In 2025, Trump 47 turned Elon Musk loose to destroy USAID and those cuts have has resulted in the deaths of approximately 600,000 to 780,000 people globally according to Boston University. If the 2025 cuts continue, researchers project more than 14 million additional preventable deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million children. Now what policy outcomes are more extreme? You can’t vote out Trump in the midterms, but you can vote out the people who enable him. We can’t go on like this. MAGA means Morons Are Governing America. You are not allowed to give up. Blue wave 2026! Sources: https://newrepublic.com/article/212517/democratic-centrists-need-stop-saying-both-sides-extremes https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2026/07/01/musk-escalates-unproven-usaid-claims-in-fiery-posts-as-studies-link-doge-cuts-to-child-deaths [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/7/6/800065736/community/its-not-both-sides-both-parties-are-not-the-same/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/