Al, in one of the political science classes I took in college there was a similar graph.  Only, instead of a straight line, it was an almost closed circle.  The point being that the more radical one's beliefs are on either side those beliefs start to blend together.  I wish I could remember the entire thing, but some of the examples used had Jesse Jackson almost next to Jesse Helms in many ways.

This was in the 80's (crap, I am old)...

I've long thought that there is little difference between the far right (Fascist) and the far left (Communist) - both regimes pretty much end up with the same situation for the populace and those in power. The stated motivation may be different but the end result is pretty similar.

Chris Claremont gave an interview in the late 80's where he was talking about left and right politics and compared the UK to the USA visions. It went something like this:

In the UK, the Conservatives (Right wing) would fall somewhere between the Democrats and the Repiblicans. The Labour party (Left wing) (At the time) would be locked up in jail for being communists.

It needs to be said that the Labour party moved more to the right (Or central at least) somewhat during the early to mid 90's, started by the late, great John Smith (The best Prime Minister we never had) and continued through Tony Blair.

This really has been a fascinating debate to watch over the past few weeks as there have been points where I really wanted to comment, particularly regarding welfare and health but I may have ended up just sounding pretty poor in knowledge of American politics so didn't bother.

Having said that, for total disclosure I would say that I believe in a welfare state and in the NHS. I do think we have gone too far in the UK where we now have the situation where we subsidise to the degree that some people on welfare have got into the situation where they can never work again and maintain the lifestyle they now have. An example - I do a lot of youth work. A young, single mother is now looking for a flat. She can have up to £600 per month in housing benefit so she is now looking at a set of newly built, privatly rented flats that are VERY nice. £600 is more than my mortgage payments per month.

Her education level (And attitude to be fair) would preclude her from getting a job that would enable her to pay for that flat. I believe she should be housed but we should not be raising the level of expectation that without work she should be able to have everything that someone with a job could have.

BUT, we should do everything in our power to look after people who do not have a job and the general principle of state provided health for all, free at the point of delivery is a lynch pin of my political beliefs.

Well, I guess Pelosi was right when she said that the healthcare bill needed to be passed so we can see what's in it.  Maybe members of congress should have read it first.

Oops!

High Ranking Democrats don't go to Socialist rallys.

Here's the thing - Brian, in all fairness, it sounds like you're a Republican who isn't on board with this lunacy, and if so - GOOD!

You would also be correct to say that the Teabaggers are (a stunt, but that's another story) not representative of the Republican party, but sadly, high ranking public members of the Republican party are a part of the tea-bagging movement.

The Clinton/Lewinsky investigation lasted six months, and cost
taxpayers $6.2 to $7 million

"Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr spent more than $6 million on the
Monica Lewinsky scandal and the overall investigation of President
Clinton is becoming the most expensive in history, congressional
auditors reported yesterday... Starr's expenditures totaled $6.2
million in the six months through last Sept. 30, up nearly 60 percent
from the $3.9 million in the previous six months, said the GAO
[General Accounting Office]. "

Where were the tea baggers then?? Where was the outrage??? 

Al, to be  fair, I think if you placed Bernie Sanders a little to the right of centre (as a moderate , centrist conservative) and adjusted the scale accordingly, you might be close.

And what about this? How is this any better than Bush?