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The right is at war with the left. We need to identify who our enemy is, determine their goals and targets, then begin long term planning for war against them-- target them, target their resources and set goals for conquest, what success looks like and what strategies to get there. They must be big, resolute, bold and courageous.

The war against the left, against Democrats, against Unions, against minorities has been a long time in the planning and it is reaching a crescendo. We see it in the union busting in Wisconsin, Ohio and New York ( by dems in M A) and the passage of onerous laws making it harder for minorities and the poor to vote. We see it in the Supreme Court's Citizen's United unleashing of hundreds of millions, soon to be billions in money used to buy compliant candidates.

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With the passage of anti-union legislation in MA, it's clear that this is not a war of the Republicans against the Democrats.

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It's an ugly, bloody war. People are dying every day-- from lack of health care, because they're in wars we should not be in, wars that profit the military-intelligence/medical industrial complex.

Rights are being taken, the constitution is being violated and trashed.

It's just about a given now that the people in congress, combined, will not help the middle class. They may put on a show to slow the slide into third world status, but let's face it, even when the Democrats had the house, the senate and the Whitehouse, they did very little to grab the opportunity and pass dozens or more of solid bills and changes. We see, with the Republicans holding control in Wisconsin and Ohio, the way solid majorities can be wielded by determined leaders with a mission and a plan.

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That's the problem. We on the left don't have a mission and a plan. The Democrats and most of the progressive organizations put most of their energy into reacting, not into planning and setting long term goals.

As I said at the beginning, we need to identify who our enemy is, determine their goals and targets, then begin long term planning for war against them-- target them, target their resources and set goals for conquest, what success looks like and what strategies to get there.

Who is the Enemy?

Start with big greedy money-- the Koch brothers, multi-national corporations with no interest in the needs of America or the middle class, billionaires, millionaires. Sure, there are millionaires and billionaires who are on the left-- but, apparently, not many. We need to find the allies and declare the rest enemies. Not sad, unaware folks waiting to be awakened. These are people who are funding the attack ads, maxing out on campaign donations to haters and bigots and people who are comfortable allowing tens of thousands, even millions die for lack of health care, war, etc.

What are our enemy's strategies?

We can know our enemies by their actions and strategies. They want to weaken the left

-- take away the strength and power and marginalize unions.

-- reduce the numbers of voters on the left-- discouraging people from registering, making it harder for volunteers to register people, discouraging people from showing up at the polls by requiring voter IDs

--Make the election system less trustworthy. Computerize the vote and make recounting a joke, make sure voting is not verifiable.

--give corporations more and more power-- corporate personhood, the right to insert huge amounts of money, anonymously, in elections. Support lobbying efforts, making lobbyists more effective, giving them more access, making them more powerful.

Who and what are the targets of the Enemy

Wars begin by attacking command, control and communications.

Leaders?

Not surprisingly, we on the left do not have clear leaders. Big problem. The potential leaders are often mocked and marginalized by the mainstream media. They've done it with Dennis Kucinich, Bernie Sanders, Mike Gravel.

Then, there is the circular shooting squad propensity of the left to shoot at each other. We should also consider that there are moles who foment discontent and criticism of potential leaders.

The Koch brothers targeted Russ Feingold, outspending him with millions. Next, it looks like Dennis Kucinich's district will be gerrymandered out of existence. We can expect more of the same. When money is no object, for multi-bilionaires, even safe politicians are at risk.

Command-- Operations, organizations

The right has literally scores of "think tanks" with ten, twenty, fifty million in funding annually that are not really think tanks. They're really policy promotion and war-on-the-left planning and enabling operations. The left has a lot of real think tanks that issue papers and op-eds on policy and analysis, but not much more. There are a handful of purportedly progressive operations that are supposed to operate like the policy promotion operations on the right. The great white hope was supposed to be Center for American Progress. Yes. They have an excellent newsletter, but when Tony Podesta was identified as its head, the DLC guy who was Bill Clinton's chief of staff, I knew it would be a neutered operation. When he became Obama's transition director, herding in bluedog after bankster after DLC sellout into the White House, it was further proof. We still need a kick-ass tough organization that is created to fight the right, the corporations, not document the death throes of the left.

Communications

The right has invested hundreds of millions in their echo chamber. The Rush Limbaugh show lost money for years before it became popular. Congress has passed legislation that has made it easier to decrease media diversity, easier for media conglomerates to form-- and only the right has taken advantage of these opportunities. In fact, the legislation was probably written by lobbyists for operations like Fox and Clear Channel.

Let's look at how the right has been attacking our communications resources. They've infiltrated PBS with a right wing director. The right controls, through Clear Channel's 1000 plus stations, for starters, the radio-sphere. The major networks are controlled by giant corporations. Print newspapers are on a fast track to extinction. As they die, they are being consolidated, held by big corporations that are rightwing or right leaning. The biggest newspapers, which the right pretends to villify, Washington Post and NY Times, have longed served the status quo, occasionally throwing in, usually far later than they should have, exposes.

Net Neutrality is under a full frontal attack, particularly supported by ATT and Comcast, to do away with NET Neutrality. End Net Neutrality and it will be even harder to access the last vestiges of an American free press.

Expect the war on the media to involve further deregulation of laws preventing big corporations from owning monopolistic media positions in locales. It's already a fait accomplis in some places. This is a long-term war strategy that has already paid off in spades.

The People and Organizations the Right Targets

Minorities, the poor, unions, Latinos, the weak and vulnerable-- those are who the right is at war against.

Fusion centers where police, FBI and other spy operations can, with zero accountability, track innocent American activists. Animal rights and green activists are being treated as terrorists and jailed in the highest security prisons. Special laws and punishments have already been legislated to deal with animal rights and environmental activists, so some have been arrested for planning protests and put in the highest security prisons. Will Potter, author of Activists, protesters, organizers, people who do voter registration, anti-war activists, environmental and animal rights advocates. The right wing's war on these people and groups has been so effective that there are now localwhere police, FBI and other spy operations can, with zero accountability, track innocent American activists. Animal rights and green activists are being treated as terrorists and jailed in the highest security prisons. Special laws and punishments have already been legislated to deal with animal rights and environmental activists, so some have been arrested for planning protests and put in the highest security prisons. Will Potter, author of Green Is The New Red has been chronicling this travesty of justice in service to corporations.

How to fight Back

The first step is to recognize that we have been under attack, been in a war. Most Democrats don't see it that way. They see it as simple politics. It's not.

The next step is to decide to fight back.

The next step is to cross the threshold and become a warrior-- even retired housewives can do that and get involved.

The next step is to find allies, build a team and develop resources.

Then, we need a big picture-- who are the enemies, what are our targets to attack?

Here's a small starter list:

The greedy wealthy people, organizations and corporations-- how to attack them:

Get legislation passed that regulates industries-- regulations that protect people and the environment, not business.

Fund research on developing new business models that reward small and punish big, that find ways to take advantage of economies of scale without shrinking industries' diversity. Make it a law for a company to have more than 20% of an industries business.

Develop tools and systems (smart phone apps) to help millions on the left to boycott companies like the Koch brothers industries and companies that support Fox news, that lobby for bad, anti-human laws, that are members of the US Chamber of Commerce.

We desperately need solidly funded progressive policy promotion organizations that are actually progressive.

We do have some solid progressive leaders. We need to empower them.

We need to fund thousands of investigative journalists to expose the corruption on the right-- among Republicans and blue-dog sellout Democrats.

There are over 1000 billionaires-- most are the enemy. We must eliminate the billionaires, literally take away their money and the power it gives them. They are a danger to democracy.

There are millions of millionaires. Most are the enemy of the middle class and of democracy as America has known it for the past 200 plus years. We must shrink the size of these millionaires.

Tax them. Tax 95% of any money individuals HAVE over $20 million, 100% of money over $25 million. Nobody needs more than than. Feel no pity for the gold faucet and yacht manufacturers who will lose their business.

Tax 95% of all inheritances over $10 million and 100% over $25 million. People don't need more than that. Descendants don't deserve any more than that.

WAR WAR f*cking WAR

War is not pretty. It is not nice. Political correctness doesn't cut it. Putting up with right wing bullshit doesn't cut it. Putting up with undercutting, weak liberal calls for tolerance and patience doesn't cut it. Think Neville Chamberlain.

We are in a war. We may not have chosen to be in one, but we are. The sides have already been chosen. There are many useful idiot fools being used by the right. Are you one of them? Keep on telling us to be patient.