Interest Groups versus Political Parties

I have long thought that a sign of weakness in the American educational system is that many people do not know the difference between an interest group and a political party. 

Read the comments on Twitter/X and you'll see shrieking by those who expect politicians, who have to make compromises in order to get things done, to be as ideologically pure and consistent as the leaders of interest groups. The latter have the luxury of being full-throated advocates. 

You can also find politicians who slip into interest group territory. That can serve a purpose by reminding their more deal-conscious colleagues of the reasons why they were elected, but such reminders only go so far. Eventually, things need to get done and, as Bismarck noted, politics is the art of the possible.