It is not impossible that it should fall to the lot of this work, in its poverty and in the darkness of this time, to bring light into one brain or another–but, of course, it is not likely.

My mission to the liberals, which may not have been an entire failure, has come to an end. With the election of Barack Obama, we have reached the limit of what’s possible in our sophisticated post-popular world. Between the Mitch McConnell right and the Chuck Schumer left, our President has found the vital Arlen Specter center.

The mission began began in the dark days of 2002, when Bush had 80% support and the big names in the blogosphere were Ann Coulter, Andy Sullivan, Mickey Kaus, and the inimitable Instapundit. Bush’s intentions were evident from the beginning, at least to me, and for three years he would have a free hand. The Democrats obviously needed help at that time, and I did what I could to comfort them, cheer them up, and convince them to oppose Bush out loud and in public. Gradually, as the international order and global economy collapsed into ruins, the political situation improved, and one by one the liberal hawks slunk back to the world of sanity. Finally in 2006 the Democrats gained control of Congress*, and then last year they won the Presidency.

During all those years I placed myself on the far left of the Democratic Party, either providing them with someone to be less extreme than, or tactfully trying to pull them a little further in my direction. Only seldom did I tell people go fuck themselves. But the tactfulness part finally became wearing, as did the endless toothpulling arguments required, and now I’m laying down my weary load.

Hoping for a popular left movement is like waiting for King Arthur to return in glory. It has been shown by Richard Hofstadter and others that popular movements are always fascist or Communist, and the Democrats have gotten the message. In order to protect us against extremism, they have bravely volunteered to be attacked as Communists themselves, in lieu of the now-extinct real Communists — without, however, relaxing their own anti-Communist vigilance.

The Left is in power, and I am no longer needed. I will return to my customary irresponsibility, and cheerfully curse the darkness to the end of my days.

*By counting the members of the two parties in the two Houses of Congress in 2007, this can be shown to be true.