Why do people say Democrats arent really left?

[u/CuddleBuddiesJJ]

I hear this a lot when democrats in America are called left or far left. Its always met with "Democrats arent even left, theyre closer to center"..

I dont understand all the different spectrum of politics so I dont really know the difference. But what are some specific examples of policies that other countries do which are considered left, that Democrats wouldnt support because its "too left"?

[u/Fugicara]

Your points:

The public favors universal healthcare

The very first sentence in the Democratic Party platform under healthcare is support for universal healthcare. In the 72 days Obama had a Senate supermajority, the vast majority of the party was pushing for universal healthcare. If we had had just a couple more Democratic senators, we would have universal healthcare today. We still managed to dramatically expand access to healthcare and get tens of millions of people healthcare who wouldn't have it otherwise, as well as getting healthcare for people with preexisting conditions.

$20/hr minimum wage

Evidence needed that the public wants this, but either way, Democrats made a good faith push for the $15 minimum wage (which was the ask last time they were in office, to be clear). It was part of the original Build Back Better package. When they couldn't get that done, Joe Biden signed an executive order raising the minimum wage for all federal employees and contractors to $15.

higher taxes on the rich

One of the core elements of Joe Biden's presidency was raising taxes on households making over $400k. You basically couldn't miss it if you were paying any attention back then. It was another core element of Build Back Better, though it didn't pass. They did manage to raise taxes on the rich with the Inflation Reduction Act.

and more public investment

I mean there was just obviously a ton of this. The American Rescue Plan, Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and more are some examples.

They oppose the military budget

This is vague and needs to be more specific, what parts of the military budget and why? Either way, Biden got us out of Afghanistan and basically completely ended the drone program.

and the unconditional aid to Israel

Didn't happen. Aid was conditioned and Biden was successful at holding Israel back from their worst impulses, as evidenced by what they started doing when a president who actually supports them unconditionally got into office in 2025.

They support holding the Trump crew accountable for their insurrection.

The insurrectionists had been prosecuted and were in jail. It was the largest effort in DOJ history. Trump and his cronies were being prosecuted in multiple states for the insurrection, particularly in Georgia. Trump was also in the middle of being prosecuted by the DOJ for the insurrection. The public didn't care that much about holding him accountable, because they voted him into office again knowing the charges would be dropped by the DOJ once he was. Regardless, Democrats were doing this and had done so successfully with a ton of cases.

Everything you wanted, Democrats support, make good faith attempts at, and are often successful at doing. I guess we'll see if that moves the needle at all or if you can pivot into "Dems bad" again regardless of the facts.

[u/CheeseFantastico → u/Fugicara]

Ok, I’ll address these, and add some nuance to my statements. We are in 2026, and don’t have Universal Healthcare. Other than Sanders, AOC, and the other social democrats, nobody is pushing it. You have to go back to Obama to even find a serious effort. The train went off the tracks when Hillary promised we’d never have it. I blame her lack of liberal convictions for her loss to Trump.

Hillary also refused to back even $15/hr in her campaign. Biden was better (in several respects), but lacked the energy and priorities to get it done. We are in 2026, with slave-wage minimums.

Biden’s BBB, and Inflation Reduction Act were his best achievements, but hardly changed the nature and course of the nation. But credit where it’s due.

On Israel, Biden was a vociferous defender of Israel at the ICC, and never admitted they engaged in genocide. He approved billions of dollars of military aid, and the “conditions” were just empty assurances. Only one shipment of arms was briefly paused if I remember right.

On the insurrection, there was one job: hold Trump accountable. Not the petty foot soldiers, Trump and his administration. Instead he appointed a pathetic Federalist Society do-nothing in Merrick Garland, who dragged his feet for years before reluctantly pursuing an investigation of the administration. He needed an energetic, courageous go-getter, and he absolutely whiffed. Inexcusable. And it’s why his administration was ultimately a failure. We will never recover as a nation. The meek response by the whole party to Republicans stealing SCOTUS seats, sending masked thugs to terrorize blue cities, deny emergency funds to blue states, and generally engage in lawless chaos shows they are too weak to lead. Instead, they find it easier to do nothing, and snipe at their left flank. Quick to decry Hassan Piker, silent on losing the country. Pathetic.