There’s little to be gained from seeking to appease or appeal to America’s Left. The Cracker Barrel logo fiasco is the latest affirmation of this. However, this corporate misstep toward the Left goes beyond a faux pas to the false premise that mainstream America can, or should seek to, placate the Left. (RELATED: Cracker Barrel’s New Logo Sparks Outrage — But Is It Really About ‘Woke’ Politics?)
Seeking to appease America’s Left is the equivalent of a dog chasing its tail: It can’t be caught, and what would you do with it if you did?
“Solving” one issue to the American Left’s satisfaction will only send them in search of another.
America’s Left does not want to be placated. Fists in the air and slogans on the lips. Instead of unity, they want division. The Left’s history is one of histrionics. Protests, marches, civil disobedience, riots: More than their images, these are who they are. It is because it’s what they must be. (RELATED: The Left Retaliates Against a Liberal’s Call for Unity)
In America, the Left is the smallest ideological minority. By far. According to 2024 exit polling, only 23 percent of voters self-identified as liberal; contrastingly, 35 percent identified as conservative, and 42 percent as moderate.
Only in their enclaves, the coasts and big cities, does the Left rule. In the broader, center-right country that America is, the Left’s only hope for success comes from fracturing the rest of society and taking advantage of any resulting divisions to incrementally advance. (RELATED: Democrats’ Real Problem with Populism)
The Left is forever seeking issues by which to do this. And they will be forever doing so — so long as they remain such a distant minority.
Therefore, “solving” one issue to the American Left’s satisfaction will only send them in search of another. If you don’t believe it, simply look at the progression of their causes.
Abortion has been an issue for the Left forever. And, it has stayed a goal, because the goalpost for abortion has gotten steadily more extreme. Though the Left continues to talk about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, note they are not clamoring for its return — at least not as it existed prior to overturning. Instead, they want much more now.
As interpreted by the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade allowed for restrictions on abortion to varying degrees in varying states. Now with Roe v. Wade removed as an obstacle, the Left’s battle cry is for “reproductive freedom.” Even that call is insufficient for many and is expanded to “reproductive freedom for all.” The standard has shifted expansively: no restrictions under any circumstances, anywhere.
The same applies to race relations. The Left’s first call was against segregation and for equal access. The call then shifted to affirmative action, a proactive move expanding the Left’s old demand. Then the Left’s call shifted to DEI, an even more proactive demand. Now, the demand on some college campuses is for minority-only housing — effectively taking the standard back to the segregation of three-quarters of a century ago.
The same applies to the Left and the environment. For those old enough to remember the 1970s, the cry then was against global cooling. The Left’s next cry was against global warming. Now the Left’s cry is against climate change.
In all these and more, the Left’s standard is ever evolving, but the Left themselves are never appeased. And the more extreme the members of the Left, the less appeasable they are.
With appeasing the Left an impossibility, there’s nothing to be gained in trying to appeal to the Left. Even if the Left’s stated standard is attained, the standard will change. The Left will soon be unhappy again: It’s impossible to hold a snowflake.
However, it’s not only metaphysically impossible to placate the Left; it’s also mathematically disadvantageous.
As noted, when it comes to America’s Left, there’s little there. The more extreme the Left, the less “there” there is. At most, they are 23 percent of the population. Trying to appeal to them means risking the other 77 percent of society. Wagering 77 percent on a 23 percent return is a sucker’s bet.
Few are the enterprises that can make a go of appealing to the Left. They are niche markets. Look at the success of the broadcaster soon to be the network-formerly-known-as-MSNBC. There’s a reason MSNBC was spun off and rebranded, and “success” isn’t that reason. (RELATED: Five Quick Things: Who Knew That This Was Heat Miser Week?)
Of all the genuflections corporate America has made to the Left, how many have really paid off in more customers? Did those delighted by Bud Light’s decision to put Dylan Mulvaney on a can flock to buy the beer? Did those offended by the nicknames “Indians” and “Redskins” suddenly become season ticketholders? No, no, and no. All those who made these changes staked what they had for what they were never going to get.
As Cracker Barrel’s logo fiasco and others’ prior efforts prove, “Go woke, go broke” is more than a catchphrase. It’s hard to go Left and stay mainstream. It is because the Left only moves further leftward, and the return on catching them isn’t worth the risk.
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READ MORE from J.T. Young:
America’s Elite: A Nobility in Exile
Trump’s Supporters Aren’t Going Anywhere
J.T. Young is the author of the recent book, Unprecedented Assault: How Big Government Unleashed America’s Socialist Left, from RealClear Publishing, and has over three decades’ experience working in Congress, the Department of Treasury, the Office of Management and Budget, and representing a Fortune 20 company.