The constant warring inside hard-Lefty groups over Democratic procedures catches me by surprise on occasion. The activists involved are massive sticklers for everyone having their say, no matter if there are huge logistical problems for it. For instance, the biggest discussion on the Berkeley Anti-War Discussion group in the past two months is about whether a few of the higher-ups decided on a meeting place and time without proper input. People are getting really pissed over this.

I approve. It shows that hard-Leftys have learned from the mistakes of the Stalinist-friendly Lefty groups of the past. Of course, from a strategical standpoint the insistence on complete concensus makes hard-Lefty groups ineffective and slow-moving. And it also means the complete-Democrats are unable to make common cause with the Stalinist-line Socialists and the reasonably hierarchical mostly-Lefty groups, which is also fine by me.

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