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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAlarming Post from FB Group
To be honest, I am not surprised by what is being reported in this post but I still find it chilling.
A VIEW FROM THE INSIDE OF THE OTHER SIDE
Last night I attended a Pro-President little d meeting. My summary will be a bit long, however, I want to pass on what we learned,
In the art of war it is always advised to know what your enemy is doing, that is why there are spies. Two of the groups Im involved with have a committee that is subscribed to little ds supporters newsletters, are members of various FB groups (with specially created profiles) and are on his mailing list for updates.
Last night 3 of us went to a group meeting. Two women and one man. What we saw and heard was both scary and informative.
The meeting was led by 5 men and we counted approximately 70 people in the room including us. We counted 13 women.
They started the meeting with a pledge of allegiance to the flag. Then they jumped into discussions, the first being the Marches. It was a lot of WTF and why dont they just shut up. They discussed the report that there were no arrests so that meant that the police and the media were lying. The leader(s) then gave them an action item to find anything to dispute the no arrests report and to put pressure on the police to arrest protestors. Several people in the group admitted to being at the March to try to interfere, but felt they were bullied by the Marchers and had to stop for their own safety (actual quote). They questioned why so many people got away with it (Marching). It seemed to be a hot point with them.
The moved on to reports from the teams. They have teams and committees with specific tasks, ie: daily phone calls and collect tallys of who makes phone calls to their Reps. It appears they call throughout the day, and each call is either a different issue or their personal favorite.
They have a team who monitor the public blogs and event postings of the Liberal groups (specifically mentioned Indivisible and MoveOn.) They laughed at the Indivisible Guide when one leader said the Liberals will never get organized and carry any of this out, the snowflakes give up too easily, a little heat and they melt. They talked about the visit your representatives office event that was planned for earlier in the day which was posted on MoveOn and all over FB. They also were at their reps offices, and a handful admitted to going to the Democratic representatives office in their own district to have their voice counted.
They have a team who spies on FB posts. When the man who was with us asked how to do it, he was told that if he was a member of Pantsuit Nation its almost an automatic in into most closed groups, and then once you are in one, you can get invited to others. Someone on their team joins all the public and open groups. Their report included reading a few actual posts, in a mimic whining voice, where the members were posting their concerns and frustrations and why bother. They actually cheered this. One leader applauded the report and said, we dont care if they like what we have to say, we dont need them to agree with us. We just need them to give up, shut up and stay out of our way.
They discussed some of the issues and the recent signed orders from the WH. Some of this discussion sounded intelligent, as if they had researched not only the issue, but how to present it to get the buy-in from the group. It felt to us like a persuasion/programming tactic.
They broke into their teams and anyone not on a team was asked to choose one to sit in on. We each went to a different team. Each team talked about their mission and their strategy. The phone team assigned times for each phone call and a number to text after you called. They practiced scripts. The Anti-Abortion team talked about how to plan protests at PP and other clinics, to find the names of Doctors who perform abortions and out them by protesting at their offices and clinics. The communications team discussed the content of their newsletter, the content they were borrowing from other newsletters and articles from Briebart that they wanted to circulate. We didnt get the names of the other teams that we didnt sit in on but there were 4 others.
We found out that this group used to be a young republican group and after the election and seeing the actions of the Liberals, they changed to a support little d group to stand up for him and against Liberals.
I dont believe all groups are this scary, however, they appear to be organized. One of the members in one of my groups, changed her registration to Republican so she could see what they do from the inside. She gets phone calls from a phone bank,sometimes several times a week, about issues and actions she should take, she gets their weekly newsletter and she attended a local Rep meeting. Her report is similar only in that they are very organized, take daily actions and communicate often.
So knowing this, what do we do?
Our recommendations:
1.) Dont give up.
2.) If you Marched, email your local police to write a thank you for their part in keeping the peace.
3.) Get organized. Even if you are not with an organized local group, you can organize yourself. Set aside certain times for certain actions based on what you CAN do. We are all under time constraints and work/family/life commitments, however, find what time you CAN give. **We have found that being with an organized local group that you can see and touch helps us to stay focused and feeling our strength.
4.) Determine what actions you CAN take when and how many phone calls, emails, visits, protests CAN you do. Focus on that.
5.) Limit your time reading all the comments on FB. Too many can become overwhelming and can end up feeling like you are carrying a larger burden.
6.) Find and cross post the good results that are happening, so we can all see the progress. It may be small steps like the postponement of a cabinet position approval/rejection, however, every step counts. If you have ever attempted to lose weight, you remember how some days feel like nothing is happening, and then little by little the results start to appear. Whatever goal you have reached in little steps, remember the little steps got the momentum started. Stay strong.
7.) Find support when you need it. Its been shown that if you vent to someone who is also venting, you both stay in the same spot. If you can vent to someone who will HEAR you without judgement and without chiming in, you can both get through it faster and back to feeling stronger. If you both need to vent, take turns; 2 minutes each venting and really HEAR each other, then switch places. When the venting is done, take a positive action.
8.) Take a break. Do something positive for yourself every day (more a few times during the day if you need it) that doesnt include thinking about politics exercise, spas, reading a good book, writing a love letter. Find something that bring you joy and shifts your energy.
9.) Dont give up. We are Stronger Together.
The opposition may believe that a snowflake is fragile when the heat is on, however, although the snowflakes may melt, enough heat can also cause a boil. Together, we can be an avalanche, and if we can focus our boiling angry energy we can be the heat that they fear.
FYI for those that dont know me, I refer to him as little d. He has not earned my respect of capitalization nor use of his full name. Plus, on social media I dont want to add to the algorithm that counts how many people are talking about him.
Feel free to COPY & PASTE without my name.
brutus smith
(685 posts)This is not about politics. Make your voices heard!
jimlup
(7,968 posts)yardwork
(61,650 posts)mountain grammy
(26,626 posts)One in my community last night. Very well attended, needed more chairs. I'm encouraged.
GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)What is "little d"????
compsports
(91 posts)I will find out and get back to you.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)The OP doesn't want to use his full name on social media so it won't get counted when they add up X million are talking about him.
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)Everyone would have known what that meant.
Fantastic Anarchist
(7,309 posts)I normally don't like to engage in child-like name-calling (even during the Bush regime).
But Tang is definitely in a special category. And also, as the OP indicated, it's a clever way to avoid monitoring algorithms.
GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)"little dick - the name given to a person whose dick length is less than half an inch"
bdamomma
(63,877 posts)don the con
MichMary
(1,714 posts)Seriously. They infiltrate FB groups? They make phone calls? They contact their Reps? They use a mocking tone when discussing FB posts?
None of this is particularly threatening, and isn't likely to do much in the long run.
compsports
(91 posts)MichMary,
Didn't the pro-Hitler forces start off in Nazi Germany on a small scale before escalating?
I just don't think this can be blown off even though you may not think this is particularly threatening.
MichMary
(1,714 posts)in 2018 and 2020 are
1. voter turn-out. After the marches we have seen in the last week, I doubt that they will be able to match our numbers at the polls.
2. what Trump does between now and then. If his policies are as disastrous as we think they are, many of his 2016 voters will turn on him. Another war? Who is going to go for that after the last 16 years?
3. the economy. With increased prices on imported goods in the foreseeable future, it is going to have a massive impact on people's wallets.
They can organize all they want, but they won't be able to convince people who will know by what's going on in their own lives that we are circling the drain.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)can Democrats and progressives keep up the momentum from the marches? Republicans typically turn out in better numbers for midterms than Democrats - what can we do to change that? This group is already trying to combat Democratic turnout.
Every republican state out there is going to pass more voter restriction and suppression laws. Back in 2012, Republicans bragged that their new voter suppression law in Pennsylvania would give the state to Romney. It didn't work for 2012, but it obviously had an effect in 2016. Will other states follow suit?
Trump can say he's going to impose tariffs, but how many of them will stick when most Republicans in Congress are against them? And, if a few Democrats agree with Trump on tariffs, will some Democrats/progressives get upset with other Democrats and progressives that do not?
MichMary
(1,714 posts)is up to us and our leaders. We already know that people like Maxine Waters and John Lewis are going to oppose this administration tooth and nail. We need to spread their message--e-mail, Facebook, tweets.
There are Dem groups on every college campus in the country. They need to be active and vocal.
The R's will never be able to suppress every opposing vote, so we need to make sure that everyone who supports us is registered and gets to the polls. Even if some voters are turned away, we can overwhelm them with far more votes than they can suppress.
Yes, it's a lot of work, but it is probably the most important work we will ever do.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)We need to also educate people about their voting rights as well - if they're turned away at the polls because of something erroneous on Crosscheck, what can they do besides a Provisional Ballot? Make sure that minority voters and college students take the proper steps to ensure they can vote.
I have an acquaintance from an online fan group that was turned away in Florida and I came here to ask about what she could do to ensure she could vote - luckily, she tried to vote early and was able to get the issue resolved and come back in a few days... but, how many voters like that wouldn't go the extra mile to make sure they voted? And, what would have happened if she had shown up on the last day? I bet most voters would have just not bothered.
MichMary
(1,714 posts)publish brochures with voting rights info? Maybe we need people standing outside polling places with stacks of those to hand out.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)that they're organized down to the small local level. They have people to respond to not only national issues, but also local and state ones as well. And, the fact that they're out planning to spy on and disrupt local MoveOn meetups and the like means they're already out there trying to depress turnout on our side for 2017 elections (NJ and VA governorships), 2018 midterms and beyond.
A lot of Republicans held their noses and voted for Trump. Democrats, according to them, often give up rather than trying to overcome obstacles in their path or something doesn't go their way.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,014 posts)Whiskeytide
(4,461 posts)... If we don't watch them carefully, before you know it they'll elect a president, control the majority of both houses, control most state legislatures, occupy most governorships, gerrymander districts, pack the courts, and maybe even hack progressive websites. And they'll do it all while we are convinced they are no theat at all. They're sneaky little bastards.
MichMary
(1,714 posts)Whiskeytide
(4,461 posts)But we have to start paying attention to what they're really doing.
We stand around scratching our heads and asking ourselves why do all these republicans vote against their interests election after election after election. Our reason and logic tell us it just doesn't make sense. We ask "Why don't they get it".
But clearly WE have trouble getting it, I think.
The Kochs and others spend a lot of money on research into the psychology of the American voter. They are experts at psy-ops, and control of local and state government - and therefore control of the narrative at local and state government - is a big part of their strategy, along with phone banks, mailers and organized groups. If you belong to a "group", it's hard to sway you away from the "group-think" phenomenon.
When Obama was elected, we all rejoiced and partied and pronounced the conservative movement dead. James Carville even said republicans wouldn't win another National election for 30 years.
Well - they got to work. If you didn't see Maddow's piece a few years back on how they adopted a strategy to take over state and local government, you should find it in the archives. It was revealing. They realized that spending $4m in a Senate race somewhere was not nearly as productive as spending $50k in each of 80 strategically picked state legislative races or gubernatorial races. They cleaned up in 2010, 12 and 14 with this strategy.
That allowed gerrymandering, state court packing and state policy control (and many other dividends) - but perhaps more importantly, it helped foster the narrative of "us reg'lar folk" v Obama and the Big Bad Fed. It's a slow and subtle manipulation, but it is constant, unyielding and always on message. And it's worked even beyond their imaginations, I suspect.
We focus on the "deplorable" republican sheep, but in the process we forget to watch the herders. Their psychology based strategy beats reason and logic every damn time. Until we realize this and adopt some kind of counter strategy, Trump is just the beginning of our problems.
MichMary
(1,714 posts)I love it! Nice to meet another!
After 2008 I talked to a local veterinarian who was very active in party politics. He told me how the Dem Party was able to pinpoint likely Dem voters, based on magazine subscriptions, memberships in organizations, profession, etc. They could call a household and ask to speak to the wife, who might be a teacher and speak to her, rather than the husband, who might be an NRA member. That kind of thing.
Well, I think that was a wake up call to the Rs. They knew they had to adapt, or risk going the way of the dinosaurs. Thus, the strategy you outlined above.
Also, they needed a "big issue," and the ACA was that issue. From the very beginning it was (overall) hugely unpopular, (even though there were parts of it everyone liked.) The Rs could rally around stopping it, then repealing it, defunding it, whatever. Please note: they did none of those things.
Anyway, it's been nearly ten years, and it worked. Now we have to come together, and fight like never before.
Prisoner_Number_Six
(15,676 posts)Never heard of the Bund? Read this and learn.
German American Bund
The German American Bund, or German American Federation (German: Amerikadeutscher Bund; Amerikadeutscher Volksbund, AV), was an American Nazi organization established in 1936 to succeed Friends of New Germany (FONG), the new name being chosen to emphasize the group's American credentials after press criticism that the organization was unpatriotic.[4] The Bund was to consist only of American citizens of German descent.[5] Its main goal was to promote a favorable view of Nazi Germany.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_American_Bund
ramapo
(4,588 posts)Don't think for a second that it will be easy or without ferocious opposition
Loge23
(3,922 posts)That's not only a pleasurable event, but what we on the left simply MUST do if we are to survive in this country.
As outraged as I am about Warren's up vote for Carson, we need her. We need everyone we can get.
The movement in the 60's and early 70's disintegrated into internecine squabbles. We can't let that happen now.
Organize, resist, fight, and vote.
treestar
(82,383 posts)We can't expect to agree with everything our representatives vote on, do or say. Focusing on the areas of disagreement weaken us.
My Senator voted against that pharma bill and his FB was all about how that meant he was in the pocket of Big Pharma. We can't obsess over one vote like that if most of his votes are good. In fact he decided to oppose a couple of the cabinet appointments. He did vote in favor of a couple of others. I came to realize I cannot agree with him all the time, but he is a Democrat and that's better than Republicans.
mrgorth
(3,431 posts)if you don't mind me asking, where are you geographically, just for demographic purposes? I am so completely disheartened right now.
Guy Whitey Corngood
(26,501 posts)LovingA2andMI
(7,006 posts)The point is to organize locally on OUR side. And who cares what the other side will do? Watch your own house (our house) and make sure we are prepared to fight everything Cheeto Trumpskin -- is where the focus should be.
justiceischeap
(14,040 posts)We've been told this by white middle class people. I don't think they're all lying.
We were told by some progressives that they rather see it all burn--then elect someone like HRC (I supported HRC btw). Not all of those people were lying.
Ignoring them will lead to losses we can't even begin to fathom.
LovingA2andMI
(7,006 posts)This "Other Side of the Racist Bridge" will never align with anything slightly remote of a Progressive Value. Forget About It.
It is about finding the People in the Middle (I.E. Independents) Reasonable Enough to See That Trumpskin's and those aligning strongly to his views are a DIRECT and DANGEROUS THREAT to our Democracy as we know it.
And those Independents (Middle of the Road Voters) are not found by spying in on a "Tea Party - Reichtag Like - Trumpskin Sheep Meeting". Plain and simple.
justiceischeap
(14,040 posts)LovingA2andMI
(7,006 posts)It's called the Tea Party Movement of 2008 to beyond and it's now called the "Defend Hilter/Trump" Movement. Nothing has changed except they have their "Leader" in the White House.
WE were the ones that dropped the ball by not organizing strong after the 2008 Elections and keeping the focus every year, every day, every week against the Racist Elements of the Republican Party.
That's the truth.
And if we don't ORGANIZE OUR SIDE, keep that form of ORGANIZATION and find the Middle of the Road Independents that are scared to death (which they should be) of the direction that Trumpskin is taking American Democracy in -- We Will Lose Again.
We cannot afford to lose. We need to make sure all of our troops and those wanting to keep American Democracy Strong from Dictatorship ARE ALIGNED with OUR SIDE.
And this is NOT FOUND at a "Racist Tea Party, Trumpskin, Reichtag, Republican Party Meeting". Plain and simple.
MaeScott
(878 posts)bucolic_frolic
(43,190 posts)just saying
world wide wally
(21,744 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)It seems like we give up too easily and expect so much so soon. Determination is what it takes. Imagine what we could do if we were as energetic.
justiceischeap
(14,040 posts)We now have a progressive candidate running for Governor in Va. I welcome progressive candidates but I don't know that Va. is ready for a progressive Governor and that may end up costing us the governorship.
treestar
(82,383 posts)In Delaware Witchy Poo Christine O'Donnell primaried Mike Castle and won. Therefore the Democrats got the Senate seat rather then the Republican. If they had nominated Castle, I am pretty sure he would have won because he had been Gov. and Representative. Delaware voters will allow them to do the circuit of the offices if they like them.
So Delaware at least was not ready for a Tea Party Senator. Probably wouldn't go for a really progressive Democrat either.
JudyM
(29,251 posts)Qutzupalotl
(14,317 posts)A resource for calling and faxing our representatives on the issues, with sample scripts and even prompts for the socially anxious:
http://thesixtyfive.org/home
Fantastic Anarchist
(7,309 posts)Number 2 is very clever.
I like all those suggestions. Thank you for posting.