Sanders supporters took over the Nevada Democratic Party. It's not going well.

[The Magistrate]

30. The Two Wings Present Different Problems, Sir

Which looms largest depends on the moment.

The gist of it is the 'progressive wing' presents difficulties in election season, the 'moderate wing' presents difficulties in governance season.

The 'progressive wing' is not wholly responsible for the electoral difficulties charged to it. Democratic Party candidates standing in a general election can count on being called to account for statements made by various campus radicals or fossil Marxists, who have no connection to or influence in the Party. This is a decision made by the press, in its unending effort to present the major parties as equivalent in all regards. It's become cliche: a student caucus somewhere denounces Mr. Lincoln as a thoroughgoing racist and demands his statue be removed from the campus; a Republican member of the House proclaims it's white people are the chief victims of racism today --- so it's clear left and right both contain problematic racial extremists. The obvious differences in the situations need no spelling out here, save noting that a Democratic candidate will be hounded over the resolution of the campus committee, and no interviewer will ask a Republican candidate whether he or she really believes as does their colleague, that white people labor under a horrid burden of racial persecution.

The 'moderate wing', however, is largely responsible for creation of the difficulties it places before a Democratic administration and Congressional majority. In office, Democratic politicians of progressive views are reliable votes for the program of a Democratic administration and majority, even when watered down from their own goals. Whatever the 'free radicals' of the left may be, the working pols of the Progressive Caucus understand half a loaf is better than none: they will complain, but will vote right. Moderates' not only operate as wreckers, cooperating with Republicans to thwart the policies Democratic voters put a Democratic government in power to enact, they generally do so under cover of a cloud of squid's ink proclaiming it is disloyal progressive are the problem, because they complain not enough will be done, even as 'moderates' vote to see nothing is done. They claim this is necessary for them to hold their seats so a majority can be maintained, but in fact most who make this argument fail to hold their seat through the next election, because the real result of their actions is not to get some votes from 'reasonable' Republicans, but to discourage Democratic turnout, because they did not do what they were elected to do. This is not rocket surgery: Democratic voters elect candidates to uphold policies and pass laws Democratic voters think best, and won't go an extra mile to vote for someone who prevents this happening.