America no longer has a “left,” only a “radical left,” which controls the Democrats. Look across a broad spectrum of issues and you will see the left’s rapid move to extremism, and Democrats following their lead. The three, which were once distinguishable, are increasingly inseparable.
Harvard’s April 29 reports on antisemitism and anti-Muslim incidents underscore the radicalization of the left when it comes to Israel and Palestine. The left used to embrace a “two-state solution” — regardless of how often Palestinians demonstrated their incapacity for selecting a capable government or living in peace with Israel.
But this was not the position of America’s radical left; they wanted it all — “from the river to the sea” — for Palestine. Nothing for Israel. Which of the two positions is the one that provoked Harvard’s latest response to antisemitism? Which is the one that forced Harvard to settle two lawsuits this year regarding antisemitism on its campus? Which was the one that led to its then-president, Claudine Gay, making a fool of herself and the university in testimony before Congress? (RELATED: The Fall of Harvard: How America’s Oldest University Became Its Most Expensive Liability)
So, Harvard had to do two reports, of course, to appease its radical left. This despite the antisemitism report’s own admission that “over the past 10 to 15 years, several common themes affecting the experience of Jewish members of the Harvard community have emerged.” Ten to 15 years! If you don’t believe that the broader left, as embodied by Harvard, is at least accepting of this radicalism, listen to their silence — or better yet, read Harvard’s 500-page-plus report. Note, too, how few Democrat politicians are willing to publicly support the left’s former position. (RELATED: The Democrats’ Antisemitism Problem)
The left and Democrats’ shift toward radical left extremism hardly stops at Israel and Palestine.
For decades, the position of America’s left on abortion was in support of Roe v. Wade. Left and right waged their battles over marginal movements within the parameters of that 1973 decision. When the Supreme Court overturned the decision in 2022, the confines were thrown open.
Amid the struggle over Roe v. Wade itself, many missed that the left’s position had changed. No longer was the enactment of the 1973 court decision enough; the radical left now wanted abortion without the limitations that had existed under Roe v. Wade. (RELATED: America’s Abortion Blind Spot: How Liberals Convinced Americans to Ignore the Fetus)
This shift was personified in Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign. Abortion was a primary issue for her campaign, and their fight was to “restore reproductive freedom” — not Roe v. Wade per se. This “mission creep” was highlighted by the Harris campaign’s early assertion that Harris had defined her position in a painful September 2023 circumlocution on CBS’s Face the Nation. At that time, Harris refused to state the point at which she thought a pregnancy could be terminated. What the Harris campaign said was that the candidate’s position had not changed on Roe v. Wade, but Harris herself scrupulously avoided specifying where the parameters of a legislated Roe v. Wade would be.
In civil rights, the left’s goal was to apply the principle of a colorblind society to as many categories as possible: race, sexual orientation, religious belief, etc. All were to fall under the rubric that there could be no distinguishing based on the category in question. However, this was never enough for the radical left; colorblind criteria were always secondary to color-based outcomes. So, DEI became the battle cry … and America’s left — and with them, Democrats — echoed it.
When it came to matters regarding sex, the left’s standard was once privacy. Anything done in private between consenting adults was permissible. The radical left’s embrace of transgender extremism took the old left standard well beyond that. No longer was “privacy” sufficient; transgenders were not simply to be accepted as individuals, but as the gender they claimed to be — even if that meant impinging on the rights of others, especially women. (RELATED: Democrats’ ‘Trans’ Intransigence)
In immigration policy, the left supported the idea that anyone who got to America had a right to stay. They devised intricate processes to block or delay removing such individuals. Sanctuary cities were born. But for the radical left, this was insufficient. Instead, everyone should be able to enter the U.S. and stay. Following the radical left, the Biden administration opened America’s border; today, Democrats want even illegal aliens who have additionally broken the law to not simply stay, but be brought back after deportation. (RELATED: Five Quick Things: The Hill They’ve Died On)
Policing? America’s left focused on police brutality. They avidly sought it out, both real and claimed. The same applied to their accusations of a biased justice system that had different practices for different groups, crimes, etc. The radical left went markedly further: “Defund the police” was their mantra, while their practice is to not enforce laws that they deem unjust. Which standard now prevails with America’s left? Note too Democrats’ recent fawning over the Milwaukee judge arrested by the FBI for breaking immigration laws. (RELATED: Is Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan Above the Law?)
On voting, the left’s position was that every American had to be given every conceivable opportunity to vote. For the radical left, this isn’t enough. They believe that even determining whether a person is a citizen, by requiring ID at the polls, infringes voting rights. The left have followed and, of course, so too the Democrats.
Even protest itself, seemingly the American left’s very reason for being for decades, has moved to the radical left’s standard. Peaceful protest, even civil disobedience, isn’t enough. For the radical left, protest’s legitimacy is measured by its violence. Hence, fire-bombing and defacing Teslas is de rigueur. Cold-blooded killing of health insurance executives is justified and applauded. America’s left follows; Democrats say not a word. (RELATED: Tesla Protestors Are Left-Crazies, Not Liberals)
This list is hardly exhaustive. It is illustrative. A migration to radicalism has moved through America’s left. The radical left sets the standard; America’s left adopts it, and Democrats submissively follow along. This progression has moved so amazingly quickly, so repeatedly, and in such uniform lockstep that the past positions of America’s left and the Democrat Party are all but forgotten — as too that they were all once separate entities.
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J.T. Young is the author of the recent book, Unprecedented Assault: How Big Government Unleashed America’s Socialist Left, from RealClear Publishing, and has over three decades of experience working in Congress, the Department of the Treasury, the Office of Management and Budget, and representing a Fortune 20 company.