I guess the confusion stems from the vague term "leftist".  You maybe using it perfectly correctly, but has been so thread worn in the media and as pejorative in the hands of critics, to come to mean anything left of Alt-right, or at least synonymous with liberal left of center.  I doubt many of the GOP or Right (which also are not the same) understand that the system of government they probably ascribed to is "Liberal Democracy" as described above.  I think I am beginning to see your point.