3 Tactics Politicians Use to Bully Pro-Gun Activists

WGO Staff | June 11, 2023

Politicians use proven tactics to neuter influential pro-gun activists. Remember: A politician’s chief aim is their selfish desire to be reelected.

Wisconsin Gun Owners, Inc. (WGO) — Wisconsin’s only no-compromise gun rights organization — believes gun owners have been disillusioned by the grinding gears of the political machine in Madison for far too long.

WGO believes knowledge is power and teaches pro-gun grassroots activists to understand and recognize the games politicians of both parties use to bully, intimidate and break citizens who are expressing their grievances with their government.

Politicians use proven tactics to neuter influential pro-gun activists. Remember: A politician’s chief aim is their selfish desire to be reelected. Thus, all politicians move toward the middle over time. The longer they are in office, the worse they get, and they will ultimately become champions of inaction and compromise (while giving lip service to the issues you feel strongly about).

You see, politicians don’t mind you being involved as an activist. They don’t want you to be any good at it.

Here are the three tactics lawmakers use to divert the attention from themselves, neutralize you, and bring you under their control:

First, they will claim they “agree with you, but that’s not the political reality right now.” They will often claim that you “don’t understand how things work in the Capitol.” (This is to make themselves look like the experts with inside knowledge and make you feel small. They will accuse you of playing in the “Little Leagues” and other derogatory terms to make you think they are the all-powerful emperors and that your voice doesn’t matter. The game here is to trick you into thinking you need them more than they need you.)
If you insist and don’t back down, they’ll move to the threat stage: “You better apologize, or else!” “We’ll tell everyone you’ve lost credibility!” (This bullying tactic scares away many conservative activists, who tend to be soft-spoken and well-mannered.)
If you’re insistent, the final stage is to try to buy you off by giving you a seat at the table, making you feel like you, too, could be an insider and have lots of “friends.” (This is a shrewd manipulation of the human desire to be liked and to avoid confrontation. They’ll invite you to Madison-area cocktails with fat-cat donors. This tactic has neutered many gun groups who sadly took a seat at the table and whose only job now is to provide political cover for state politicians.)

Politicians use these well-honed tactics to get the heat off themselves and deflect responsibility. When you see such tactics, know that your pressure is working and confidently shrug them off as the manipulations they are.

Our state representatives are supposed to be humble servants of the people, not heavy-handed monarchs who steamroll the people’s will. You don’t work for them; they work for you.

If you’d like to learn more about becoming an effective pro-gun activist, take this moment to JOIN WGO or RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP.

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