# Fuck the leftist purists

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Tags:** trump\
**Created:** [May 30, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485 "2026-05-30T00:40:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 9

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**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/161 "2026-06-02T00:21:13Z")

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And of course there are “purists” on the right voting libertarian or whatever.  
It’s a mug’s game trying to scratch around for the fraction of a percent vote, instead of just trying to build a broad coalition. You’ll never get 100% of the people on the left, just as MAGA won’t get 100% of the right. But you can try to get more of them next time by listening to people’s concerns and giving people a positive message to vote for.

In general, it’s just really dumb trying to do a blame game over the last election, rather than learning anything whatsoever.  
So much so, I think it’s _you_ guys who are the enemy within trying to sabotage the left! \<bodysnatchers point\>

disclaimer: not aimed at you, Der Trihs

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**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/162 "2026-06-02T00:32:19Z")

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I find it dubious that only 4% of Americans count as “progressive leftists”. Who were all those other people voting for Bernie, AOC, and Mamdani? I think it would be more reasonable to put the figure at 10-20%.

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**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/163 "2026-06-02T00:34:30Z")

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Well, yeah, there’s the anti-electoralist “revolutionary” left, which is an even tinier group, and then there’s the Third Party or Bust electoralist left. Different people.

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/164 "2026-06-02T00:45:14Z")

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> [@griffin1977](#):
>
> No I’m not going to avoid the term fascist to refer to the people who voluntarily choose this fucking fascist shitshow because it might hurt their fee-fees, fuck that.

You seem to have missed the entire point of my post.

It’s not about you using the word fascist. It’s about misuse. You are calling people fascist for disagreeing with you. You are using it as an insult, which weakens it.

No one in this thread is fascist. Some have just disagreed with you on how best to fight fascism.

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**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/165 "2026-06-02T00:45:16Z")

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Long as we got all the lefties labeled, and we treat Trump voters with kid gloves!

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**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/166 "2026-06-02T00:48:18Z")

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> [@Thing.Fish](#):
>
> Who were all those other people voting for Bernie,

Bernie had 11.9 million votes in the 2016 primary, so there’s your 3-4% of the population right there.

> [@Thing.Fish](#):
>
> AOC, and Mamdani?

…in New York City, which undoubtedly has both a decent chunk of the nation’s 4% progressives and where both AOC and Mamdani come from?

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**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/167 "2026-06-02T03:32:08Z")

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> [@Thing.Fish](#):
>
> I find it dubious that only 4% of Americans count as “progressive leftists”. Who were all those other people voting for Bernie, AOC, and Mamdani? I think it would be more reasonable to put the figure at 10-20%.

It’s not dubious at all. It’s a typology. They survey people on a bunch of questions, then break out the bundles of opinion. Very data driven. I agree that Bernie’s potential constituency is larger. At any rate, here are the categories:

Progressive Left  
Establishment Democrats  
Outsider Left  
Stressed Sideliners  
Ambivalent Right  
Populist Right  
Committed Conservatives  
Flag and Faith Conservatives

[![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:kem5cevl5sjpizk4s27cbyig/bafkreibdi4xyyvfvnps5rrka34nzimswxkalc3x3ru356u2aitgxgp5mei) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:kem5cevl5sjpizk4s27cbyig/bafkreibdi4xyyvfvnps5rrka34nzimswxkalc3x3ru356u2aitgxgp5mei)

And here is the quiz if you want to find out what bin you are in:

> **[Political Typology Quiz](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/)**
>
> Take our quiz to find out which one of our nine political typology groups is your best match.

I’m going to make a thread where we can take the quiz in a moment.

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**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/168 "2026-06-02T03:54:32Z")

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So the typology is fine. I can assure you that my analysis was quick and lazy. But that’s my error and not Pew’s, which is what it is.

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**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/169 "2026-06-02T04:01:00Z")

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> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#):
>
> Very data driven.

…so I’m not a “progressive lefty” then. Which is weird, because that’s what I would consider myself to be. I’ve never heard of the “outsider left”, which is what the poll has decided I am. I’m young and liberal, supposedly. A very young 53 years old.

That was very “push-polly.” And I think much less “data driven” and more “this gives us the results that we want.” What an easy way to make it look like there are less left-progressive people than there actually are.

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**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/170 "2026-06-02T04:05:13Z")

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Nah, they redo the typology every few years. We had a thread on their 2005 version.

The problem as I see it is that it focuses on vibes more than anything else. That accords with how most view politics probably, but it might not measure news junkies that well. I imagine that my score would vary with my mood.

These are US based surveys. Their [international surveys](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/international-affairs/international-issues/international-political-values/) are different.

ETA: Damn, I meant to reply in the other thread.

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**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/171 "2026-06-02T04:07:21Z")

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> [@griffin1977](#):
>
> I get it, it’s hard to admit you voted for fascism, mass genocide of the Palestinian and the extinction of the gaza strip. Denial is much easier.

I voted for Harris you ignorant twat. People like you never once thought about the Palestinian cause and still won’t except to blame them for America’s collapse. God, you’re trash.

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**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/172 "2026-06-02T04:17:39Z")

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Don’t forget to answer question 17: Do you want to lose to fascists to stay pure? Y/N

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**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/173 "2026-06-02T04:20:20Z")

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> [@madmonk28](#):
>
> People like you never once thought about the Palestinian cause and still won’t except to blame them for America’s collapse.

…they talk about the genocide as if its just an abstract concept and not as the attempted destruction of an entire people.

Like this genocide denier, for example.

> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#):
>
> Don’t forget to answer question 17: Do you want to lose to fascists to stay pure? Y/N

They exposed themselves as a bigot here.

> [@What is the best defense of the apartheid-like system Israel enforces in occupied/settled/disputed territories?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-defense-of-the-apartheid-like-system-israel-enforces-in-occupied-settled-disputed-territories/1030314/94):
>
> It has everything to do with the OP. I’m saying that if a country is attacked a bunch of times year after year it’s inevitable that they will fight back and that civilians in the attacking country will get hurt. I’d go further that if it was any other country that was subjected to what Israel has been subjected to that the Palestinians would have experienced actual genocide years ago. Consistent with decisions by UN bodies, I don’t think Palestinians have been subjected to genocide so far, and …

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**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/174 "2026-06-02T04:30:20Z")

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People like them forced voters who cared about the genocide to make a desperate gamble and vote for Trump, or admit defeat and just not vote. Then, they somehow try to take the moral high ground of being indifferent to genocide. They refuse to admit their complicity.

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**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/175 "2026-06-02T05:12:58Z")

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I own more than one book on genocide. Lemkin, who coined the term, was adamant about the term not being defined either too narrowly or too widely. Israel has committed serious war crimes in Gaza. That does not imply they committed genocide.

Last Fall, a 3 member UN panel concluded that Israel had committed genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, based upon a “reasonable grounds to conclude” standard. Pending a review of their work, or a review of their work from an analyst I have some familiarity with, I’ve elevated my characterization to, “The existence of a serious risk of genocide”, which not incidentally mandates governmental action. It’s in the linked thread.

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**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/176 "2026-06-02T09:08:55Z")

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> [@madmonk28](#):
>
> People like them forced voters who cared about the genocide to make a desperate gamble and vote for Trump, or admit defeat and just not vote.

I’m not sure how it was a “gamble”; voting for Trump was never going to do anything but further increase the killing and ensure that they, themselves would be moved to the target list. And ensure that there would never be any hope for anything worldwide disaster.

I find myself unable to sympathize with people who decided to respond to an unjust situation (that the US doesn’t even have to power to actually stop, mind) by effectively declaring war on humanity.

Anyone who voted for Trump for any reason deserves to have nothing but _Hostis Humani Generis_ on their gravestone as far as I’m concerned. No reason is good enough for such an act, they all deserve utter, lifelong hate and condemnation.

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**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/177 "2026-06-02T09:44:47Z")

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> [@Mijin](#):
>
> In general, it’s just really dumb trying to do a blame game over the last election, rather than learning anything whatsoever.  
> So much so, I think it’s _you_ guys who are the enemy within trying to sabotage the left!

You continue to dodge the fact that you claim this is a multi-election strategy, meaning that it’s still a _live_ strategy (presumably). We could in fact presume this based on the fact that people are _still_ defending it even after its catastrophic failure in 2024, that despite the fact that strategic non-voters got their goals and priorities absolutely torched, that in fact it is _Democratic voters_ who still have a lesson to learn.

you cannot have this both ways, you cannot suggest it’s a sophisticated multi-election strategy, and then blithely say it’s time to move past the previous catastrophic fuckup and get a fresh start.

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**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/178 "2026-06-02T09:49:52Z")

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Since I don’t have a dog in this fight, I’ve just been reading, but I don’t get these pair of posts.

> [@griffin1977](#):
>
> Lol silly naive schmuck. You actually think the Weimar Republic wasn’t just as fascist as the Nazis? That’s hilarious. **Everyone knowa the so-called Social.Democrats really just “wolf in sheeps clothing” crypto fascists,** just like the National Socialists except they were open about it. it made no difference to anyone in Europe when they got elected.

(Bolding mine(

> [@griffin1977](#):
>
> LOL oh I’m sorry. You actually think the 1933 election of ADOLF HITLER was an elections where both sides were facist. Sorry I called you pro fascist when in fact you are literally pro Nazi and pro Adolf Hitler.
> 
> Saying “well akshually both sides are fascists” about **ADOLF HITLER** some both sideism that even the GOP would shy away from.

Was the first post sarcasm? Because otherwise your arguments don’t seem to make sense. Maybe I just don’t understand.

BTW, this is the Pit and hyperbole is par for the course, but given the posting history of @MrDibble, I think it would be more accurate to smear him as a raging Marxist. Also fascism ≠ nazism. Stop conflating the two.

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/179 "2026-06-02T09:54:38Z")

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> [@Charlie\_Tan](#):
>
> given the posting history of @MrDibble, I think it would be more accurate to smear him as a raging Marxist.

Eeew, no. That fucker lost me and mine in 1872…

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**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-leftist-purists/1030485/180 "2026-06-02T09:57:52Z")

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> [@Charlie\_Tan](#):
>
> Was the first post sarcasm?

Yes. It was meant as a direct parallel to Dibble calling the Democrats fascist.

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