recognize both sides of the feedback loop before we can fix it because it s compounded by a core political labels today. namely, this. the far right today is not conservative and the far left is not liberal. think about it. conservatives often trace their roots back to edmond burke, an 18th century british statesman w criticized the french revolution. so there is literally nothing less conservative than the trump s mobs attack on our capitol and the constitution s peaceful transfer of power. embracing a lie to attack the foundations of our democracy is the opposite of reason and patriotism. on the far left, there is a perception that a rising generation of radical activists sees america primary through a lens of group identity politics pursuing the goals of social justice with a cancel-culture fervor that condemns even reason dissent. this fixation on our differences, rather than our
th authoritarianism and abuse of power. that s what we do. we re doing our jobs, and that noise is the sound a functioning democracy ways. ted, as you know all too well, going along with trump s attacks on the media, you see death threats against journalists. you see, you know, people like, you know, my longtime friend br brian carem, april ryan, getting all kinds of death threats because they went up against trump. we ll talk about this further another time, but really appreciate the insights. thanks so much for coming on. ted boutros, thanks again for your insights tonight. we appreciate it. so great to be with you, jim. thanks. and toxic polarization is poisoning america, but if there s any hope of finding the antidote, we need to understand what s fueling it. john avlon unpacks it all in tonight s reality check. there he is. that s coming up next. vazalore. is the first liquid-filled aspirin capsule
democracy in ukraine, and we re on the side of democracy. yeah, i guess i m for democracy in other countries, i guess. that was ohio republican congressman mike turner taking tucker to school, trying to explain that the u.s. has historically stood with democracies in europe and against dictators who want to expand their borders by force. you know, because we re the good guys. now, sure, putin is more czar than communist, and he may well be the richest man in russia, the oligarch s oligarch. but don t forget the russian courts have a long track record of jailing opposition leaders like alexei navalny. last september a european human rights court found the kremlin responsible for the 2006 poisoning of a former russian intelligence official who defected to the west. so tucker is clearly standing on the side of a dangerous autocrat with delusions of grandeur and not just because tucker can relate to that. it s because tucker seems to have a thing for autocrats, a strongman fetish.
kmoon humanity, is inconsistent with classical liberalism and ends up fueling reactionary forces. when taken together, this fixation on negative perceptions amplified by hyperpartisan media kills societal trust, and creates mutual incomprehension. but here is an essential point to remember. these two perceptions are not equivalent, not remotely when it comes to the reality of our politics or the danger to our democracy right now as jonathan roust recently wrote, the far rights of liberals is far more powerful in the corridors of power. it dominates the trumpest republican party with its big-lie litmus tests. by comparison, the far left is primarily a cultural force only 15% of democrats describe themselves as very liberal according to a 2020 pew survey. n now, president biden or democratic leaders in congress support defund the police or open borders or any of the other stereotypes pushed on right-wing talk tv. but they do serve a cultural powerful irritant to folks who see their anxie
cnn.com/full circle or watch it on the cnn app at any time on demand. the news continues with jim acosta and democracy in peril. thank you very much. i m jim acosta, and this is democracy in peril. tonight as we continue our series, we have to consider this very serious possibility. we are going to take back america. this is so important. [ cheers and applause ] and in 2024, we are going to take back the white house. now, despite all of the lies donald trump tells, this could actually come true. remember 2015 and that escalator ride into all of our lives. a lot of people didn t take him seriously before that. there was a lot of disbelief he would actually follow through on his bluster of running the first time. so this time around, we might want to believe him. we have no reason not to believe he s running again, which means the nation would be facing the nightmare scenario of a wannabe