That's because there isn't a significant "far left" in the US. Democrats today are not too far from where they were in the 2000s. Republicans on the other hand

That's because there isn't a significant "far left" in the US. Democrats today are not too far from where they were in the 2000s. Republicans on the other hand are way farther right than they were then. For a good illustration go read Republican Party Platforms from then. The 2008 Platform for instance talked about the need to greatly reduce the use of fossil fuels to reduce climate change, and called for the government to push for electric and alternate fuel cars and for making gas cars more efficient, and for pushing for renewable energy.