Oh, the Irony...

[MarshalPurnell]

Said revolutionary groups are probably a big reason as to why anything remotely associated with socialism (or which can be tarred as socialist) remains deeply unpalatable in America. The hippies and their more-violent counterparts on the revolutionary left had little in common with real working-class political movements, and behaved in such a way as to discredit the left in general. Any successful strategy to promote a stronger role for government and reduction of corporate power must absolutely be clothed in the interests of the self-described "middle class" and present a rigorously moderate (in temperament, not politics) and reasonable facade. And of course the working class tends to be fairly reactionary in its social ideas, which is another hurdle to overcome or an incentive to focus solely on issues of economics and political structures.

[Coyote]

Yeah, I was going to write something similar to what MarshallPurnell said-- after enduring years of persecution during McCarthyism, the first the the Left did when it came back to life was shoot itself in the foot and become the perfect, tailor-made bogeyman for the right to use as an example of all that was wrong with the movement.

Between the hippies and the violent radicals, it was a coffin nail. It will take a long time --or some serious, outright oppression from the right-- to bring back a revitalized Left in the USA.

Look at the stupidity that has gone on in the US the last few decades and even despite right-wing malfeasance, corruption, and outright evil, you still can't get anyone in public office to even admit they are "somewhat to the left" much less a "liberal". Being tarred a "liberal" is perceived as an instant death sentence to a political career. At best you can call yourself a "moderate" while moving to the right only somehwat more slowly than everyone else.

[Samuel]

Or they were a small percentage of all movements and their activities were used to tar all leftists in the country. What are the numbers for the composition of left wing groups in the United States at that time?

[The Yosemite Bear]

hey, it's Bastille day why haven't those damn Tea Baggers tried to break out some crazy Militia types out of maximum security prison.

[Night_stalker]

Annoying things like "Life without the possibilty of parole" and "death sentence" come to mind.