“Conservatives are much more clear-eyed—and that’s why they win so often.
And here’s another, closely-related lesson Democrats would do well to learn: nobody cares about your feelings. You can march, yell, and sign petitions all you want, but your voice won’t be heard until you figure out where the correct pressure points are located.
Conservatives understand the importance of power, and they go all out to get it and to block their opponents from exercising it. Progressives, meanwhile, are addicted to the affectations of powerlessness: the protest march, the petition, the complaint, the indignation over unfair play and hypocrisy, and the incessant pleading for those who hold power to listen to them. It would serve the left to stop clinging to an idealized version of how things should work and instead accept how they things actually work. It is far more important to understand power: what it is, how to get it, how to use it, and how to keep it.
Progressives need to take a lesson from the Tea Party if they want to advance their own agenda. Merely being loud and visible isn’t going to cut it. They have to organize, and they have to vote in every election: presidential, midterm, primary, and special. Only when they demonstrate a credible threat to politicians’ jobs will they get what they want. Winning, not whining, is what creates change.”
