Perlstein's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: "Overton's Window"

The key to success in politics is repetition. That makes things awkward for a political writer, because in writing, repetition is a sin.

I resolve: I should repeat myself more.

In my over ten years as a professional wingnutologist, I've developed quite a backfile of essays on every aspect of the conservative ascendency in America. I'm going to start linking to them more, in order to more forcefully get across whatever might be valuable in the insights I've gleaned over the years about how conservatism works, and how it differs from how liberalism works, and what this means for conservatism's political successes and governing failures.

Our lesson for today: Overton's Window, the principle, sacred to conservative politicians but tragically anathema to too many liberal politicians, that the most effective way to drive ideological change in your preferred direction is by getting ideas previously excluded as "radical" accepted as "normal" by the mainstream. (Progressives were not always allergic to this: cf., "anti-slavery," "women voting," and "free universal public education.")

Here's what I wrote about the principle in four years ago, explaining the evolution of the California recall election of 2003. I was inspired to dredge it up by two fine posts on the fetish for "centrism" in the Democratic Party.

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