When you take liberalism to its logical conclusion...
You find there isn't one!
In Liberal-land, the social interaction between men and women is becoming ever more perilous. As liberal political correctness continues its inexorable march, many men will become so gun-shy about even making an introductory comment to a woman that the chances of a woman finding a good solid man who will even risk a relationship, let alone commit to marriage, will disappear. And it's the liberals' fawning dedication to ever more extreme and restrictive political correctness that will make it so. But political correctness is clearly an ever moving target.
That reality has been perfectly illustrated by Chris Matthews's fall from liberal grace. That event is a great example of the observation that when you take liberalism to its logical conclusion, you find that there is no conclusion, logical or otherwise. Reality applies across the board — to male/female relationships, to romantic relationships of any variety, to popular culture, to gender identity, to intersectionality, to economics, to politics, and even to religion.
There simply is no stopping point or ideological boundary line for the left. There's no point where the general liberal consensus says, "OK, we've arrived at our destination. Hallelujah, we're here! We're now liberal enough!" Just when you think they've finally reached the point of maximum possible craziness, they march on.
For this reason, I foresee that many more liberal icons will be destroyed in the future, simply because at some point in their lives, they made the mistake of thinking, "The here-and-now is pretty much where we'll stay. The here-and-now is the end point of our liberal ideology. The actions or comments that are appropriate and safe today will always be appropriate and safe." Nope. The leftward drift will continue ad infinitum, such that acts that seem OK and reasonable today will soon be viewed as evidence of some unpardonable sin that is treasonous to the cause.
Chris Matthews got caught in a trap of his own making. He should have realized that the left's ideological goal posts are always moving, and it's simply not enough to be compliant at one point in time. One must somehow project into the future and carefully act today in a manner that will be acceptable ten or twenty years down the road. Can you imagine living like that? It's an impossible task!
Bernie Sanders is not the left's political end point, either. He may seem extreme today, but in the not too distant future, we'll look back at Bernie with nostalgia for how quaintly midstream he was. Even now, we've already reached the point where Democrat politicians have to "out-extreme" each other to get noticed on the national stage. The Dem party is desperately trying to close that barn door, but the horse is already out.
So, if there are any liberals — or folks thinking about becoming a liberal — who are reading this commentary, I offer the following caution: you may think liberalism fits you quite nicely today. But mark my words: unless you're willing to shift ever more and more leftward — and on a moment's notice — you'll find yourself someday as a "man without a country," politically speaking. You may even find yourself shunned and exiled by former liberal friends. So I suggest there's wisdom in pondering not only "where is my party today?," but also "where is my party going?" Because there truly is no logical conclusion to liberalism.