This is a “let’s throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” kind of move by the dying Left - you know, the ones who, over the last four months, have seen their world of make-work remote government jobs which allowed them to have sideline employment while on the public dime blown to smithereens while their heads exploded when they were asked the simple question of naming five job-related accomplishments they had done the previous week. (Working for the government employees’ union on the side didn’t count.)
Now let me preface this by noting that the local media where I live is suddenly interested in covering political protest after taking the last four or so years off. In the last couple weeks they’ve shown video of the “traveling roadshow” taking issue with Congressman Andy Harris’s fundraiser at the Hyatt resort in Cambridge as well as a drive-by protest along Coastal Highway outside Rehoboth Beach. So now we have proof that Astroturf has some sort of hold around here. (As a fact check of sorts, both stations are owned by the same company, Draper Media. Of the four network stations serving Delmarva, three are owned by that company, and the other has had a non-binary and gay anchor team, so you can guess their outlook.)
The question for me is who wants to get the real message out? If you go to the Indivisible protest site. you’ll see they give the following advice:
If you’re in an area where a Hands Off! event has already been planned, that’s great! Rather than hosting your own, get some friends and allies together to join that event and represent the issues you care most about. The goal is to have as many large events as possible, and to fill in the gaps with smaller mobilizations where larger ones aren’t possible.
We encourage interested participants to join larger anchor city events where possible, and connect with organizers of pre-registered events instead of setting up your own. If you want to be connected with a host for an event, reach out to support@handsoff2025.com. (Emphasis mine.)
Considering the extent of Indivisible out where I live would barely take up a Tesla Model 3 - love getting those digs in - the bigger-city model would have to do. The two locations local to me they have announced are Salisbury and Ocean City, Maryland. (The only one in Delaware is up in Newark, but I’ll keep checking.) They’ve announced Unity Square (as if that wasn’t an inappropriate name) as the location for their Salisbury protests at noon, while the Ocean City one is 1-3 p.m. at their tram station along the Boardwalk at the Inlet.
Of course, we wouldn’t want to make up fake events for them, would we? No, that’s dirty pool. We shouldn’t stoop to their level.
Then again, how many people out there want to do a new version of Operation Chaos? If they can get media attention, so can our side - but there has to be a significant counterprotest. Remember all the Donald Trump flotillas and convoys? People don’t because no one covered them. We have to take advantage of the willingness of the partisan media to cover these protests by either a) elbowing their way into the media coverage given the Left, or b) presenting the alternative viewpoint. Or both.
It’s not like agents of the Left didn’t try to infiltrate TEA Party protests with Confederate flags, right? Anyone hear from the Patriot Front lately?
You see, the Left is counting on their media friends to support them and draw the picture of a groundswell of opposition to the Trump agenda. But we know the Right can get together, too, thanks to the Trump caravans and flotillas. (Maybe a caravan next to a streetside performance such as Rehoboth’s would be good, although beach traffic is beginning to increase. Better to be on the ground, though.)
If we are the majority - and, I know, you hate to break up a Saturday when you’re one of those productive people who make this country work - we need to act like it and counter these protests. Also make sure that someone is recording these responses for posterity, especially if more are on our side than theirs. The TEA Party did this to good effect because local media basically ignored them.
And the message we should promote is that we are the ones who want to simply rightsize government, eliminating the waste and fraud. Moreover, our side is the one on the correct side of issues. Newt Gingrich recently did a piece that broke the message down into five digestible soundbites.
Numbers are Meaningless
Do not talk in numbers. Talk in values. We successfully passed welfare reform because it was about the moral imperative of work and independence. If you lead with numbers – and argue about numbers – you will lose people’s attention and get buried in math problems.
Speak to Everyday Americans
Republicans should explain every policy in terms the average family can understand. What does this new policy mean to them? Why is it the right policy for their lives and their future? If you can’t clearly explain the policy to the average American, then you should not do it.
Don’t Say “Cut”Always talk about slowing down the rate of growth in entitlements. Never talk about cutting entitlements. The budget for Medicare increases every year. It’s a fact.
Drain the Swamp
In some areas, there will be reductions. These will usually be due to the elimination of waste, fraud, and obsolete programs. The country strongly favors “draining the swamp” and reducing Washington waste (in the 70 percent-plus range). Find a handful of indefensible examples of waste, fraud, and obsolescence and repeat them constantly in speeches, interviews, town hall meetings, and debates with opponents.
Patriotism Wins
Patriotism is the strongest value in our political language. Constantly remind people that America needs Washington cleaned up. America needs to end wasteful spending and giant deficits. America needs the prosperity that smaller deficits, lowered interest rates, fewer taxes and less regulation will enable.
These seem like good countermeasures to the personality-driven opposition that simply suffers from TDS with an additional case of EMDS. They want a return to the wilderness, high inflation, and government growth of the Joe Biden years.
I suspect if you have read this far, you agree that we need to allow Donald Trump to finish the job. Don’t let the other side seize the narrative.
In the meantime, though, you can Buy Me a Coffee, since I have a page there now.
Thanks for the heads up Michael.
Fun fact: "Indivisible’s most prominent allies include the Democratic Socialists of America, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), MoveOn.org, Planned Parenthood, the Working Families Party, Tides Foundation, among others."
What really puzzles me? How many of these "non profits" are 501(c)3, which means they are to have NOTHING to do with politics. Otherwise, you are to be a 501(c)4.
Generally they have a branch that is a 501 (c) 4. I think Indivisible has "Indivisible Action." Most of these groups, left and right, have a political action arm that is not tax deductible for donations.