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Comment by swalsh | Hacker News Reader

Sometimes I feel like "The People" need the equivalent of the NRA. An advocacy group that will advocate for their tech civil rights.

The real power of the NRA is not the money donated to it, but the huge group of single issue voters they can whirl up at a moments notice.

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That's sort of the problem: The People (at least, a subset of them) are the ones who created and support the NRA. The People (at least, a subset of them) are also the ones who run and support Brady.

"The People" includes a large amount of people who disagree with you - regardless of what your belief system is. Arguing that your enemies are some privately sponsored or corporate backed shill is a tactic going back to ancient Rome.

Yeah "the People" in the Populist sense is a rhetorical trap. Implicitly it is "People who agree with me" which is myopia if ignorant or astoturfing if not. Even the Ironmanned best "the majority unrestricted from coercing others". That is why rights especially for the unpopular are important along with anonymous voting. With those precautions it would be truly Steelmanned but also not aa susceptible to the trap.

Without safeguarding rights populism is a ladder to powers which may become "people who agree with Great Leader".

That's the EFF. It exists. Donate to it.

I find the EFF to be way too lefty and not necessarily doing a great job.

What is "lefty" about them? They support rights regardless of political leaning.

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