How does someone run for office in todays time without selling out?

seathesailor · 3/12/2025, 6:32:43 AM · permalink

If you grew up poor in America and made it to the middle class working through trade of own blood/sweat/tears, it's really not that hard - especially if you're talking about the political arena. Tried it, and learned politics is not the way to implement solutions that benefit the community you want to settle in. However, in general, it's a distraction that benefits a very robust and simultaneously pathetic class of "political operatives" or political animals in the niche industry.  
  
**From the grassroots coalition I formed when I tried campaigning, somethings you're going to need to consider:**  
\--Do you have buy-in from your family, and what do you hope to accomplish  
\--What are the problems where you Live &amp; are why you are Running For Office  
\--your own networks and community building  
\--the more local you go the more corrupt the politics generally is  
\--Who do you know, and who do you not know that you ought to (\*this is pretty important\*)  
\--Demographics  
\--which groups should you be outreaching to (Hint it's everyone)  
\--Local &amp; State Electoral Systems  
\--are there incumbent politicians you can work with  
\--are there incumbent politicians that will try to "unalive" you or your loved ones (\*seriously\*)  
\--do you understand the funding mechanisms of your opponents?  
\--are you willing to work with your opponents?  
\--PCO systems of prevailing local parties  
\--how much petty nonsense from adult and geriatric children are you willing to deal with  
\--do you have a positive message that unites neighbors that may disagree with you  
\--how is your accounting?  
\--how is your branding?  
\--have you worked out the fiscal cost of outreach (the whole process isn't too different than starting a small business)?  
\--if you get contacted by dumbass "think tanks" how will you navigate it?  
\--are you in it to pass policy, get funding into your community, or are you just there to make noise and chase clout?  
\*after losing/wining are you going to be around to continue to work with neighbors and build community, or is was everything simply transactional?  
\*\*if you have vulnerable dependents, are they going to be safe?  
\*\*\*and from experience, are you willing to live with the consequences of your decisions even if your campaign is unsuccessful... cause political animals and career politicians are petty as fuck, and you make any kind of noise or difference, and they don't forget, and they WILL absolutely take it personal

7 bumps

maurice · 3/12/2025, 2:00:50 PM · permalink

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seathesailor · 5/8/2025, 1:03:29 AM · permalink

I ran for congress in 2022 with about a dozen other folks - mostly veterans and military family grassroots campaigns, I'd have to track them all down, but I believe Benancio Garcia is still running. We probably spoke to a million people over our collective campaigns... it was a lot of door knocking 😅  
  
Actually, the more local you go in politics the more dirty it is going to get. Federal elections are way more straight forward than state, municipal, and district. You have to think about it in terms of whose wheels are getting greased in terms of the incumbent you are challenging as a grassroots candidate - once you directly threaten a groups potential grants and kickbacks even if you're in their union it's not a game...  
  
On the federal level once you make some noise you'll have some beltway "think tanks" feel you out and give you unsolicited "policy advice" but all in all they know the game. The political animals, advisors, and industry behind the duopoly will see right through you most of the time, and what you have to think about is which committees your incumbent federal politician is in charge of. That is where their actual lobbying payday comes from, not the silly nonsense that Fox/MSNBC/CNN/ABC/PBS/CBS will report on them.  
  
I'm focused on the community building aspect right now of alternative economic systems. I championed "distributive economic policies" that favored federal income tax deductions for local spending, and things like right-to-repair. If you can get things through your state legislature, you can get it through federal.  
  
Over the depression era, bartering aaccording to my elders in the 90s was a favored alternative to banking. We're too brainwashed into over-reliance on cheap credit and assurances like "FDIC" backing to see the reality of value that exist in our own neighborhoods. There is something like 26 trillion in farmland on the market right now, and a reason even billionaires and private equity are scrambling to obtain it. They don't have the foot-power that each of us has to talk to our elderly neighbors that you do.

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carp30mnia · 3/11/2025, 1:14:03 AM · permalink

My fear is that good people with genuine intentions are just blacklisted (or worse) if they blatantly have branding not establishment approved. Or any groups that do make significant headway, are 'planted' with bad actors in order to disenfranchise them and vilify the entire movement.  
  
**1) (Method Independent Sapling) If you want to start from scratch**:

1\. Start building a digital presence/following now (even if small, consistency matters). Start a podcast, YouTube channel, or TikTok series where you break down political manipulation, expose hypocrisy, and offer clear solutions. If you can get traction, this builds both name recognition and credibility.

2\. Memes &amp; Digital Campaigning: utilize viral moments and online engagement. Humor is your friend.

3\. Build wealth or connections in industries that allow independence. (Tech, media, finance, and real estate are the biggest fields that have produced politically independent figures.)

4. Community Activism: Get involved in local activism or policy battles to build credibility. Preferably visible fights at the local level. Whether it’s school board issues, local corruption, or economic policy, being the face of a real battle can launch a political career.

You don’t need to be a billionaire to win (though it would help), but you need either mass public appeal or independent resources. Debatably, I'd call this hard-mode.

2) **(Method hemi-epiphyte**) Borrow roots from a corrupt tree:   
![image](https://us-lax-1.linodeobjects.com/sojooo/comments/2410/1741655643876-60c85ec4afc9236f.png)

Consider infiltrating the opposing party. (I feel like radical 'progressives' successfully do this all the time honestly, successfully replacing what was one more traditionally-liberal representatives. Or they do it to court the other side and independents: see Gavin Newsom's recent interview with Kirk where he's pretending to be a moderate in preparation for his presidential campaign.) I feel like there's plenty of past candidates have positioned themselves within a party they don’t fully align with to gain power or shift its direction from within.

1. %%Why It Works%%: If one party dominates an area, running under that party’s banner gives you access to resources, voters, and credibility you wouldn’t have as an outsider.

Examples: Donald Trump effectively took over the Republican Party despite not being a traditional conservative.

Bernie Sanders, an independent socialist, has run as a Democrat for Senate and presidential races.

2\. %%Key Challenges &amp; Solutions%%

Getting past party gatekeepers: Build a personal following so they need you more than you need them.

Convincing voters: Speak the language of the party but stay true to your actual principles.

Avoiding exposure as a fraud: Focus on policies and common ground rather than full ideological alignment.

Navigating primaries: Run on a populist or reformist platform that appeals to the party’s base.

3\. %%Choosing the Right Party to Infiltrate%%

If you're in a deeply blue area (like your hometown), running as a moderate/anti-establishment Democrat could work.

Some regions are more open to independent candidates if they brand themselves correctly.

4\. %%Execution Plan%%

Build a Reputation First – Start by working within local politics, activism, or media to gain credibility.

Run for Local Office First – School boards, city councils, and state legislatures are easier to win and give you a platform for bigger races.  
Create a team - Find others with a similar desire to shift the party, there's power in numbers.

Position Yourself as the “Common Sense” Option – Don’t go in with extreme rhetoric; instead, highlight the failings of the establishment while promoting practical solutions.

Use the Party’s Own Internal Divisions – Many parties have internal factions (progressives vs. moderates in the Democratic Party, populists vs. neocons in the GOP). Align with the faction closest to your views while subtly pushing your real agenda.

5\. %%The Long Game%%

If done right, this can be a Trojan Horse strategy where you get into power, shift policies, and expose corruption from within. Even better, if you get more people on board to infiltrate together with you.  
Further, you can create a 'split' within the party, siphoning all those members with beliefs like yours with you under your new umbrella. (Ex: currently what's happening to the Tories in Britain, with it's offshoot 'Reform' increasingly taking a chunk of the Tories' traditional constituents)  
However, it requires patience, discipline, and an ability to navigate political deception without losing your integrity.  
  
Tldr: Play 'Good-guy Among Us' irl, with the intention of shedding light/exposing corruption within the belly of the beast + plant the seed to eventually carry the good members out of the rot and into a new non-corrupt party.

24 bumps

maurice · 3/11/2025, 2:22:22 AM · permalink

I think that your first statement about what you fear is entirely true.  I had thought about starting a podcast/online presence but I came to the concussion in my head that I would simply be deplatformed at some point and instead focused on gaining wealth and influence in my community.  I have since moved away from my home town and to a nice regular place, so a lot of people around me are closer to my worldview now.    
  
Your second solution made me realize a possible route that piggy backs off of this idea.  Everyones favorite German politician actually did this, he did take some donation money from the usual sources to fund his campaign, and then pretty much backstabbed them.  He was though clear with his message the entire time, I guess they were trying to make him sell out and bribe him.  I do not think that is possible today, if you speak out against the machine you will be blacklisted from politics.   
  
A route that could be feasible though is to do like you said, gain exposure and choose a party and receive the funding and then once you are in a position of power show your true colors and do something cool like put us on the gold standard and disband the federal reserve.   
  
Would this be possible though without an entire movement behind you?  While this strategy could get you to power, you need congress and the rest of government (and support from the people) to enact anything like that.  In the switch up scenario you get elected but you may not be able to do much.    
  
Would it then be better to find a strategy for making these ideas more popular?  Instead of Germanys solution to the financial problem, I think we just need people to realize megacorps and banks are the problems, the ones controlling politics.  If the government declared vangaurd, blackrock, statestreet enemies of the state, sieze their assets, and just let the companies who they held stock in keep the money (ie. vanguard owns 13% of google, that stock just gets given to google for free).  End the Fed, Gold standard, limit usery severely (working towards outlaw IMO).    
  
I guess a follow up question would be is it necessary to make ideas like this popular in tandem with running someone who will do it?

16 bumps

seathesailor · 3/12/2025, 7:02:25 AM · permalink

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carp30mnia · 3/12/2025, 4:29:12 PM · permalink

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seathesailor · 5/8/2025, 12:37:01 AM · permalink

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maurice · 3/12/2025, 1:22:31 PM · permalink

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seathesailor · 5/8/2025, 12:50:02 AM · permalink

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seathesailor · 3/12/2025, 6:51:58 AM · permalink

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maurice · 3/12/2025, 1:29:20 PM · permalink

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seathesailor · 5/8/2025, 1:15:51 AM · permalink

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logical · 3/9/2025, 7:07:17 PM · permalink

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logical · 3/9/2025, 7:08:37 PM · permalink

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seathesailor · 3/12/2025, 6:42:14 AM · permalink

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logical · 3/12/2025, 1:00:56 PM · permalink

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seathesailor · 5/8/2025, 1:06:39 AM · permalink

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maurice · 3/12/2025, 1:49:30 PM · permalink

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seathesailor · 5/8/2025, 1:05:28 AM · permalink

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