General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A tip of the hat to DU's The Magistrate. [View all]The Magistrate
(95,244 posts)So of course he did not vote for it....
And you are, as you have done before, merely making the point I pressed in what you cited above:
"A lot of the problem stems from how long the left has been effectively barred from power and influence on political life here. This means leftist commentators and true believers come to live in a world where they no what they say will never have any real effect and this inculcates an attitude in which irresponsibility, and not only a lack of concern with possible consequence, will flourish. An illustration of this is the strident defense of Nader in 2000 one can still see from leftists of the 'purer than thou' variety --- in this case, their 'not a dime's worth of difference' line, and a few tens of thousands actually acting on it, had the great and grave consequence of putting the reactionary right into power. So unconcerned have such people become with the possible consequences of their positions that they deny this, the one real consequence their views have had for a long time, ever actually occurred...."
Your only concern is whether an act or expression tallies with a pure ideological view, regardless of what the practical consequences might be, and which people in any position of responsibility would, if they acted as you would insist, would have to face, in spheres ranging from actual policy to their careers. That the pure ideological view you insist on is one that is not usually widely popular, and can in a pinch be made very unpopular by a skilled politician, is just icing on the cake.