If there WAS a broad mass-based left-wing revolution during a Democratic presidency...

[baldguy]

58. There will always be people who would rather burn the village down in the name of "saving" it.

And having a rallying cry of "NO COMPROMISE!" is not exactly a small-d democratic virtue. Just the opposite, in fact - which has been amply proven given the recent history of the GOP.

The fact is the left has not been very successful in gaining support for it's message. That's not due to it's ideas or positions. Time & time again, polls have shown that the general public supports more liberal policies that those our elected representatives take - as long as those positions aren't label as such. There are many reasons for this: One is that "left", "liberal" & "progressive" have been given bad connotations by the RW corporate press. (duh!) Two is that there is no one "left-wing" agenda. There are only a myriad of voices, each with their own views, their own positions, their own causes & their own goals. Three is that some of these voices are more interested in ideology than outcomes. They believe that if one big-D Democratic politician doesn't explicitly campaign for special protections for the free-range albino jack rabbits of Rhode Island, then the party leadership should be torn down, in spite of the fact that the one politician & the leadership of the party might otherwise support the majority of their agenda, just because they aren't "ideologically pure" on this one issue.

To be able to get anything accomplished on a national level, you need the support of a national party. The Democratic Party has always been a coalition. And it has always had the same basic rules: If you want things to change & your voice to be heard, then you need bring in the votes. No matter how honorable, just & righteous your cause is, if you can't bring in the votes, then you'll fail. If you work to destroy the only party that agrees with you on most of your issues, instead of joining it, then you'll get nowhere. You'll lose & your enemies will win.

And when you lose, it won't be the Party's fault.