Taking on the System: Rules for Change in a Digital Era

by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga

Overview

In this “primer for activists in the digital age”* the founder of DailyKos.com establishes the new rules of today's political battleground to empower everyday people to take action and effect positive change.

The walls between the people and the power are being torn down thanks to our ever-evolving, social media loving, tech-savvy culture. By understanding the new dynamics and rules of power in the digital era, you too can change the world.

Founder of one of the nation's most influential political blogs, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga has drawn up his revolutionary strategies such as:

• Reinvent the street protest
• Feed the backlash
• Demolish your opponents with ridicule
• Identify heroes and villains

Written for both the general public and the grassroots activist, Taking on the System is a timely reminder of the potential power and influence of everyday people.

“The most coherent guide to political organizing—on or off the Internet—penned in a generation.”—Al Giordano

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440635526
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/20/2008
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	389 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Markos Moulitsas Zúniga is the founder of the Daily Kos political blog, which has more than one million readers a day. He was third in Forbes magazine’s “Web Celeb 25” rankings; was one of People En Español’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics”; and made PC World’s list of the “Most Important People on the Web.” He is a regular columnist for Newsweek and a weekly columnist for The Hill. He is also the coauthor of Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics and has appeared frequently in the media. He lives with his wife and children in Berkeley, California.

Table of Contents

Prologue     1
The New Insurgents     11
Bypass the Gatekeepers
Crush the Gatekeepers
Influence the Gatekeepers
Mobilize     49
Raise an Army
Don't Wait for Authorization
Cultivate Your Allies
Set the Narrative     79
Target Your Villain
Craft Your Hero
Exploit Their Weaknesses
Reinforce the Narrative
Aim for the Gut, Not the Brain
Own the Story
Reinvent the Street Protest     117
Adapt and Innovate
Speak with One Voice
Build a Wave
Feed the Backlash     145
Embrace the Attacks
Know When to Ignore an Attack
Don't Bring a Spork to a Gunfight
Don't Believe the Hype     181
Work Your Niche
Guard Your Credibility
Factor Reality into Your Plans
Fight Small, Win Big     209
Advance and Hold Enemy Ground
Pick Your Battles
Don't Cross Enemy Lines
Do What You Can
Rally the Troops
The Unlikely Warriors     239
Carol Shea-Porter
Michael J. Fox
Stephen Colbert
Graeme Frost
Epilogue     267
Acknowledgments     273

Editorial Reviews

Moulitsas's book is a call to join the fray, and it is peppered with examples of people who are managing, against the odds, to be heard.
—The Washington Post

Suki Casanave

In this primer for activists in the digital age, Zúniga, founder of the influential lefty blog DailyKos, argues that if activists harness new technology such as blogs, podcasting and YouTube, they can "bypass the old-world gatekeepers to communicate to the masses" in order to bring about political change. Tidily organized into pithy directives, including mobilizing, reinventing the street protest and feeding the backlash, this informative and entertaining book-inspired by Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals-moves easily among the current campaign cycle, pop culture phenomena such as Stephen Colbert and the successes and failures of the progressive movement in America. Zúniga's pragmatic, inclusive tone takes the edge off his sometimes didactic insistence that "there's no reason anyone should whine or complain that they are being shut out of the system." It should be noted, however, that the book is targeted directly to other liberals and wastes no time with conciliatory measures toward the right. Anyone in his camp, however, will be rewarded by the read. (Sept.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

Zúniga, popular political blogger (dailykos.com) and reluctant leader of the netroots-those technocratic raiders now seen as a catalyzing political-action force fomenting populist action-gives us a set of tools and strategies for finding and exposing cracks within the social political-media system. With deft narrative ability, he insightfully dissects the hows and whys of many blog-driven political upsets over the past three years, from the unfortunate circuslike atmosphere unfolding around Cindy Sheehan outside of President Bush's ranch in Texas to the senatorial upset of George Allen in Virginia. Zúniga unfolds the nature and extent of netroots persistence, which is indicative of a seemingly new digital citizenship in which those with access to blogs as platforms can potentially expose and open gates to the democratic process. Zúniga's latest is focused more on practical tools and techniques of political action than his earlier Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics (with Jerome Armstrong). This book will be in demand in libraries serving communities with a blogosphere readership.-Jim Hahn, Univ. of Illinois Lib., Urbana

Library Journal

[Zúniga] turns his considerable insight and energy to detailing a manifesto for...radical social change.”—Booklist

“Passionate and accessible prose guaranteed to inspire and empower.”—Elizabeth Edwards

“Studded with practical tips and inspirational tales, teaches...how to turn your voice into a force-multiplier without losing your soul...”—James Wolcott, Vanity Fair columnist

“Tidily organized into pithy directives, including mobilizing, reinventing the street protest and feeding the backlash, this informative and entertaining book...moves easily among the current campaign cycle, pop culture phenomena such as Stephen Colbert and the successes and failures of the progressive movement in America.”—*Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the Publisher