Conservatives vastly exaggerate the unity of the left
There is no liberal version of the Tea Party. But that doesn't mean the left agrees on everything.
In politics as in war, people tend to overestimate the strength of their enemies.
Jonah Goldberg provided a recent example of this, arguing that the left is formidably united while conservatives are not. He may have a point that conservative unity — long a trope in American politics — is overstated, but he is decisively wrong about the degree of liberal unity.
Here's Goldberg:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Part of this is that each side erroneously believes that the enemy is a rigidly disciplined organization with perfect strategy and tactics.
However, Goldberg is badly mistaken about intra-left disputes. This isn't exactly surprising, since he has a completely ridiculous view of political ideology, and probably isn't keeping up on all the hot new radical mags out there. But I'm here to tell you that liberals fight — a lot.
From a conservative perspective, I bet these fights are easy to miss, since leftists are nearly absent from the political scene. I have often bemoaned the lack of some kind of Tea Party-like movement to engage with the political system. Occupy Wall Street, for all its many virtues, seemed to regard the electoral process with some disdain.
This is a major difference between right and left. The right wing has had amazing success in pushing the Republican Party to the right and getting dozens of true believers elected to national office. It is also riddled with nuttiness and is almost comically bad at many aspects of political tactics.
The left wing, meanwhile, is largely powerless, even though its policy prescriptions should be pretty popular given the current state of our deeply unequal economy. There hasn't been a significant leftist presence in Congress since the 1930s at least.
Goldberg seems to think this is an indication of consensus in the Democratic Party. But all it means is that leftists have little sway within it.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 18, 2024
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - impeachment Peanuts, record-breaking temperatures, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Pros and cons of solar energy
Pros and cons Solar power could become the primary source of electricity worldwide by 2050 – but there are still clouds in the forecast
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
Post Office's Capture software to be reviewed over 'glitches'
Speed Read Solicitor representing accused postmasters says flaws in the IT system follow 'very similar pattern' to Horizon
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published