The progressive echo chamber explained in one roundtable

After Donald Trump’s surprise win, most progressives are not willing to engage in a discussion of what, if anything, went wrong within their movement. Obama and Clinton are not to be critiqued for their positions, decisions, or policies. They are blameless—oppressed and condemned merely for their race and gender. Or so many would claim.

Many, but not all. Andrew Sullivan—formerly of the well-known blog “The Dish”—often spoke with clarity and reason in the midst of the New Republic roundtable’s echo chamber.

I’ve excerpted some portions of the conversation, because I think they are deeply indicative of how identity politics has seeped into most every argument of the left. But the excerpts also reveal how some reasoned voices, like Sullivan’s, could rise above the fray and help us achieve some measure of bipartisan understanding. If we are to advance and find cohesion, we’re going to need more of the latter—not the former.