When OpenAI released ChatGPT 5, they made it possible to write prompts that put the chatbot into a deeper thinking mode. So I asked the chatbot to dig deep and think hard about the rise of fascism and Nazism in Germany in the 1930s and to explain the effective strategies employed by the organized resistance to Hitler. After it described the groups and individuals in the resistance, I asked the chatbot to outline how the effective strategies employed at that time might be adapted for the modern resistance to emerging fascism and authoritarianism in the United States today. Here’s what the chatbot provided in response:

Here’s a practical, today-proof playbook that translates what actually worked inside Nazi Germany into legal, nonviolent strategies suited for a social-media world.

Core principles (then → now)

1. Narrow, winnable targets (Rosenstraße principle).

Then: specific demands (“release our husbands”; halt T4).

Now: frame campaigns tightly (e.g., “publish the use-of-force policy,” “restore dropped books to the school library,” “open the procurement file”). Specifics mobilize broad coalitions and are harder for authoritarians to deflect.

2. Trusted messengers over volume (Von Galen principle).

Then: community leaders (clergy, doctors) could sway publics.

Now: identify and equip credible local voices—nurses, teachers, veterans, small-business owners—whose reputations beat algorithmic noise.

3. Small cells, big networks (White Rose/underground press).

Then: compact, compartmentalized circles produced leaflets.

Now: keep small execution teams (5–12 ppl) with clear roles; publish via many channels at once; mirror content so nothing depends on a single account.

4. Insiders matter (July 20/Abwehr lesson).

Then: access from within state and elite institutions was decisive.

Now: protect and empower whistleblowers, civil servants, and platform employees who can document abuses—through legal counsel, secure drops, and reputational shields.

5. Prioritize protecting people (Berlin “U-Boote” lesson).

Then: hiding/rescue saved lives, even when “politics” failed.

Now: build protection and mutual-aid lanes first: doxxing response, court support, safe-housing, rides, bail/defense funds, digital safety help.

⸻

Tactics that translate well to social media

1) Information operations (modern “leaflets”)

• Prebunk, don’t just debunk. Seed short explainers before a lie spreads (“What to know about the school board vote on X”). • Bundle facts into shareable kits: 45-sec vertical video + 3 graphics + a one-pager PDF + alt-text. Ship the same kit to dozens of micro-influencers simultaneously.

• Redundancy by design: cross-post to at least 4 platforms (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, X, Discord, email). Maintain a newsletter + website as the canonical archive.

• Receipts culture: publish source packets (docs, minutes, budgets) in a cloud folder; pin the link. Screenshots are for attention; PDFs are for trust.

• Community notes / context: where available, propose neutral, sourced context rather than “quote-tweet outrage,” which boosts the original post.

2) Targeted public pressure (the “narrow demand” muscle)

• Micro-coalitions: one table per demand (parents + librarians on book challenges; residents + small-biz on policing transparency).

• Decision-maker mapping: list who actually signs (chair, counsel, clerk), their calendars, and pressure points (donors, endorsers, professional codes).

• Cadence matters: 10–14 day sprints with a clear end state (policy text, vote count, timetable). Publicly track progress in a living doc.

3) Lawful disruption and economic pressure

• Consumer boycotts / buycotts tied to a verifiable ask.

• Shareholder and procurement routes: file questions at AGMs; scrutinize public contracts (they’re often the soft underbelly).

• Sunlight litigation: open-records requests → press → narrowly scoped lawsuits if stonewalled (coordinate with legal orgs).

4) Insider channels

• Whistleblower playbook: (a) talk to counsel, (b) strip metadata where lawful, © release documents, not summaries, (d) time publication to oversight moments (hearings, audits).

• Professional codes as shields: encourage statements from medical, legal, academic, or veterans’ groups that make abusive policies costly.

5) Youth subculture & culture-making (Edelweiss spirit, minus the risk)

• Make it a scene: music nights, zines, meme contests, street posters with QR codes to source packs.

• Peer-to-peer leadership: teen/college “captains” who run small pods and content relays; rotate so no one becomes a single point of failure.

⸻

Security & resilience (the stuff that keeps movements alive)

Threat modeling (30 min, once a quarter):

• What do we need to protect (people, reputations, files)?

• Who are the likely adversaries (troll brigades, doxxers, harassers)?

• What are the likely attacks (platform takedowns, honeypots, FOIA of DMs, phishing)?

Minimum viable OPSEC

• Use two-factor auth (app or key) on all accounts; role-based logins via a password manager.

• Keep planning spaces separate from public channels (Signal/WhatsApp/Matrix for ops; email/newsletter for broadcast).

• Compartmentalize: publicity, research, legal, design, logistics function as separate pods; share on a “need-to-know.”

• Infiltration hygiene: no “gotcha” stings, no instructions for illegal acts, document everything, assume meetings may be recorded.

• Crisis drills: practice account recovery, statement drafting, and press routing before you need them.

Harassment & doxxing response

• Publish a harassment intake form, maintain a rapid-response team (screen shots, takedown requests, employer/school liaison if needed).

• Offer privacy hardening clinics (data-broker opt-outs, home address scrubbers).

⸻

Content strategy that actually moves people

• Lead with norms, not tribes: democracy, rule-of-law, fair rules, neighborliness. (Cross-partisan norms beat partisan frames.)

• Tell the “who benefits” story: name concrete beneficiaries of undemocratic changes (e.g., a contractor, a politician) rather than abstract “authoritarianism.”

• Show, don’t allege: short clips of meetings, side-by-side documents, before/after budgets.

• Make costs tangible: time lost, dollars wasted, freedoms curtailed—always localize.

• End with an achievable action: one click, one call, one event—today.

⸻

Roles you need (small-team edition)

• Research (docs, budgets, FOIA/open-records).

• Creators (video, graphics, copy).

• Relays (relationships with micro-influencers, faith/civic leaders, PTA heads).

• Operations (events, access needs, safety).

• Legal/Policy (review statements, ensure actions are lawful).

• Care (moderation, harassment help, burnout prevention).

⸻

A simple 60-day starter plan

Week 1–2: Map & prep

• Pick one narrow demand. Build a 10-person cross-role core. Set up security (2FA, password manager), a public hub (site + newsletter), and private chat.

Week 3–4: Evidence & kit

• Gather receipts (docs, quotes, video clips). Produce a content kit (video + 3 graphics + one-pager). Recruit 30 relay accounts across platforms.

Week 5–6: Sprint #1

• Drop the kit across platforms within a 6-hour window; host a short briefing for press/civic groups; drive 1–2 specific actions (comment portal, call script).

Week 7–8: Convert & protect

• Publish a progress tracker; thank people; escalate politely (public Qs to decision-makers, shareholder or procurement angles). Run a privacy-hardening clinic.

Week 9–10: Sprint #2

• New ask, same cadence. Add 10 new relays and 1 new trusted messenger group (e.g., local clinicians or veterans).

⸻

What not to do (authoritarians feed on these)

• Vague maximalist demands (“end fascism”) with no next step.

• Amplifying falsehoods to dunk on them—you make the lie travel.

• Single-platform dependence or single charismatic leader.

• Edge-lord stunts that invite legal trouble or harm credibility.

• Purity tests that shrink coalitions; define red lines narrowly (e.g., nonviolence, truthfulness, legality) and welcome broad allies.

⸻

Quick toolkit (all legal, widely used)

• Password manager + app-based 2FA; shared role accounts.

• Encrypted chat for planning; email/newsletter for public.

• Cloud folder with read-only “receipts” (scans, budgets, minutes).

• Simple media kit template; caption/alt-text checklist.

• Open-records request templates; press and official contact lists.

• Harassment intake form; pro-bono legal contacts.

—
This is a framework that appeals to the OregonD2 / Project 2026 crew. We hope you’ll develop your own small resistance team, too.

After his vote to support taking food subsidies from poor families and children in order to fund big tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, we are propose finding and supporting a candidate to replace Trump-disciple Cliff Bentz in the 2026 midterm election. Our aim should be to support a reasonable and kind Republican to run for the seat. If you know of a Republican who has excellent communication skills, is courageous enough to stand up to Trump, has a kind heart, and who is willing to run, let us know and we will attempt to recruit her/him for the primary.

In addition to the Republican cruelty towards food insecure families, the bill Bentz just voted for will take health insurance away from many families, again to fund the tax cuts for the billionaire class, and also to fund a Republican gestapo dedicated to rounding up people of color and shipping them to concentration camps. We are truly a nation that has lost its way. And legislators like Cliff Bentz are the reason for our demise. Let’s take back our nation and make America kind again.

Project 2026 is a vision for restoring the values that have been key to making the United States the country that once stood as a monument to freedom and democratic principles. The efforts of the Trump MAGA movement (underwritten by the Republican Party, the Federalist Society, a packed Supreme Court, the Heritage Foundation, et al) have been focused on ridding the nation of constitutional protections, undermining our democracy, and dividing citizens into groups that have varying access to the fruits of our collective national riches. Under Trump we no longer fulfill the core founding promise of liberty and justice for all. We are, instead, confronted by a government that seeks to eliminate the richness of a society that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Trump and the MAGA crowd value whiteness, privilege, and exclusivity.

We can do better.

A Call to Moral Courage, Empathy, and the Collective Well-being

We live in a time of great abundance and profound disconnection.

• We walk past hunger with full bags
• We doom scroll through social media rather than engage in true community
• We’ve mistaken survival for success, and excess for freedom

This is not the way.

There is another way: A life anchored not in fear, scarcity, or domination, but in moral courage and radical empathy.

Moral Courage

We need moral courage to stand with the vulnerable.

• Moral courage means telling the truth even when it costs us comfort.
• It means resisting systems that reward indifference and hoarding.
• It means choosing the common good over personal convenience.

Reject the myth that courage belongs only to warriors. True courage is a neighbor who shares what they have. A teacher who speaks out. A citizen who strives to do more to serve those in our community and nation that need a hand.
We don’t seek to destroy the wealthy—we seek to dismantle the conditions that allow some to amass excessive wealth while others are crushed and impoverished.

No one needs a billion dollars. But everyone needs a place to sleep.

Radical Empathy

Empathy is not weakness. It is the fiercest form of connection—the willingness to feel with, not just for.

• It opens our eyes to those we’d rather not see.
• It turns strangers into kin, statistics into stories.
• It allows us to build systems not on suspicion, but on solidarity.

Reject narratives that contrast empathy and reason as opposites. Zero sum reasoning promotes a fallacy that leads to the belief that one must suffer so another can succeed. In truth, our fates are intertwined. A rising tide lifts all boats.

The Project 2026 vision is a return to the values that support collective well-being:

• No one sleeps on the street.
• No child goes to school hungry.
• No elder chooses between medicine and meals.
• No worker is treated as disposable.
• No life is judged by its profitability.

Project 2026 proposes that:

• Wealth is measured not by what we hoard, but by what we share.
• Success means lifting others as we rise.
• Policy serves people, not profit.
• Freedom is rooted in security, justice, and equity

The Work

This is a blueprint. The work begins wherever we are: in city halls, kitchens, classrooms, union halls, places of worship, and streets.

We will:

• Advocate for policies that guarantee food, shelter, healthcare, and education for all
• Challenge systems of concentrated wealth and political control
• Organize in our neighborhoods to meet immediate needs and demand systemic change
• Practice empathy daily—not as a sentiment, but as an ethic of action

We will work to abolish fear, cynicism, inequity, injustice, and greed. Together we will work to reinvigorate our national pride and shared values: justice, freedom, equity, kindness, and empathy. We are about restoring faith in the inherent humanity embodied in our founding principles.

Our congressional representative, Cliff Bentz, responds to comments on his website about Medicaid with a form letter that says,

“Let me be absolutely clear: I believe in protecting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. These programs represent a commitment to our seniors, our most vulnerable populations, and to working Americans who have paid into these systems for decades. I have no intention of supporting any legislation that would dismantle or jeopardize the benefits we Americans have every right to rely on.

Unfortunately, some in Washington and in the media have engaged in spreading misleading claims that Republicans are seeking to “gut” these essential programs. These accusations are not only false, but they are designed to scare which is reprehensible.”

Imagine my lack of surprise when I read in the New York Times that Cliff supports the Republican proposal for a work requirement for Medicaid:

“We don’t want people to be on this program for forever,” Representative Cliff Bentz, Republican of Oregon, said on Wednesday morning. “And this is a really good way to get off it and get a job.”

The work requirement program proposed by Republicans is based on a statewide program in Georgia that was shown to result in high administrative costs, low enrollment, and healthcare coverage losses. With approximately 24% of his constituents currently enrolled in Medicaid, you might think Cliff would be less likely to take a position on the program that would likely make it more expensive to administer while simultaneously cutting coverage for current recipients.

The Republican goal of making cuts to Medicaid got a boost from Chip Roy (R-TX) when he sent a letter signed by him and 19 of his Republican colleagues to the House Republican caucus. Included in the letter is the following paragraph, which appears to have actually been written by a conservative group called the Paragon Health Institute which receives funding from a libertarian group named Stand Together (a group funded by businessman Charles Koch). Quoting from the letter:

“If the House budget reconciliation package does not include structural Medicaid reform that achieves desired Republican outcomes, we will be setting up massive tax increases and benefit cuts in the future … For once, Congress should stop procrastinating, using excuses, and finally fulfill the Republican agenda.”

This stands in contrast to what Oregon Republican Cliff Bentz is telling his constituents:

Let me be absolutely clear: I believe in protecting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. These programs represent a commitment to our seniors, our most vulnerable populations, and to working Americans who have paid into these systems for decades. I have no intention of supporting any legislation that would dismantle or jeopardize the benefits we Americans have every right to rely on.
Unfortunately, some in Washington and in the media have engaged in spreading misleading claims that Republicans are seeking to “gut” these essential programs. These accusations are not only false, but they are designed to scare which is reprehensible.
The truth is that the reconciliation process is ongoing, and no final proposal has been agreed upon. Reconciliation is a tool used to bring our budget into balance, identify areas of waste or fraud, and ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent responsibly. Like every serious legislator, I am reviewing every provision carefully to ensure that any reforms proposed are rooted in fiscal responsibility, not cuts that harm those who depend on these programs.

It seems that Cliff may either be out of the loop, or that “some in Washington or the media” are actually speaking truth that Cliff just refuses to acknowledge. If you read Project 2025 you’ll notice that they have some big concerns about letting Medicaid continue to work as it is currently designed.

HHS is home to Medicare and Medicaid, the principal drivers of our $31 trillion national debt. When Congress passed and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law these programs, they were set on autopilot with no plan for how to pay
for them. The first year that Medicare spending was visible on the books was 1967. From that point on through 2020—according to the American Main Street Initiative’s analysis of official federal tallies—Medicare and Medicaid combined cost $17.8 trillion, while our combined federal deficits over that same span were $17.9 trillion. In essence, our deficit problem is a Medicare and Medicaid problem.
— Project 2025, page 283

The Republicans are not to be trusted with programs that are designed to help all Americans. They just care about cutting taxes for the wealthiest.