Fans of the War Room know the phrases: “Signal, not noise.” “Action action action.” “Human agency.”
Congratulations are in order for Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast: It has surpassed the 100 million mark in downloads—and he points out—that number does not include those who watch or listen to the podcast live on streaming services such as Real America’s Voice.
Steve’s audience is world-wide, and for good reason. The topics he covers in his interviews impact the whole world.
There’s little doubt I am not the first to point this out: Bannon and his War Room podcast (here’s the Rumble link) has filled the void left by Rush Limbaugh’s death. No one can replace Rush, but the War Room has given people like me (and many of the hundred million others) the go-to place to get caught up on what is going on.
In a similar vein, when the political right lost Andrew Breitbart almost a decade ago, there was the need for another Breitbart-like fighter. With Bannon’s profile rising as it has since last year, many have found that fighter.
If I had the opportunity to talk with Steve Bannon I would say these four very important things.
First: please realize that the Tea Party business model cannot succeed. And that is what is being duplicated now. While there were victories back then (such as winning back the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010 — it was lost in 2018), the movement fizzled for a number of reasons.
Its focus should have been more along the lines of what Bannon is pushing today (see precinctstrategy.com). Some of us called for this over a decade ago. After 12 years, MAGA conservatives would have gained control of the Republican Party in enough places to make a real difference.
I define the Tea Party business model this way: It is hoping enough people enter the fray and figure out how to win against well-trained, well-funded, and seasoned troops on the left. After a dozen years, building on the Tea Party legacy, MAGA conservatives should be winning more than they are losing. They are not because there was not much to build upon.
Too many MAGA leaders continue to think that politics is not as important as other disciplines that require leadership, support and training. Businesses do not open their doors in the morning and invite anyone in to do the many jobs required. How would you like your sales force or management team to have just volunteered for service with little or no experience. Or how about someone running one of those multi-million dollar machines manufacturing high tech parts?
This is not saying Americans are stupid. It is saying that people are stupid who think the political realm is less important than business or science or any other arena that requires training and professionalism.
It’s only about saving the greatest and most important country in the world. No big deal, right? The Republican Party, a very smart person pointed out to me, is the most important political party in the world.
Second, this leadership, financial support and training is needed because the country–and especially states like Illinois–need a mass mobilization effort that involves more than participation in a Telegram chat loop or attending school board meetings (as important as those things may be).
Political leftists know how to beat back any threats to their power—and MAGA conservatives will only succeed with massive numbers of funded and equipped citizens stepping onto the field to fight.
Funding and a focus on doing real election work will be the key to victory. It is long past time for our donors to learn what wins elections. It is not talk radio, podcasts, video ads (even ones that win awards lol), million dollar studios for streaming services, celebrity, think tanks, books, opinion articles, parades, conferences, meetings, rallies, and protests (etc.!). What wins elections is election work.
After the shenanigans of last November’s election, this is no longer a debatable point. The ground level work has to get done if you want, for example, the most fundamental of things: legitimate elections.
Those are the first two things—and they are related. We’ll cover the next two next time.
Up next: Hey Steve Bannon! We Have Had the Receipts for Decades!
The Ground War ongoing series of articles can be found here.
