In the wake of the primary victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, there’s been a dramatic shift in mainstream liberal opinion — in the media, on social media, among politicians, activists, and citizens — toward Bernie Sanders–style positions. People who were lambasting that kind of politics in 2016 are now embracing it — without remarking upon the change, without explaining it, leaving the impression that this is what they believed all along.

As you can imagine, this causes no end of consternation in certain precincts of the Left. For some legitimate reasons. You want people to acknowledge their change in position, to explain, to articulate, to narrate, perhaps to inspire others in the process. And for some less legitimate, if understandable, reasons: people are pissed at the way Sanders-style politics was attacked in 2016; they feel that they were unfairly maligned; they want folks to own up to it.

That’s understandable from a human point of view, but it’s not really the way you build a coalition or a movement. Every mass movement is built on converts, and if the first thing a convert hears when they show up at the shul is “Apologize. Apologize. Pull out his eyes.” (mixing my cultural touchstones here, I realize) — well, you can see where this is going. Or not going. If the Left is going to grow, everyone should be welcome to join, without having to hand over a bill of lading upon their arrival.