truecons Seaman Recruit
Joined: 13 Aug 2004 Posts: 9
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Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2004 5:05 am Post subject: Strategy: National vs. Local? |
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There have been several posts regarding the balance between national and grassroots action, and specifics of each. The following are some concepts that might be useful.
In 1957 a member of the Czech Secretariat named Jan Kozak wrote a book on political strategy, the American version of which was entitled “And Not a Shot is Fired: The Communist Strategy for Subverting A Representative Government”. While in general the specifics are an interesting case study in how the left transforms a free society into a communist dictatorship (especially when applied to the Kerry campaign), one concept in particular is so effective it has application to our cause as well.
Page 16 describes what Kozak called the “pincers movement”, named after the claws of a crab. He says:
“A preliminary condition for carrying out fundamental social changes and for making it possible that parliament be made use of for the purpose of transforming a capitalistic society into a socialistic one, is:
A. To fight for a firm parliamentary majority which would ensure and develop a strong ‘pressure from above’, and
B. To see to it that this firm parliamentary majority should rely on the revolutionary activity of the broad working masses exerting ‘pressure from below’.”
While their specifics were different, it illustrates the concept of having both national and grassroots efforts simultaneously. But why is this so effective?
Maybe the analogy to a scissors would be more helpful. Which is easier to use to accurately cut a piece of paper: a knife or a scissors? A scissors. Why? Because you get the focused forces of both blades applied to the paper in the middle, and those forces have a counterforce against which they can be applied .
The same is true with our cause. We need both the national media effort and organization, and the grassroots actions, whether they be bumper stickers, flyers, video, emails, etc. One without the other would be much less effective that both together.
A particular application is the liberal media’s attempt to present this as a fat-cat financed Bush front. Without a strong grassroots presence, that misrepresentation would be much easier to sell. But the more the undecided voter sees the tools of the activist implemented in their individual lives, the less that charge is going to stick. Plus, as has been observed in other posts, many undecided voters don’t even have access to more conservative sources and have to rely on the mainstream, liberal media. Anyone who has been paying attention can see the effect that would have on the undecided voter. Local actions can help alleviate that.
We need to continue the discussion of how to maximize the effectiveness of both aspects of our efforts. Fortunately we have probably the most effective tool for organizing in human history at our disposal: the internet. We need ongoing brainstorm sessions to generate and distribute as many good ideas as possible on both the national and grassroots levels. We can’t afford to let one idea, one person, one vote, one cent, one second slip through our fingers.
The stakes are too high. |
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