The left has gotten compromise backwards. We keep trying to meander into the middle: “Hey, $12 minimum wage is fine, RomneyCare is fine, is that ok with you all too?” We should be asking for a $20 minimum wage (oh boy, that would cause some unwanted economic secondary effects) and then finding the middle in conversation with conservatives, forcing them to compromise just as we do. I think part of our problem is the Democrats do all the conservative’s work for them: we are so focused on balancing budgets and the problems with setting the minimum wage too high that the Republicans don’t have to be the party of pragmatism. And now we’ve seen right-wing “idealism.” Push our ideals, push them hard, and also listen and dialogue with conservatives, being ready to make compromises when they are.