> The US was way ahead of the curve, and thus radical, and “leftist”. <
Good point. And labels can evolve.
For example, the term “dictator” was an honorable one in the old Roman Republic.
True.
In France the US model, radical as it was, was seen as cutting edge only for a short time. Extremism fed on itself and grew beyond any sensible limits. The advocate for a US model, or a US style “sane” approach to politics, was your old friend Lafayette.
Lafayette deserves recognition to this day. Not just for his significant contributions to the American Revolution as a field commander, and an influential pro-American lobbyist in France, but in his contributions to European political philosophy.
“Declaration of the Rights of Man”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_the_Rights_of_Man_and_of_the_Citizen
The most sensible thing that came out of the French Revolution.
He was celebrated in his time but his memory has faded.