Right organizes against its leadership, Left not so much

Wretchard writes about the successful challenge from the Right to the official Republican candidate for the 23rd congressional district in New York, Dede Scozzafava. This embarrassed a lot of people in Republican leadership. This also led to some very emotive, scurrilous language about the Right from NYT columnist Frank Rich. Wretchard points out an interesting question from Mr. Rich:

Where are the Tea Parties of the Left?

Wretchard has more concerning how and why much of the Left's potential revolutionary energy is being channeled into a top-down organization.

There is also some appreciation in this piece of the moderate style of the much-discussed Saul Alinsky, relative to many activists on the Left.

Surprising insights from Saul Alinsky via the Blue Collar Professor:

Let us in the name of radical pragmatism not forget that in our system with all its repressions we can still speak out and denounce the administration, attack its policies, work to build an opposition political base. True, there is government harassment, but there still is that relative freedom to fight. I can attack my government, try to organize to change it. That’s more than I can do in Moscow, Peking, or Havana. Remember the reaction of the Red Guard to the “cultural revolution” and the fate of the Chinese college students. Just a few of the violent episodes of bombings or a courtroom shootout that we have experienced here would have resulted in a sweeping purge and mass executions in Russia, China, or Cuba. Let’s keep some perspective.

The Professor's take on Alinsky's statement above:

Again, what is remarkable about this passage is his recognition that the Communist regimes that are the model for his ideology are also brutally suppressive governments. Conversely, the government he is trying to overthrow is democratic and tolerant of dissent: this is called false consciousness. He cannot recognize that his own values inevitably lead not to liberation but to suppression. Paradoxically, he shares the values of his enemy (capitalists) and deplores the values of his associates (communists). Why?

I think the answer lies in the deluded Leftist belief that things must be "fixed." Yet, they do not attempt to fix the murderous regimes employing their own philosophy; they try to fix those governments which are functioning. Again, why? I can't answer that yet. . .

The Professor has more on the partial adoption of Alinsky's methods and philosophy by President Obama.

One can also see where President Obama acquired the style of pragmatism and soft-speaking to mask subversive action. Yet, young people on the Left wear Che shirts, our filmmakers make Che movies, and everything old is new again. . . . "

Read both of the pieces linked above for some interesting insights into our current political situation. Whether you agree or disagree with the authors.