But I think your post is super important, too-- the left is sort of stuck in this mode of thinking that, in the words of MLK, "unarmed truth," or in their case right-ness, "will have the final word." And if we're going to effect a meaningful revitalization (of the left), we need to recognize that sometimes politics is politics, and the winner is the person who convinces more people to vote for them. I think the place that's been most visible in recent years was in the US midterm elections: in spite of widespread discontent with conservative policies, and even conservative candidates, at the end of the day more Republican voters showed up, and now we have a red Congress. E: Just found some statistics: the GOP represents only 46% of Americans, but they played the political game well enough to get a 54-46 majority in the Senate. It's fucked up, sure, but it's how it's done, and I don't see that changing-- at least not anytime soon.
This was great. I'm not surprised at the extremely quick success of Podemos with ideas like that driving the movement. Outreach doesn't mean telling people to read 800 page tomes, it means tailoring your message to their basic needs and fears and articulating an authentic and feasible way to solve their problems! Theory is all well and fine for when you want to build structures and institutions, but "bread and peace" goes over far better than "look up twelve of these long words in the dictionary and read this rambling manifesto".