Right-Wing Populist Agenda

New laws.

What are the sort of things that should be on the agenda of right-wing populists running for office, and those who are elected?  Yes, we all expect opposition to illegal immigration and to endless “legal” immigration, opposition to “critical race theory” and “woke” culture, a protectionist economic policy and a concern for working class and middle class Americans, overturning “civil rights” laws, eliminating affirmative action, crackdown on crime, dealing with the biased media and social media, dealing with leftist bias in academia, promoting a social safety net for American citizens (and not for illegal aliens), opposition to China, etc. What if the right-wing populist is sympathetic to right-wing dissidents – as they should (indeed, must) be – what additional proposals should they put forward to protect right-wing dissident political and metapolitical activity?

I fully understand that there would be incredible resistance to these reforms. Nevertheless, it is still worth trying, not only for the enormous benefits for dissent activism in the case of success, but even the process itself would be useful for purposes of enlightenment, propaganda, recruitment, etc. The Left should be forced to defend lawfare, unfair policing, suppression of free speech, etc. Further, until such time that these reforms are implemented, they would constitute an important and attractive part of any right-wing populist political campaign.

I also understand that any law is effective only insofar as it is (fairly) enforced, and even if these reforms are actualized, there would be resistance and attempts to evade them in both spirit and letter, and to overturn them. The struggle is eternal; that is no reason not to engage in struggle.

Finally, I understand that these are complex issues, and to formulate these reforms without abrogating freedom of speech and freedom of association rights in other contexts will not be simple. I am not outlining any detailed description of the reforms - that is up to politicians, lawyers, etc. – those who are on the side of the angels, so to speak.  I am simply outlining in broad terms what should be done.

First and foremost, the Political Opinion Protection Act must be put into law. Freedom of expression must be protected from suppression from private actors, while at the same time protecting freedom of association. There are already laws on the books in some US states that at least partially protect employment rights with respect to political expression (and by further extension, there are labor laws that protect the rights of workers to comment on the workplace, which could encompass political commentary – e.g., opposing “diversity training” and engaging in any other “concerted activity”).

In general, social pricing needs to be opposed to the extent possible, again without undue infringement on freedom of association.

Lawfare - using and abusing the legal system to harass, punish, silence, and intimidate people because off their political beliefs, free speech, or other inappropriate reasons, and/or to deter others from exercising their rights for fear of suffering the same fate - needs to be made illegal. Anti-SLAPP laws can be modified and extended to cover instances where (typically right-wing) political dissidents are targeted in this manner.

Doxing also should be criminalized, and already existing anti-harassment and anti-stalking laws can be modified and extended for this purpose.

Biased policing and prosecutorial discretion also needs to be repressed, especially when it is done for political purposes. We all know the drill – violent Antifa/BLM are either not arrested, regardless of what they do, or if they are arrested, they are not prosecuted or they are given a slap on the wrist. On the other hand, if a rightist merely defends himself against leftist attacks, or simply sneezes within 50 feet of a “person of color,” then they are arrested, prosecuted, called a “domestic terrorist,” etc. There needs to be detailed accountability with respect to politically biased policing and prosecution, and this needs to be carefully codified into law. Part of this is the obligation of local, state, and the federal government to protect freedom of assembly for all lawful gatherings, and not to collaborate with leftist thugs, and/or participate in lawfare and other harassment, to prevent or shut down right-wing speeches, rallies, and other gatherings.

And, to say the least, if colored criminal gang violence is going to be excused, and not prosecuted because they are “mutual combatants,” then do the same the next time right-wing dissidents defend themselves from leftist attacks. You can’t have it both ways.

Related to the above, the “weaponizing” of the FBI, IRS, or any other government institution to suppress lawful political dissent should be criminalized.  Politically biased labelling of people as “domestic terrorists” (as mentioned above), audits and investigations, etc. need to show accountability. There needs to be oversight, and strict enforcement of non-biased use or non-use of government resources with respect to political dissent.

Other things can be thought of – the underlying idea is to eliminate, to the extent possible, social pricing, government intimidation and harassment, lawfare, etc., so as to create a freer, more open marketplace of ideas for (right-wing) dissidents. That would make activity leading to Suvorov's Law more possible.