
Freedom Writer - November 1995

ACTIVIST GUIDE
10 things to do when the Radical Right comes to town


By Matthew Freeman

_

Identify all your allies. 

Because every issue has its constituency, sometimes 
the important task of identifying just how broad that 
constituency is gets short shrift from organizers. 
The truth is that when it comes to battling the Radical 
Right, activists will find no shortage of individuals 
and organizations who have reason to be involved. Among 
those whose interests are affected: 

_
Librarians and library associations. They are often 
the targets of censorship efforts. 
Video and software dealers. Again, censorship. 
Gay and lesbian organizations. The Radical Right is 
leading the charge in opposition to gay rights. 
Mainstream clergy. The religious community finds much 
to object to in the Radical Right's agenda. 
Reproductive choice advocates. With clinics being blockaded 
in communities across the country, and anti-choice 
legislation being considered in state legislatures 
and city councils, the choice community has ample reason 
to be concerned. 
Artists and arts groups. Censorship, yet again. 
Moderate Republicans. As the Christian Coalition moves 
forward with its promise to take over the GOP, moderates 
are being squeezed out. 
Civil rights groups. The Radical Right has never met 
a civil rights bill it liked. 
Parents and educators. The schools are among the chief 
battlegrounds. 
Environmental groups. Particularly in the West, the 
Radical Right is working to gut environmental enforcement. 

_

Not every group may join in every battle, but make 
it your business to reach out to a broader constituency. 
And remember the old organizer's saying: if you're 
comfortable with everybody at the table, your coalition 
is too small. 
 
Get your own ducks in a row before the battle begins. 


No wounds are worse than those that are self-inflicted. 
In the schools, for example, the Radical Right has 
made considerable hay out of incidents where teachers 
or administrators mistakenly confiscated Bibles from 
students at study hall. Or they've been able to win 
public sympathy when counter-protests by mainstream 
groups turn violent. Be sure you don't hand your opponents 
an issue by failing to get your policies in place and 
understood before the battle begins. 
 
Know thy enemy. Research! 

Know who it is you're fighting and what it is they 
really care about. Get on their mailing lists, send 
representatives to their public meetings, read their 
literature. Also, be alert for outside organizations 
that may be helping local ones. Chances are that if 
your local opponent turns up with a pot of money, or 
a sudden, new-found expertise in a particular issue, 
a national Radical Right organization may be operating 
behind the scenes. 

That kind of information is not just interesting, it's 
powerful. If you can demonstrate that a national organization 
is behind a local initiative particularly one that 
doesn't have the courage to reveal itself you can raise 
appropriate questions about what it is that the local 
group has to hide, and why it is that a national group 
should be trying to set policy for your community. 


Also, remember that if ties to national organizations 
are established, you can and should give your opponents 
the opportunity to defend the broader agenda of those 
national organizations. If you're dealing with a local 
Christian Coalition chapter, let them defend Pat Robertson's 
views on a range of issues. 
 
Get help from folks who've faced it before. 

Network with other organizations outside your community. 
The Radical Right excels at communications. Tactics 
and rhetoric that work in one community quickly emerge 
in others. Put communication to work for your own effort 
by networking with others who've faced the same battles 
in other communities. National organizations will be 
happy to try to connect you with those groups if you 
can't find them on your own. 
 
Get the facts out. 

The biggest advantage you have is that you're right 
on the issues! Put that to work by getting information 
out to the rest of the community. All too frequently, 
Radical Right groups and leaders have a way of stretching 
the facts, or in some cases, making them up altogether. 
Don't let those half- and mis-truths go unanswered. 
Get the facts out and do it quickly. 
 
Avoid jargon. 

Our opponents are masters at using rhetoric that touches 
nerves. So don't speak in jargon. Avoid acronyms and 
technical language. Speak plainly, but with authority 
and some passion. 
 
Organize, organize, organize. 

Don't kid yourself into thinking that campaigns  electoral 
or otherwise  are battles of ideas alone. There is 
no substitute for pounding the pavement, shaking your 
neighbors' hands, hearing their concerns and getting 
their support. You should expect that your opposition 
will be doing as much. 
 
Don't bash your opponents for their religious views.

Religion is something to be respected and honored. 
And while your opposition's political views may flow 
from their religious views, in the end the battle is 
over politics and policy. So don't criticize your opponents' 
religion, and don't dismiss their movement as a bunch 
of "fanatics."  The corollary of that point is this: 
they have as much right to participate in the democratic 
process as you do. Don't suggest otherwise. 
 
Along the same lines, resist the temptation to ridicule 
or belittle your opponents, either on the grounds of 
their religion or their political views. They're citizens 
taking part. They may be wrong on the issues, they 
may have ideas, even motives, with which you find fault, 
but they're entitled to be treated with respect. 

These are not just sound principles, they're also good 
politics. If you give your opponents grounds to accuse 
you of religious bigotry, they'll surely seize the 
moment. 
 
Take them seriously. They won't go away. 

If experience is a guide, local Radical Right groups 
may lose a battle, or they may get off on the wrong 
organizational foot, but they won't go away. After 
a Radical Right group has taken root, don't make the 
mistake of assuming that because you haven't heard 
from them they've gone away. It may take them a while 
to get organized, but the fire that drives them won't 
be dying down anytime soon. 

For that very reasons, compromises with the Radical 
Right must be examined with a careful, jaundiced eye. 
Experience suggests that what they do not win today, 
they'll be back for tomorrow. Never compromise on a 
principle; be very careful about compromising anything 
else. That's harsh advice, to be sure, but it's born 
of bitter experience. 

Build your support even before the Radical Right comes 
to town. 

Nothing is more vulnerable to sudden attack by the 
Radical Right than a program or policy nobody else 
knows about. So build support for the programs and 
initiatives along the way. Don't wait for the attack 
to come. If your schools are doing well with a new 
curriculum, get out the word. If your local arts group 
is winning awards, get out the word. And so on. Put 
out your positive message and save yourself trouble 
later on. 

_ 

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