The Compromised

At the moment I think of the Left as consisting of three factions. The first (and smallest) consists of those who support dictators--many dictator-supporters mean well but have a loose grip on reality.

Moving on quickly, we find a larger group of activists whose heroes are writers. These voters follow Amy Goodman, Molly Ivans, Studs Terkel, Malcolm X, Alice Walker and Howard Zinn. So far, so good. The problem with following writers is that they are ineffective leaders. In the cases of Noam Chomsky and Ralph Nader, they can be worse than ineffective. The writers are insightful, entertaining, informative and well-fed, but they don't get much done. They don't know how. They don't hold office; They can't get elected.

The largest group of voters on the Left takes its inspiration from pragmatic leaders who actually lower themselves to participate in making hard decisions: Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, FDR, Hillary Clinton, the Obamas, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer. These leaders master the skills needed to run for public office and the skills needed to govern and work for progressive goals. They really get real laws passed. Real laws, of course, are compromises. Effective office holders are always compromised. Even Lynn Woolsey compromises--and gets denounced by vocal parts of the Left.