Kayfabe • OODA • DARVO: Why Democrats Are Clueless
(draft) The US Left and the media don't know what hit them.
I'm deeply concerned for the American Left. I'm afraid it has little clue what game is afoot. Progressives keep bringing knives to gunfights.
Actually, that's the wrong analogy, because it seems to suggest that Lefties need to up the violence to win. As you'll see, figuring out a winning strategy isn't simple at all, but it almost certainly doesn't involve cranking up the hatred, lies, and violence.
The three terms that headline this post — Kayfabe, OODA, and DARVO — are unfortunately relatively unfamiliar that are all part of the hidden dynamics
I'm going to be blunt and political in this post, tktktk.
When this crystallized
For me, the most memorable example of Democratic cluelessness happened during the 2016 Election cycle, in Hilary Clinton's debates with Donald Trump. Clinton studied the issues and showed up to win debates. Trump did not.
I'm guessing Trump knows he's likely to lose any legitimate debate against an Ivy-League trained opponent. So instead, he
owned the media cycle for some three days. showed his followers he understood modern power.
Trump having side conversation with his followers.
In 2024, Joe Biden showed up for a debate; Donald Trump showed up for a cage match, which he won. Democrats had learned nothing at all.
Three concepts that should be better known
Three concepts will help me explain this: Kayfabe, OODA and DARVO. I'm afraid most Lefties are unfamiliar with these terms, and the increasingly powerful Far Right is familiar with at least two of them — as they repeatedly commit the third. Please suspend your disbelief for a moment while I explain.
Mix and match
Of course,
The OODA Loop is a strategy you can use for good or evil. Kayfabe is a shared fiction. DARVO is very definitely a betrayal of trust.
Except if you're in on the joke.
Flood the Zone.
Trump's Playbook
Trump's favorite tactics.
I posted these six videos in 2020, right after the electoral cycle that saw Trump replaced by Biden.
On trust
The
Going meta
How the sausage gets made.
This post just scratches the surface of what's needed for a rethought Democratic party to reemerge.
This article is cross-posted on Substack here, Medium here and LinkedIn here. It's also here in my Brain.