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Now, though, Sanders has evidently decided that progressives will no longer accept impurities — or even much tactical vagueness.
I think the part in italics means that tactical vagueness won't be accepted in the same way impurities are not accepted. How should even much be interpreted in this context? Shouldn't be there a comma after even much?
Source: 11th paragraph of this NYT article.
Copied from comments made before this question was migrated from ELU to ELL...
(FumbleFingers Reinstate Monica)
[nor will they accept] even much tactical vagueness = progressives will only accept relatively small amounts of vagueness (they won't accept very much).
It might look a bit odd to a non-native speaker reading it (and incorrectly parsing it), but that phrasing sounds perfectly natural to native speakers.
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(Chappo Says SE Dudded Monica)
While much normally means "a lot (of)", the combination of even with no longer gives it a negative sense, similar to "I haven't got much money" (meaning "I have very little money").
Sanders has decided that progressives will accept very little tactical vagueness from now on. A native speaker would understand the usage, even if it's somewhat idiomatic (and therefore not so easy to explain)
"Even much" is not a unit in this quote. The word "even" appears before the phrase "much tactical vagueness": consider "will no longer accept impurities — or much tactical vagueness". This "even" is an intensifier.
