This is a really good question and a really good thread, and I'm going to answer as best as I can. (A reminder: Don't be a jerk to this person, or to anyone in my mentions. It's gross, and I'll block you, even if I'm on your side of the argument.)
Reposted from
Lauren Merry Vale (they/she)
But my serious and practical question is this:
HOW do we fight against the right-wing disinformation machine? We are in the streets protesting. We're at Tesla dealerships. We're screaming till we're hoarse. But the Dem politicians are SILENT COMPLICIT IDIOTS, and the media is ignoring us.
2/?
HOW do we fight against the right-wing disinformation machine? We are in the streets protesting. We're at Tesla dealerships. We're screaming till we're hoarse. But the Dem politicians are SILENT COMPLICIT IDIOTS, and the media is ignoring us.
2/?
Comments
"Democracy Centers are year-round, place-based community centers ... showing people that their voice matters, not just their vote"
https://www.centerforcommonground.org/democracycenters
They're not doing anything to assist anyone. Durbin, for example, wants to work with the GOP to repeal 230, which
Everyone of us needs to put heat on Dem politicians, whether Federal, state, or local so they become the face of our efforts. Without that, things will be not only too diffuse, but also too dangerous. Folks need to remember
There is no getting around The NY Times reporting for MONTHS that the economy was bad when it wasn’t and then, today, turning on a dime and saying the Biden economy was “firing on all cylinders.”
It definitely says“you will lose the next election if this doesn’t change.”
Why don’t we even have the wherewithal to do what we did in 2016?
Not even when Roe vs Wade was overturned?
In this context, past protests are meaningless, because the need is now, urgently.
many dems come from purple red districts
Senate still has the filibuster rule
"HOW do we fight against the right-wing disinformation machine?"
And none of your rebuttals address it.
We have a lot of terribly underfunded "left" news sources that have little voice outside of people already on the left
And if the answer is ‘we need nice billionaires to help us’ we’re already done.
Get out into your community. Talk to people. There’s lots of good trouble to get into. For ex, I’ve learned that billboards are surprisingly affordable 😎
"people" are busy
look at the last month: how many people you know have actually really altered how they live their lives ?
Billboards sounds interesting
I, personally, on my own dime,will look into that here in Boston area - there are some new TV like billboards on Route 128, seen
it is realistic to say , "talking to your neighbors" is good, but it is 1/10th of Fox news and the Kochs
It is realistic to say that you and me and all of us put together can't out shout the NY Times or NPR when they both sides
If you and I both want to defeat fascism, how is what you're doing moving us toward that goal? That's the question I'm asking.
but my point stands: if someone says something like "Dems are complicit" they should have to say what it is they want the Dems to do
That Mike Johnson is out there lying about town hall protesters shows they're running scared.
... turn infrequent voters into voting rights advocates as people learn how to vote their power ... leaders are from the communities in which they work, show up daily, meeting people where they are"
https://www.centerforcommonground.org/democracycenters
Excepting Ro Khanna in Chicago airports.
Naive? Perhaps. A boy can dream.
It's "naive" only because they've given us no indication they're going to do it -- NOT because it's a bad idea. It's a fantastic idea, and it would work.
EXACTLY what Dems need to do systematically. Who stayed home or changed their vote since 2020? What were they unhappy about? Why did they feel left out in Biden's prosperity? Why did they feel unheard?
That's the starting point to revamp the brand.
NOT TOP DOWN BS.
For example, this is free media training from the far-right Project 2025 folks: https://www.leadershipinstitute.training/courses/social-media-bootcamp
I have an idea that I think would work very well:
Dems release "truth bots" on all social media that would deliver truths that counter the lies now spread by maga.
I don't know how Russia/Israel have done it to us, but use the same methods--hacking, fake accounts, whatever.
I remember, in times like these, @hcrichardson.bsky.social frequently pointing out how the US Civil War can be split around 1863: before then, the Confederacy was mostly winning, and after then, the Union started coming out ahead. So, it can take YEARS to get back on top. Keep faith.
But somehow, miraculously, he keeps not quite making it to the finish line.
Protest REPUBLICANS. Call their offices. Call them out by name.
Protest at closed facilities and shuttered services. Draw media attention to those losses.
Dont shut up about CORRUPTION. Thats the lynchpin issue.