Haque makes a good observation, but then as you say completely misinterprets what he’s observed. (or rather interprets it subjectively through the prism of his own political inclinations)

He is VERY correct that the control of all the flagship institutions is in fact, a great weakness for the left. His big mistake (besides the ones you’ve already pointed out so well, wretchard) is that he doesn’t see that this is the same weakness which affected the old Soviet Union in the years immediately preceding the fall. *Because* they controlled all flagship institutions, there was no one they would consider listening to who could warn them that they were completely out of touch with the vast majority of the country, and that their ship of state was headed straight into some very nasty rocks.

When one side controls all the flagships, it’s natural to feel invincible – and a feeling of invincibility always leads to catastrophic overreach and subsequent failure, which the formerly invinvible warrior never sees coming. I believe the ancient Greeks wrote a play or two about this kind of thing.