They will always try again, they will never admit that whatever they want to do is a stupid idea.
When you're talking about your standard sheeperal, the basis of their ideology is the transfer of consequences from those who make bad decisions to those who make prudent decisions or the entirely innocent. The welfare system & abortion are great examples of both of these.
Now, when you're talking about those who USE the "sheeperal" in order to get power, just read "You can still trust the communists to be communists" to understand them. Because that's what they are - communists.