Last Stand of the Left

Robert over at The Blue State Conservatives argues that The Left Must be Right, or it Will be Gone.

Let's step back a moment from the actual strategy of Iraq, or the elections, or any of that stuff that really matters, and look at why the left is so dead set on, well (sadly), losing this war.

The left has its whole philosophy at stake, coming down to this crucial moment in Iraq. We need to review the past defeats of the left, to realize why Iraq is the final battleground not only for Islamofascist thugs, but also for the theoretical underpinnings of the left.

To understand what Rob is talking about, read the rest.

As for me, I can't help but agree. If Iraq does manage to come out of this as a Democracy, the blow to the Left might very well be "fatal." The movement has staked a lot on a US failure, and a US success would leave it vulnerable. I can't really predict what will happen, because there are simply too many variables at stake, but I can guess that there will be some major shakeups following a US success. It will start small at first, because most people will refuse to acknowledge reality in the beginning. But there is no denying it forever, and Leftism will have to adapt in order to survive. I suspect that Transnational Progressivism (pdf) is ultimately where it will end up.

Update: Part 2 can be found here.