Democrats, Long March, Overton window, and 2022

J. Peder Zane had an excellent piece in RealClearPolitics yesterday in which he argued that Democrats are going to take their shellacking come this November because they are content to maximize their victories every time they win, take the hit and come back again eventually because their aim (though he does not describe it in this way) is to shift the Overton window towards progressivism each time they can.  Their goal is to move the goalposts because when they do, it invariably does not shift back. He calls it the Democrats' Long March. The Long March however was a Chinese communist retreat so it's a bit of a misnomer but the sentiment in the piece is spot on:

The short answer is that progressives are content to bank their gains – e.g., the Great Society programs and Obamacare – and then wait until the Republican Party overplays its own hand so thoroughly that Democrats get another window of opportunity. During temporary reigns, Democrats often produce permanent results...

Come November, Democrats will simply lick their wounds and continue their long march.

Indeed.  Zane also points out, again correctly, an important lesson for us all:

For those who are confounded by such notions, it may be comforting to believe that a few election cycles can reverse the trends. This is wishful thinking. We are not in the midst of a political moment but, instead, a deeply rooted cultural revolution which will not be extirpated easily.

Overcoming this incessant Overton shift, requires constant vigilance.  We conservatives cannot win an election or two and think we have defeated communism/socialism/progressivism. It doesn't work that way. What we need to do is put our own organizations in place to confront these efforts, and remain engaged.  This is the only way to ensure success.