People sometimes ask if my politics are “far left.”

People sometimes ask if my politics are “far left.”

They’re not.

I’m center-left by any serious U.S. standard. Boring. Functional. Regulated-capitalism-with-guardrails center-left.

I believe markets are useful but not moral.

Capitalism works best when it’s regulated.

Voting should be easy.

The law should apply to everyone.

Healthcare and education should be accessible.

Public education should be well funded and not ideologically captured.

Peaceful protest should be protected—even when it’s uncomfortable or disruptive.

Religion should be protected—but not imposed.

Pluralism is a strength, not a threat.

That used to be called mainstream.

I didn’t move left.

I stayed put.

If this now sounds radical, it’s not because these ideas changed.

It’s because we quietly stopped agreeing on what democracy requires.

In 1995, this would’ve made me a normal Democrat—or a very reasonable Republican.

In 2026, it apparently makes me dangerous.

What changed is the scenery.

At some point, the party that wrapped itself in the American flag started flirting with foreign strongmen, talking about “illiberal democracy,” and—small detail—waving the Union Jack at rallies while lecturing everyone else about patriotism.

That’s new.

So when people call views like mine “radical,” I can’t help but wonder:

When did believing in elections, rule of law, and regulated capitalism become the extreme position?

If this is “far left,” the news isn’t where I stand.

It’s how far the map has shifted.

That’s where I stand.