but embarrassing scandals and the popularity of the republican left has forced him to eat his words.

left 既可以是名词，也可以是形容词。名词时才可以指“左派”，用作形容词时，是“左边的”，指方位。

所以说：the republican left （共和党左派）。这里，republican 是形容词，意为“共和的”，left 是中心词。

不可以说：the left republican，意为“左边的共和党”。

left   N-SING-COLL（集合名词单数形式，加定冠词） In the U.S., the left refers to people who want to use legislation and the tax system to improve social conditions. In most other countries, the left refers to people who support the ideas of socialism.  左派