The far left is usually a minority, but relies on the inaction and cowardice of others
This seems correct to me, both then and now:
Communists triumphed in Russia not because of a popular uprising, but because a small group of disciplined and armed intellectuals, ready to use maximal violence, staged a coup. They could do so because liberals, anarchists, populist socialist revolutionaries, and other Marxists resisted them, if at all, only when it was too late. “Condemn terror?” indignantly asked Kadet leader Ivan Petrunkevich. “That would be the moral death of our party!” “No enemies to the left!” was an article of faith that Lenin, who was unprincipled on principle, knew how to exploit.
In the 1960s and ’70s, I was surprised my liberal friends would rather side with Communists, who rejected their core beliefs, than with conservatives, who differed only on details of policy. Better those a mile to one’s left than an inch to one’s right! It was a matter of identity: If you grow up regarding yourself as the opponent of conservatives, it becomes psychologically impossible to join them. Is that why liberal Democrats back Hasan Piker, who praises Stalin’s USSR and Mao’s China? More terrifying than Abdul El-Sayed, Graham Platner, and Zohran Mamdani is the readiness of those who are neither totalitarians nor antisemites to support them. It is that support that may enable their eventual triumph.
I see this operating constantly. There is the reflexive reluctance and often absolute refusal to vote for a Republican, however bland or moderate, combined with a willingness to hold one’s nose and vote for the most extreme and vicious (and/or most stupid) of leftists – or to sit the election out, which has much the same effect.
Plus, once an extreme leftist wins a Democrat Party nomination, there is sometimes a fatalism if the state or city is very blue. This depresses turnout immensely. Why bother to go to the polls if the outcome appears to be a foregone conclusion?
But Yeats said it better, and he said it a long time ago:
”
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
In the life of this blog, there are certain poems and scenes I’ve quoted over and over. One is the Yeats poem I quoted above, “The Second Coming.” Another is the Kipling poem “The Gods of the Copybook Headings.” And still another is this scene from the movie A Man For All Seasons.
Evergreens, I’m afraid.
Yes, my frustration with the left has always been that they punch so far above their weight. And while I have a few thoughts on the subject I still don’t feel I truly understand why it is so.
Here in CO, the Rep party is mostly dead. A couple of bright spots. I still vote straight Rep ticket. Except for the Judges. I always vote NO on every one. I will lose my Republican Rep, Gabe Evans, this Nov. So much money coming in to defeat him. His opponent is a closet DSA guy.
Don’t forget Kipling’s “The Beginnings”
There’s a lot of wisdom in this post! Neo, do not be afraid.
For a leftist, nothing is too extreme to further their cause.
They will hitch their horses to any wagon if they believe it will be beneficial to their cause.
Their ability to formulate a message to gain adherents is unparalleled.
There is no point in talking to them or trying to reason with them or trying to reach some sort of compromise with them because as soon as they get the opportunity, they will kill you.
The ONLY thing that is effective in dealing with leftists is killing them first.
That is the lesson learned – or should have been learned – in seeing what happened in the USSR, China, Cuba, N.Korea, Venezuela, and all of Eastern Europe from 1945 to about 1990.
Communists triumphed in Russia not because of a popular uprising, but because a small group of disciplined and armed intellectuals, ready to use maximal violence, staged a coup. They could do so because liberals, anarchists, populist socialist revolutionaries, and other Marxists resisted them, if at all, only when it was too late.
This is what “radicalization” is all about. Compensate for a lack of numbers and money with zealous action by the base. Maybe it wasn’t true during the Russian revolution, but anarchists groups have strongly adhered to this logic.
The other thing I read about that revolution was that the German government funded the early communist radicals, thinking that the internal conflict would stunt Russia’s ability to attack Germany. The communists took the money and arms and seized one or more major banks with gold reserves and greatly expanded their funding.
– – – – – –
I see this operating constantly. There is the reflexive reluctance and often absolute refusal to vote for a Republican, however bland or moderate, combined with a willingness to hold one’s nose and vote for the most extreme and vicious (and/or most stupid) of leftists – or to sit the election out, which has much the same effect.
I’ve been thinking that this attitude of “being terrified of Republicans” is something worth exploring more.
What are some of the big, terrifying bugaboos? Republicans are racist. Or anti-worker. They are heartless towards lower income folks. They are religious zealots. They will become authoritarians, because they are fascists.
I myself, when I was young and dumb, voted for Barbara Boxer in her first run for the Senate. Why? Because I believed the media when they told me her opponent was an extremist right winger. And because I didn’t appreciate how entrenched incumbents could become in congress.
Backing up in history, how is it that the GOP party founded on anti-slavery became associated with racism? The only clear turning point I’ve seen (I’m sure there are others) is when there was a huge flood in the Midwest and Sec. Herbert Hoover led an extensive rescue operation. He employed low cost labor which was mostly black and many of them died in the effort. “It’s because the GOP is racist,” was the political message in the wake of that effort.
I am or was most sensitive to the religious zealot charge. Having been raised in the Catholic family, I saw the pros and cons of that. While I wasn’t anti-Catholic, I did think that it should stay the heck out of our politics. Within the last few years, I wasn’t thrilled by the response of many red states when the SCOTUS changed the legal framework of abortion. The idea of treading softly on people’s freedoms, wasn’t given much consideration. Or so it seemed to me.
Commenter HC68 stated a week or two ago that he is, or can be, “terrified” because the GOP is anti-worker and anti-union. I guess I can understand that. However, my father was a small business employer and was heavily taxed. And unions have a varied and quite checkered past and present.
Plus, it is not too hard to find a Republican who embraces crony capitalism from time to time. Possibly Trump fits that charge. That supports HC68’s worries.
But hope springs eternal…
“Federal agents smash huge voter fraud ring in California…”—
https://nypost.com/2026/10/19/us-news/fbi-smash-huge-california-voter-fraud-ring-in-los-angeles-days-after-feds-issued-ultimatum-to-state/