Bill Maher is probably closer to a 1980s, maybe mid 90s, liberal Democrat versus what makes up the Democratic Party today.

Thanks, Pookie.

I agree that the American Thinker, Gateway Pundit, Conservative Treehouse and some others post a a lot of sensationalistic garbage.  The problem is that your critiques seemed to focus exclusively on conservative sources and views, and only backhanded criticisms of the left.  That's why you presenting yourself as a moderate was viewed so skeptically.

My brother is a Republican convinced that "sanity will return" and that things like the current fetish of transgenderism will die out because "it is unsustainable."  But he and you are both prisoners of the moment.

The truth is that the country has been on a steady leftward drift for a looooong time, and the pattern is pretty much always the same.  Radical ideas are proposed that are out of the mainstream, and that do not have majority support.  But because the support of those radicals can be determinative for some of those running for office as Democrats, they placate those radicals by giving them some of what they want.  And it usually is modest enough that Republicans aren't willing to go to the mat over it.  So, the window shifts left.

Then they come back a bit later, and repeat the process.  Except now, they're already starting out further to the left so what they're pushing now is something that wouldn't have been accepted before, but may be accepted later because the status quo has changed.  And this keeps repeating.

The key thing is that this movement is almost exclusively leftward over time.  Part of that is due to structural biases in the legal system (the "ratchet effect"), part of it is due to leftist domination of the universities, and part of it is because of the inherent bias of leftward-leaning people towards government action, and therefore towards government employment.  Most conservatives don't like government, don't want much to do with it, and therefore don't get involved because they prefer the private sector. That gives the left a structural advantage.

That still doesn't excuse sensationalized reporting and headlines from some right-leaning outlets.  I personally find that stuff frustrating as hell because it tends to lead conservatives down rabbit holes that lead nowhere, and can make us look ridiculous when it is proven false.  But because this country is in no practical danger of sliding to the right, I really can't fathom conservatives and moderates who think that kind of sloppy journalism presents anywhere near that threat presented by "journalism" on the left.  So when someone who claims to be a conservative or even a moderate seems to only focus on flaws among conservatives, I question their claimed "moderate" or "conservative". mantle.