There’s a narrative in the media that in the Donald Trump-era, the right-wing has pushed the pedal to the floor, and moved further right than they ever have before.
Perhaps us on the right are more “right” in terms of how correct we are, but ideologically speaking, the Republican Party of today is almost identical to the party of Ronald Reagan. Research from both the Pew Research Center and The Economist has documented that the Democratic Party of today is further left than any time in the past forty years.
Even former President Barack Obama took notice, and recently urged Democrats to “chill out.” “The average American doesn’t think that we have to completely tear down the system and remake it. And I think it’s important for us not to lose sight of that” Obama told a crowd at the Democracy Alliance. In what some interpreted as a dig at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (though the comment could to countless individuals), Obama also warned Democrats against adopting “the same views that are reflected on certain, you know, left-leaning Twitter feeds or the activist wing of our party.”
If Obama was indeed speaking about AOC, he doesn’t have much affection for her political mentor either. As The Hill reported:
President Obama privately said he would speak up to stop Sen. Bernie Sanders from becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. The former president reportedly said if Sanders held a strong lead in the Democratic primary, he would speak out to prevent him from becoming the nominee.
A close adviser to Obama told Politico he could not confirm whether Obama would stand up against Sanders.
“He hasn’t said that directly to me,” the adviser said. “The only reason I’m hesitating at all is because, yeah, if Bernie were running away with it, I think maybe we would all have to say something. But I don’t think that’s likely. It’s not happening.”
Of note, Obama had previously said that he would back whoever the eventual Democrat nominee is. Perhaps that’s why he’s willing to intervene to prevent Sanders from becoming that potential nominee.
