As progressives implode into Wesleyan white girls crossing swords with gayer, less privileged, and therefore more-of-the-moment white men it’s all falling apart. Hillary Clinton was noticeably absent from NN15. Hard to blame her.

So what happens now? Has the moment finally arrived? Are we marching into the new Progressive America? Is flyover country ready to open up wrist veins over their white privilege? Can we finally admit that our entire system of government is a Citizens United-driven pay-for-play system of inequity and racism that requires the destruction of black lives to exist?

Look, our government doesn’t treat people equally. Our police don’t. Our courts don’t. Our civil servants don’t. But equal treatment for everyone has to be our goal. O’Malley was ready to talk about solutions, yet his party’s vanguard won’t let him. They make him apologize for trying.

The GOP needs to make sure it welcomes solutions, not rhetoric. If that happens, the history might repeat itself. Both sides should give Thompson’s tome a read. The Left should learn its lessons. The Right should cross its fingers.