Game Theory Brain Dump

I'm not going to pretend to present this properly, but maybe you can make some sense out of it anyway.

One of the problems right now can be the lack of a coherent message out of the current upsurge of political activity. I'm going to do a quick compare/contrast from what I perceive to be the libertarian perspective.

(PSEUDO) PARTY COMPARISON
neocon - promotes an aggressive and expensive foreign policy contrary to libertarian ideas of force for self defence only and non-coercion. Also often progressives. See Cheney and Wolfowitz
conservative - looks to the past for ideas and leaders, can easily be affected by precedent over principle. See Hanity, O'Reilly, Gingrich
lawful republican - law based instead of (necessarily) principle based. A good match since law is a good tactic for the implementation of (libertarian) ideals. See Judge Nepolitano
fascists - believe the government should work closely with big business and/or big unions. See lobbyists
royalty/cronies - the long serving members of the (republican) party and their entourage. See Bush
machiavellians - use cultural mores to win elections. See Lee Atwater and Karl Rove


There are more, but these factions represent the big players I'm seeing.

POWER
There are many different kinds of power, but I want to break things down to money, referential, force, legitimate. Money should be obvious, the most powerful players here are the federal reserve, the treasury, big banks, and big business. Referential power is popularity, and is largely the reason for democratic elections - attractive, charismatic, entertaining individuals top this list: actors, sports stars, models, handsome politicians, etc. Force is the power of physical violence: military, CIA, FBI, homeland security, police. Legitimate is the use of title and position and is often backed by force: manager, CEO, president, judge, etc.

I assert that any movement must have aspects of each of these four powers, so the question becomes: how can we use these powers to achieve our political objectives without compromise?


Money
current state: money is getting funnelled to both parties (and their constituent districts) by powerful players including the treasury, fed, banks, extremely wealthy individuals, military, and big business.

strategy: money is not as important as what it can buy. Once people wake up to what and who the money players are buying, their influence will diminish and the resources and labor of the majority will become more powerful. However, until the tipping point is reached, money saved, donated, and withheld from opponents is critical. I would hesitate to donate to any candidate unless they have a long libertarian voting record.


Referential
current state: Obama is possibly the most referentially powerful politician in recent history. People like him, he's handsome and charming. He lacks moral integrity, though, and today, with the free flow of information, a referential candidate cannot survive without a solid philosophical base. Further, they control the traditional media outlets by which people become familiar with leaders/candidates.

strategy: we are blessed with excellent referentially powerful leaders right now. Ron Paul, Alex Jones, and Peter Schiff come to mind, but there are certainly more. It won't hurt us to expand this base, but we should be careful not to dilute the message/philosophy. For example, someone like Sara Palin can come along, champion the tea party movement to get elected, then bomb Iran. So we need to keep the core strong, continue championing the philosophy, and look for more referential leaders who "get it". Further, we need to protect the ability for current leaders to get in front of the public - be that through what has worked so far (internet, grass roots), or traditional outlets (TV, debates, newspapers).


Force
current state: The neocons have waged unconstitutional war and implemented an oppressive national spy and enforcement grid. The force implementers are served by the strong money relations between themselves and the current system.

strategy: maximize personal ability to use force in self defence: exercise, learn hand to hand combat, buy pepper spray. Inform local police and sheriff about the libertarian movement, and its relationship to the law and the constitution. Support the troops and a strong national defence without promoting aggressive war. Recruit current force implementers (police, private security, military) or retired ones to provide security for a libertarian event.


Legitimate
current state: The republican/democrat duopoly control the government seats of power and are in collusion with the executives of large, monopolistic companies who also hold hierarchical titles.

strategy: run more libertarians for office. Hire libertarians into executive positions if you own a company or sit on the board of directors. Create or join a libertarian group which will lend the leadership of that group more authority, possibly become a leader of that group - expect leaders of these groups to push a libertarian agenda by attending political and community functions.


My biggest concern is that the energy and enthusiasm will be hijacked by the old guard. We need to be wary of folks like Beck, Palin, Romney, Bush and others who have played dirty trick politics for a long time and game the system instead of represent the people.