April 24, 2021

Rules for Patriots - Rule #5: Improve Your Arsenal

Links to previous rules: Rule #4, Rule #3, Rule #2 and Rule #1.


Any successful effort requires the ability to adapt and grow.  As conservatives, as patriots, we have relied for far too long on existing standards that we have forgotten to adapt. We have done this for so long we've even weakened our abilities in the areas we have found success, by not even adapting them to new circumstance.  Not to mention the fact that we have rarely added new tactics and new strengths.

When two countries go to war with each other, each tries to improve their weaponry and to alter their tactics to fit the situation.  When one side does not it dooms itself to failure; overwhelming failure.  They ensure the victory of their enemy.  The same is true in business (research and development) and it is certainly true in politics.

Democrats, progressives, liberals and what have you, have proceeded to both politicize and weaponize every aspect of life; music, art, media, education, law, even immigration - you name it and they have turned it to their advantage.  And what have we done? We have stood by and let them do it. Sure we can see it, we can recognize what is happening, but then what do we do?  We complain about it, often in an echo chamber fashion; amongst ourselves.  Does that accomplish anything?  No.  It's the reason we are perpetually on defense politically, even when we believe we are in power. We see status quo GOP, do nothing GOP, wanting to be liked by the media Republicans,  RINOs. Even solid Republicans who are weak in a certain area because they are in some way influenced by the surging tide of progressive liberalism.

In order to go on offense, which we need to do, we need to have the tools to do so. In developing these tools, some will by nature be reactionary, just trying to play catch-up.  But the opportunity exists to develop new tools and tactics that the left does not anticipate as well.  That's where we can truly change the game.  We can leapfrog over the left into new areas to bring the political fight to them.

Let me start with the reactionary side.  There are tools we have to up our game on: protests (organizing them, funding them, positively energizing them), social media (we dropped the ball on Twitter, Facebook, Patreon, YouTube, Amazon and Google), en masse calling our congressmen, lawsuits, finding friendly judges, political legal teams, political organizations' legal teams, media organizations like Breitbart or Project Veritas (there are far too few and with too limited power and reach), education (teaching children at every level the positive aspects of capitalism, American values, and morality rather than subjecting them to a ceaseless twisted narrative from public education and higher education).  Even sports these days have been co-opted by the left.  Why?  They know the battleground can be anywhere and everywhere.  That's how they fight.  That's how they win.  We cannot console ourselves with the idea that they have gone to far and it will backfire.  That's neither a strategy nor a tactic that will prove effective.

All of those areas require us to organize and develop better ways to approach them as well as grow the network that has access to them.  Drilling down on each of those will require greater detail at a future date but for now suffice it to say, we are playing catch up in these areas.

Moving on to tactics we must develop whether in the areas mentioned above or other areas, there are a number of tactics for which we must hone our skills.  For example, in debates and conversations we have always argued facts versus feelings. The problem is that feelings usually win.  We must learn to argue both congruently. If the left only argues feelings and we argue both feelings and facts we leapfrog the left on debating prowess. In Rule #1 I stated "Know your facts".  It's important but that is merely one tactic and we need multiple tactics.  Facts alone these days are not enough to win arguments.

We have never successfully managed to attack the messenger (the media) and we focus on the message.  Chipping away at the credibility of the media is integral to making our voices louder by comparison as we chip away at the trust in these biased institutions.  

Here are a few more tactics to consider; molding an opponents image or your own by constantly restating your message in similar ways, using peer pressure, gathering endorsements, going to where the voters are whom you want to convert rather than preaching to the choir, reward and encourage specific behaviors (I'm not talking voting or financial rewards either. Recognition and praise will work as well or better than cash, and the behaviors include attending events, or even asking questions for example).  Others include getting the other side to turn their focus and fights on their own side, using psychology to get the other side to doubt their own arguments, getting publicity to get your point more visible (see Donald Trump for inspiration), or using key phrases such as "common sense" at every pivotal moment to underpin your argument and juxtaposing it with phrases like "far-fetched" or "hair-brained ideas" in relation to your opponents ideas.  Keep in mind that attacking the individual opponent is a tactic the left uses - try to avoid that just attack their ideas using this language (and point out every time the opposition uses an ad hominem attack on you; it's petty and it comes across that they don't have a legitimate reason to attack your ideas).  Distraction is another important tactic as are mobility (the ability to respond and adapt quickly), co-operation and flanking (attacking an opponent's position from multiple angles using different sources) and so is espionage (knowing what your opponent is going to do so you have more time to react), using false information as a misdirection tool.

One of the tactics we must focus on is recognizing areas of opportunity.  The left has lived by "never let a crisis go to waste". We should not either, but we must also never let an opportunity go to waste.  The future is technology.  We must use that knowledge to our advantage and find ways to engage in technological advancements before our political opponents do.  Develop tactics to take advantage of change.  For example with the increasing automation of jobs, we must find a way to present a palatable way to reach the middle and working classes with a vision around that (and there are ways to address that too). That's more strategic but the messaging around it can be tactical. Saying it is a way to bring jobs back to America from offshore is a good tactic.  It speaks to nationalism in an America first sort of way.  It speaks to people's pocketbooks.  And it speaks to brighter futures (jobs here will be more close to engineering and robotics maintenance than to an assembly line job in China). That, backed up with specifics argues both facts and feelings.

The main point though is that anything new WILL become a battleground.  Whether you define how that develops or you wait and let your political opponent define it, is a deficiency that led to us having to play catch up in so many areas.  If we define the situation, we by proxy define the terminology and the nature of the political battlefield (the rules if you will). The tactic is to get to new areas first.

If we adhere to Rule #3, Don't Do It Alone" we also can rely on learning from the successes of other patriots and follow their example in our own area of the political battlefield. Improving your arsenal is not all about tactics alone. It means knowing the capabilities of your allies and where you can leverage them in your fight or where you can lend a hand to them.


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