Leftists Aren’t Losers

When progressives lose, they only try harder. On the other hand, conservatives are too easily satisfied with small victories. 

By Mark Bauerlein April 23, 2022

Progressives and conservatives understand victory and defeat in starkly different ways. I’ve seen it illustrated many times in my years in academia, government, and media. Those outcomes have not been evenly distributed to the parties on the Left and Right, not in recent decades, and certainly not in the areas of culture and education. Progressives have a much better win-loss record, beating conservatives on one front after another in the worlds of art, education, media and entertainment, even corporate America—beyond politics, government, and the courts. 

But progressives rarely seem happy with their wins. They still act as if they’re on the defensive as if the conservative threat remains daunting and growing, and that, as the progressive motto goes, “There’s so much more to do.” That’s the attitude they have toward their own triumphs: dissatisfaction, inadequacy, do more! Barack Obama embodied it well, never letting the air of sober urgency fall from his countenance as his administration careened from one audacious progressive act to another, be it the insertion (by fiat) of gender identity into Title IX or the appointment of activist judges to the bench. 

As for the losses the Left has suffered, President Obama showed the way as well. The many Democratic defeats in Congress in the 2010 midterms didn’t moderate his progressive aims at all. Nor did the legal decisions that struck down his administration’s positions on employment and religious liberty curb its leftist enthusiasms. He kept going for a full eight years. 

The pattern is typical. When progressives lose, they only try harder. Defeat doesn’t demoralize them—it energizes them. They have the zeal of true believers, and setbacks seem to them a species of persecution that confirms their rightness. When conservatives beat them, leftists return the next day with the same demands asserted in the same language. They have stamina and confidence and dedication. Defeat doesn’t lead to retreat. They aren’t losers.

As for conservatives, things go in reverse. I have seen them lose and lose and lose, then finally get a win, and proceed to celebrate that win as a mighty accomplishment. ............ To Read More...