What's missing in this equation to fight fascism is an organizer, a group of people who can bring coalitions of people together to form a solidarity which creates one voice for power and leverage While individuals have little "force" groups of us have power and leverage The most visible organizer is Indivisible and Ezra Levin and his wife have created a solidarity That force now needs to be refined as you suggest to produce force and leverage with the least amount of friction Maybe you could reach out to Levin with your framework In listening to him it seems he would be open
I’ve tagged him a few times on Bluesky. Maybe we need some of our readers to reach out as well and show that there’s a substantial number of folks that believe in what we’re trying to do here at the AM.
I do really like his energy and would love to cooperate with the Indivisible folks on messaging. It could definitely be huge.
This is an excellent explanation of how to succeed in this fight for our democratic republic. I support it and want to embrace it as my way forward in this fight for our freedoms.
My only criticism is that the necessary abandonment of purity, individuality, and intellectualism for force, leverage, and work are major changes for which many of we activists on the left have no tools. You provided a few examples, but I do not know, for instance, the force tools that move the boulder or the leverage that results in the work, etc. I have so much I need to learn to know what action is needed in this instance as opposed to that instance in order to be effective and have my actions result in work.
In this guide, I go over how MAGA essentially behaves as a cult, exploring many of the tools they utilize to maintain a strong grip on the narrative, such as using slogans, repetition and framing. Then I go over how we can use those same exact tools in order to maximize our impact as a deprogramming effort to break up the cult.
I think that another key example is the utilization of social media and how the left has widely abandoned platforms to the right.
Here's an article that goes in depth into that particular case (keep in mind that as I explained in this article, I'm not against all protests, but I personally strongly believe that mass protests that don't have tangible, targeted asks are ineffective and that social media is a much better "battlefield" for fighting for the general ideas we believe in due to how it maximizes reach):
We keep screaming at boulders like they have ears. They don’t. Select the right rock, identify the lever, and push them together. Unions plus, clergy plus, local journo, plus a one-line script will beat a thousand vibes. Purity is a hobby. Power is a craft. Want change‽ Move Work, not feelings.
S: One boulder, one ask.
E: Use unions, law, media.
C: Kill purity tests and TED-talks.
S: Same script across channels.
V: Time-boxed surges, fast wins, repeat.
If your plan can’t fit on a postcard, it is not a plan. It is a diary.
Other physics/systems concepts that might or might not be of use, but I want to see what you and others think:
** political temperature: I think this is used in the formal field of political physics, but it's meant to capture the degree of division in society. Coud there be some sort of thermodynamics or conservation of energy analogy that could be leveraged here, like how heat dissipates through a system?
** there was a former GOP strategist being interviewed a while back on David Pakman's YouTube channel (before the 2024 election) about the MAGA movement, and he noted that (in his opinion) MAGA is a "shrinking movement" and that when movements shrink, they become more extreme, like how a star begins to contract during a certain stage of its evolution and burns through its remaining fuel (there might have been a point there about the transmutation of elements, but I don't know if that's as relevant here, but see below). Could that be leveraged? One possibility: induce this contraction/collapse and then use the extremism that's generated against them by pointing to it constantly and mocking it mercilessly so that they use their remaining energy against themselves, dwindling their support in a downward feedback loop. Force them to show their psychopathic tendencies and then loudly and crudely display their wares to their own base, coupled with a catchy, sharp message like "THIS is Christian conservatism? Because Christ was TOTALLY into stealing old people's savings. Right, guys?" There might be signs that something like this is already happening, though arguably without much help from us: Nick Fuentes is now saying that "Epstein was cool" (apart from his collusion with Israel, which Fuentes opposes on antisemitic grounds) and that having sex with a woman is "gay". The cause for this might be more about competition with other far right podcasters/influencers, like a race to see who can say the most outrageous and stupid crap. But this will turn off a lot of men (who want to have wives and girlfriends, and who aren't on board with covering for Epstein). Of course, this also relates to Friction. My point is that such things present opportunities to induce complete implosion. (here's an example of another type of phrase we can use: "NICK wants you to stop having sex with your lady because it's 'gay'; WE want you to have a good job so that you and her can have a good life as the weird Nazi kid watches and cries. lol")
** transmutation/alchemy. Returning to the collapsing star example, but also an exploding star (supernova), increasingly heavy elements on the periodic table are produced. What transmutes a MAGA into a moderate conservative or even a leftist? Identify that, and funnel them into that direction/channel.
** synergy: the ways that we utilize political physics should all be working together to create synergistic/non-additive (sum greater than the sum of the parts)/emergent effects, and should be able to pivot on a dime (or at least much faster than the MAGA coalition) to direct Force and Leverage to where they're needed for maximum overall effect. A big part of that will of course be USOS.
with a more complete set of attack vectors in section #4: The Arsenal: Reclaim the Language of Power
The idea being: take every "value" the right claims to be a steward of and demonstrate their total and complete betrayal of said value relentlessly, by picking only the most 1-3 powerful examples of said betrayal and harping on them mercilessly, with a consistent voice. This is how you defeat Bannon's "flooding the zone" strategy: stop chasing every single story as they come, focus only on the most damning ones. Only swap them around if something more damning pops up.
The physics of politics! Heck yeah! I wonder if this could be formally quantified and something like simulations could be used to approximate what might happen if we apply leverage in one area versus another. Bringing it back to your diagram showing the different factions within the MAGA coalition, perhaps simulations could suggest where to apply more pressure at a certain node on that network for maximum effect (in that case, to create more friction among the players in that network).
There's also a concept I think might be useful, coming from the field of military science: directive control. This was developed by the Germans in WW1 and then used to great effect at the start of WW2 (before Hitler's meddling and micromanaging eventually contributed to Germany's defeat), but essentially it means allowing lower level commanders flexibility and initiative to find weak spots among the enemy and to come up with solutions to local problems as the local commanders see fit, while still serving the broader strategic aims of higher command. Once those breakthroughs are achieved, larger formations would follow. Someone likened it to water flowing along the path of least resistance. Could something like this be used in politics? Actually, I think you've pointed to examples on the far right: podcasters test out some outrageous or disgusting idea on their audience, and if it gains traction, it gets amplified and reinforced throughout the right-wing ecosystem and eventually is normalized within the GOP. (I guess this is "organic" in one sense but astroturfed in the sense that big money is involved and utilizes things that serve its interests while discarding what doesn't)
It would be important, in your physics scheme, to only reinforce success. Resources and time (Force) shouldn't be thrown at initiatives that won't be effective anyway, but only at initiatives that have a high chance of success, with the broader movement and the Democratic Party synchronizing their messages to concentrate it (Leverage).
Am I understanding this correctly? I guess what I'm saying is probably redundant, with directive control already implicit in what you're saying, but having it codified explicitly might still be useful.
and it’s much like you described. It starts with microbloggers like catturd or loomer or posobiec, or even someone smaller whom they notice saying something that is getting traction and they then amplify. Then from there, you will see it get picked up by influencers in different platforms, from YouTube / Rumble / Kick / Instagram / etc. Then from there it’s not long until it hits the big influencers and MSM like Rogan/Fox News/Newsmax/etc.
The right has mastered this to a level of near perfection.
But on the left, you don’t have that amplification at all. Or if you do, it’s much less symbiotic and instead almost parasitic, where larger creators will see something good from a smaller creator and just make it their own without giving any credit, removing the incentive for the smaller people to make the effort. I’ve just recently had something like this happen with me, which I’m working on an article to potentially put out later today.
I agree with all of the comments here that this is an excellent strategy. I’m going to send it to several of the people I follow on Substack who have platforms and influence greater than mine. My problem is this: I don’t believe we’re going to have anything approaching free, fair elections for the midterms. So I don’t know that protests are in the end going to help us. I don’t believe that they are going to relinquish control to ANYBODY so that’s the contingency we need to be working on covering, not so much on elections that aren’t going to happen anyway if we don’t get this regime overthrown before 2026
In my honest opinion, we need all protests right now to focus on currently elected Dems to push them to mount as strong a resistance to Trump’s fascism as possible. That means Dem governors/legislatures must enact and implement executive orders/laws that prohibit masked agents, warrantless searches/arrests, and all the other abuses going on. And AGs and police chiefs must immediately begin prosecuting all violations.
None of this will happen without the Democratic base focusing on the Dem power structure instead of protesting outside ICE facilities where it has no meaningful positive impact.
The best thing that could happen today would be for Indivisible, 50501 and the other large orgs to immediately rebrand the upcoming No Kings protest and redirect the entire thing towards putting pressure on Dems instead of just yelling into the ether that we don’t want kings or that we don’t like Trump.
It will be a rather unfortunate thing to have so much raw political force exerted without meaningfully changing anything.
I totally agree. But we need some leadership. We the people are ready to do whatever it takes to get back to real American values. But we are running out of time and road to act peacefully and still obtain the results we need. Once he uses the insurrection act to turn the military against us, we will be forced into a hot civil war. And that will be devastating
This should be the blueprint for Dem strategists! Excellent ideas, to be sure. Perhaps NOW would be a great time for the Dems to coalesce around a uniform message. The problem is that so many segments of the Dem Party each wants their own message heard, rather than uniting on a main issue. They mistakenly believe that THEIR concern won’t be addressed, but if we win back the House & Senate at least SOME of the issues will be addressed, rather than when this regime is in power, NO Dem issues will be addressed. So, we need to get the party to agree on messaging, and then follow your strategy, which is, IMO, brilliant.
Lev Parnas is begging for anyone to listen to what he has to say, he was at the Genesis of Maga. He knows Donald personally & how he thinks. He makes calls but the establishment in the party turns their back on him. He's willing to put his life on the line to save our democracy. I hear him in his own way trying to jackhammer that boulder out of existence. Problem is there's too many cooks in the kitchen. You're right we have to work smarter not harder. The simpler the better, people have a short attention span & have busy lives. I love your manifesto, I think I saw Malcolm Nance share one of your posts on bluesky, he's great.
I know my grandkids are into gaming, YouTube shorts &:podcasters. They don't get info from mainstream or independent media. They don't like to be bogged down with facts. They operate on what makes them feel good. We need the young people to assist, fresh ideas are needed. I was hoping David Hogg was a great addition to the DNC but I think he's running into opposition from the establishment. BETO &
Stacy Abrams are still out there. The coalition of the willing must come together as one force. Sorry so long, Grammy let loose tonight👵
I see Scattered In-Person Protests & The Messaging is a Lecture as the worst approaches. A unified front works, if we can get there. And nobody likes a lecture--Mikey Cohen, who knows Donald quite well, says his secret is 3-word slogans. (Apparently 4 words work too: MAGA.)
What's missing in this equation to fight fascism is an organizer, a group of people who can bring coalitions of people together to form a solidarity which creates one voice for power and leverage While individuals have little "force" groups of us have power and leverage The most visible organizer is Indivisible and Ezra Levin and his wife have created a solidarity That force now needs to be refined as you suggest to produce force and leverage with the least amount of friction Maybe you could reach out to Levin with your framework In listening to him it seems he would be open
I’ve tagged him a few times on Bluesky. Maybe we need some of our readers to reach out as well and show that there’s a substantial number of folks that believe in what we’re trying to do here at the AM.
I do really like his energy and would love to cooperate with the Indivisible folks on messaging. It could definitely be huge.
I found contact@indivisible.org as a possible way to reach him Perhaps you could send him this current explanation of what we're trying to achieve
Yes! Experience as an organizer works--it got Barack Obama to the presidency!
Amazing read 👏🏻
This is an excellent explanation of how to succeed in this fight for our democratic republic. I support it and want to embrace it as my way forward in this fight for our freedoms.
My only criticism is that the necessary abandonment of purity, individuality, and intellectualism for force, leverage, and work are major changes for which many of we activists on the left have no tools. You provided a few examples, but I do not know, for instance, the force tools that move the boulder or the leverage that results in the work, etc. I have so much I need to learn to know what action is needed in this instance as opposed to that instance in order to be effective and have my actions result in work.
Thank you so much for asking these questions. I'll keep on writing and exploring these ideas.
Here's something that might be really helpful if you like the framework I'm suggesting:
https://americanmanifesto.news/p/anti-maga-messaging-guide-v1
In this guide, I go over how MAGA essentially behaves as a cult, exploring many of the tools they utilize to maintain a strong grip on the narrative, such as using slogans, repetition and framing. Then I go over how we can use those same exact tools in order to maximize our impact as a deprogramming effort to break up the cult.
I think that another key example is the utilization of social media and how the left has widely abandoned platforms to the right.
Here's an article that goes in depth into that particular case (keep in mind that as I explained in this article, I'm not against all protests, but I personally strongly believe that mass protests that don't have tangible, targeted asks are ineffective and that social media is a much better "battlefield" for fighting for the general ideas we believe in due to how it maximizes reach):
https://americanmanifesto.news/p/stop-bringing-a-picket-sign-to-a-psyop-fight
Thank you for your thoughtful reply and for the resource provided. The Guide is exactly what I was seeking. Thank you!
We keep screaming at boulders like they have ears. They don’t. Select the right rock, identify the lever, and push them together. Unions plus, clergy plus, local journo, plus a one-line script will beat a thousand vibes. Purity is a hobby. Power is a craft. Want change‽ Move Work, not feelings.
S: One boulder, one ask.
E: Use unions, law, media.
C: Kill purity tests and TED-talks.
S: Same script across channels.
V: Time-boxed surges, fast wins, repeat.
If your plan can’t fit on a postcard, it is not a plan. It is a diary.
https://twvme.substack.com/p/ewr-part-1-welcome-to-the-battlespace
✊ resistance is not only the American way it's the way of democracy.
Other physics/systems concepts that might or might not be of use, but I want to see what you and others think:
** political temperature: I think this is used in the formal field of political physics, but it's meant to capture the degree of division in society. Coud there be some sort of thermodynamics or conservation of energy analogy that could be leveraged here, like how heat dissipates through a system?
** there was a former GOP strategist being interviewed a while back on David Pakman's YouTube channel (before the 2024 election) about the MAGA movement, and he noted that (in his opinion) MAGA is a "shrinking movement" and that when movements shrink, they become more extreme, like how a star begins to contract during a certain stage of its evolution and burns through its remaining fuel (there might have been a point there about the transmutation of elements, but I don't know if that's as relevant here, but see below). Could that be leveraged? One possibility: induce this contraction/collapse and then use the extremism that's generated against them by pointing to it constantly and mocking it mercilessly so that they use their remaining energy against themselves, dwindling their support in a downward feedback loop. Force them to show their psychopathic tendencies and then loudly and crudely display their wares to their own base, coupled with a catchy, sharp message like "THIS is Christian conservatism? Because Christ was TOTALLY into stealing old people's savings. Right, guys?" There might be signs that something like this is already happening, though arguably without much help from us: Nick Fuentes is now saying that "Epstein was cool" (apart from his collusion with Israel, which Fuentes opposes on antisemitic grounds) and that having sex with a woman is "gay". The cause for this might be more about competition with other far right podcasters/influencers, like a race to see who can say the most outrageous and stupid crap. But this will turn off a lot of men (who want to have wives and girlfriends, and who aren't on board with covering for Epstein). Of course, this also relates to Friction. My point is that such things present opportunities to induce complete implosion. (here's an example of another type of phrase we can use: "NICK wants you to stop having sex with your lady because it's 'gay'; WE want you to have a good job so that you and her can have a good life as the weird Nazi kid watches and cries. lol")
** transmutation/alchemy. Returning to the collapsing star example, but also an exploding star (supernova), increasingly heavy elements on the periodic table are produced. What transmutes a MAGA into a moderate conservative or even a leftist? Identify that, and funnel them into that direction/channel.
** synergy: the ways that we utilize political physics should all be working together to create synergistic/non-additive (sum greater than the sum of the parts)/emergent effects, and should be able to pivot on a dime (or at least much faster than the MAGA coalition) to direct Force and Leverage to where they're needed for maximum overall effect. A big part of that will of course be USOS.
Yeah, this is the very concept I began the American Manifesto with, with our most read article:
https://americanmanifesto.news/p/fighting-fascism-how-we-push-back-and-win
which I reviewed and expanded recently:
https://americanmanifesto.news/p/fighting-fascism-how-we-charge-ahead-and-win
with a more complete set of attack vectors in section #4: The Arsenal: Reclaim the Language of Power
The idea being: take every "value" the right claims to be a steward of and demonstrate their total and complete betrayal of said value relentlessly, by picking only the most 1-3 powerful examples of said betrayal and harping on them mercilessly, with a consistent voice. This is how you defeat Bannon's "flooding the zone" strategy: stop chasing every single story as they come, focus only on the most damning ones. Only swap them around if something more damning pops up.
The physics of politics! Heck yeah! I wonder if this could be formally quantified and something like simulations could be used to approximate what might happen if we apply leverage in one area versus another. Bringing it back to your diagram showing the different factions within the MAGA coalition, perhaps simulations could suggest where to apply more pressure at a certain node on that network for maximum effect (in that case, to create more friction among the players in that network).
There's also a concept I think might be useful, coming from the field of military science: directive control. This was developed by the Germans in WW1 and then used to great effect at the start of WW2 (before Hitler's meddling and micromanaging eventually contributed to Germany's defeat), but essentially it means allowing lower level commanders flexibility and initiative to find weak spots among the enemy and to come up with solutions to local problems as the local commanders see fit, while still serving the broader strategic aims of higher command. Once those breakthroughs are achieved, larger formations would follow. Someone likened it to water flowing along the path of least resistance. Could something like this be used in politics? Actually, I think you've pointed to examples on the far right: podcasters test out some outrageous or disgusting idea on their audience, and if it gains traction, it gets amplified and reinforced throughout the right-wing ecosystem and eventually is normalized within the GOP. (I guess this is "organic" in one sense but astroturfed in the sense that big money is involved and utilizes things that serve its interests while discarding what doesn't)
It would be important, in your physics scheme, to only reinforce success. Resources and time (Force) shouldn't be thrown at initiatives that won't be effective anyway, but only at initiatives that have a high chance of success, with the broader movement and the Democratic Party synchronizing their messages to concentrate it (Leverage).
Am I understanding this correctly? I guess what I'm saying is probably redundant, with directive control already implicit in what you're saying, but having it codified explicitly might still be useful.
You got it 100%!
And I really like it that you picked out the exact example I was going to point to in the right. I actually bring that in The Real Deep State right here: https://americanmanifesto.news/p/the-real-deep-state#%C2%A7a-four-pronged-strategy-for-disinformation-and-control
and it’s much like you described. It starts with microbloggers like catturd or loomer or posobiec, or even someone smaller whom they notice saying something that is getting traction and they then amplify. Then from there, you will see it get picked up by influencers in different platforms, from YouTube / Rumble / Kick / Instagram / etc. Then from there it’s not long until it hits the big influencers and MSM like Rogan/Fox News/Newsmax/etc.
The right has mastered this to a level of near perfection.
But on the left, you don’t have that amplification at all. Or if you do, it’s much less symbiotic and instead almost parasitic, where larger creators will see something good from a smaller creator and just make it their own without giving any credit, removing the incentive for the smaller people to make the effort. I’ve just recently had something like this happen with me, which I’m working on an article to potentially put out later today.
I agree with all of the comments here that this is an excellent strategy. I’m going to send it to several of the people I follow on Substack who have platforms and influence greater than mine. My problem is this: I don’t believe we’re going to have anything approaching free, fair elections for the midterms. So I don’t know that protests are in the end going to help us. I don’t believe that they are going to relinquish control to ANYBODY so that’s the contingency we need to be working on covering, not so much on elections that aren’t going to happen anyway if we don’t get this regime overthrown before 2026
In my honest opinion, we need all protests right now to focus on currently elected Dems to push them to mount as strong a resistance to Trump’s fascism as possible. That means Dem governors/legislatures must enact and implement executive orders/laws that prohibit masked agents, warrantless searches/arrests, and all the other abuses going on. And AGs and police chiefs must immediately begin prosecuting all violations.
None of this will happen without the Democratic base focusing on the Dem power structure instead of protesting outside ICE facilities where it has no meaningful positive impact.
The best thing that could happen today would be for Indivisible, 50501 and the other large orgs to immediately rebrand the upcoming No Kings protest and redirect the entire thing towards putting pressure on Dems instead of just yelling into the ether that we don’t want kings or that we don’t like Trump.
It will be a rather unfortunate thing to have so much raw political force exerted without meaningfully changing anything.
I totally agree. But we need some leadership. We the people are ready to do whatever it takes to get back to real American values. But we are running out of time and road to act peacefully and still obtain the results we need. Once he uses the insurrection act to turn the military against us, we will be forced into a hot civil war. And that will be devastating
This should be the blueprint for Dem strategists! Excellent ideas, to be sure. Perhaps NOW would be a great time for the Dems to coalesce around a uniform message. The problem is that so many segments of the Dem Party each wants their own message heard, rather than uniting on a main issue. They mistakenly believe that THEIR concern won’t be addressed, but if we win back the House & Senate at least SOME of the issues will be addressed, rather than when this regime is in power, NO Dem issues will be addressed. So, we need to get the party to agree on messaging, and then follow your strategy, which is, IMO, brilliant.
Lev Parnas is begging for anyone to listen to what he has to say, he was at the Genesis of Maga. He knows Donald personally & how he thinks. He makes calls but the establishment in the party turns their back on him. He's willing to put his life on the line to save our democracy. I hear him in his own way trying to jackhammer that boulder out of existence. Problem is there's too many cooks in the kitchen. You're right we have to work smarter not harder. The simpler the better, people have a short attention span & have busy lives. I love your manifesto, I think I saw Malcolm Nance share one of your posts on bluesky, he's great.
I know my grandkids are into gaming, YouTube shorts &:podcasters. They don't get info from mainstream or independent media. They don't like to be bogged down with facts. They operate on what makes them feel good. We need the young people to assist, fresh ideas are needed. I was hoping David Hogg was a great addition to the DNC but I think he's running into opposition from the establishment. BETO &
Stacy Abrams are still out there. The coalition of the willing must come together as one force. Sorry so long, Grammy let loose tonight👵
Yeah Malcolm is a cool guy. I’ve had a couple of chances to voice chat with him on X where he and Lev sometimes will join voice chats with people.
I see Scattered In-Person Protests & The Messaging is a Lecture as the worst approaches. A unified front works, if we can get there. And nobody likes a lecture--Mikey Cohen, who knows Donald quite well, says his secret is 3-word slogans. (Apparently 4 words work too: MAGA.)
Share it EVERYWHERE. X, Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, email, blogs, etc. And print it out too and distribute it.