David, it's unfortunate if the positions you espouse would cause you to be be categorized as left of center, because for much of the 20th century, those positions would have been considered centrist, or merely "American." It's only within the last 20 or so years that the US has been hit with the con game known as deregulation, that the equal rights and feminist movements (which had evolved in fits and starts over 70 years) have been under siege (including ever-increasing attacks on Roe v. Wade), that creationism and government-sanctioned religious activity have been creeping back into our public schools, and that the disparity between top-level executive compensation and rank-and-file pay has grown to such obscene levels.
The only issue you mentioned that isn't strictly political is abortion rights -- it's more a religious/moral and feminist issue. Let me explain: Catholics and fundamentalist Protestants seem to oppose abortion rights more than other groups, yet some of those antiabortion Catholics are among the most left-leaning people I know. They subscribe to a principle known as "seamless garment" -- respect for all human life (and, one would hope, all life in general). This means no abortion, but also no capital punishment, either. Likewise, you'll find pro-choice supporters among the most conservative women Republicans.
