Let me second most of Glenn's comments here, and say further that if the vocal elements of the left really do have a problem with their champions making a living, talent won't remain in the movement very long. Even revolutionaries need to get paid.
To expand on the actual case of writers for a moment, I'm not sure it's terribly hard to make a living being a writer, per se. There really are a lot of outlets, from newspapers to magazines to trades to journals to corporate gigs. It's very hard, however, to make a living being a conscientious, opinionated, progressive writer. And the problem is basic: There are very few outlets. Think about it. You want to get a full-time job as a liberal pundit-type. Where do you apply? Well, The American Prospect, of course. The Nation too. In These Times really doesn't have any money, and The Washington Monthly has a skeletal staff. I guess you could try The New Republic, but that bridge is charred and smoking. Oh, and Salon, and I'm sure a couple more I'm forgetting.
Not one of those outlets turns a profit. Not one employs more than a dozen writers. Between them, you're looking at fewer than (I'd guess) 30 full-time liberal writing positions, and half of those are at TNR. The obvious response, of course, is don't do this full-time. Have a job, retain your independence, and sacrifice some leisure time to The Cause. But that is to misunderstand why paid progressive writers matter.
