If the Fundowacko Bible-Bangers were on the Left, the Right would be doing everything they could to exterminate them. But they need their zeal and their votes, so the worst they can come up with is "they're harmless".

But if you read between the lines, you can see the subtle manipulation. You will note the contrast drawn between the "Christianists" and the "Socialists". The implication being that the commentator is solidly locked in the moderate center, and that both those "extremes" are now rejected by the society as a whole..

My only question is, "What Socialists?"
I don't see any organized or influential Left in this country, certainly not in the political arena, in spite of the hysterical jibbering of the paranoid Right. What used to be centrists are now considered part of the "Left"; people in the middle,like me. The few avowed and proud lefties still in public life are marginalized and isolated.

But the Christianists and their allies are everywhere, and getting stronger. They even are running two of their tribe for President.