The agendas of David Brock's organization, Shareblue.

A key participant in the political war by which the Left is currently fighting to delegitimize and ultimately destroy the Trump presidency is a relatively new organization called Shareblue, which grew out of Blue Nation Review (BNR), a pro-Democrat entity that once described Hillary Clinton as “one of the most ethical political leaders in America.” In 2015 David Brock, a former-conservative-turned-leftist, purchased BNR and rebranded it as Shareblue. From the outset, his objective has been to develop Shareblue into a progressive media outlet that speaks directly to grass roots Americans, who are, in Brock’s estimation, “avidly and unabashedly pro-Hillary.”

Shareblue first outlined its major objectives in a 44-page confidential memo that set the agenda for a January 2017 conference at Florida’s luxurious Turnberry Isle resort, where Mr. Brock addressed some 120 wealthy Democratic donors and tried to map out a course of action by which leftists could effectively “kick Donald Trump’s ass” during the next four years. Specifically, the memo indicated that Brock plans to use Shareblue as a forum for “partisan combat” against Trump and his agenda.

Shareblue identifies its top priorities as follows:

“Calling out signs of authoritarianism and kleptocracy”;

“[Providing] nonstop coverage of the influence of Vladimir Putin and Russia on Trump and his administration”;

“Exposing Trump as a weak, thin-skinned ‘loser’ vulnerable to goading”;

“Relentlessly beating the drum that [Trump] has no mandate, lost the popular vote, and is the least popular president-elect in modern American history”;

“Spotlighting the Trump administration’s vast ties to white nationalists and the ways in which they explicitly empower white supremacy”;

“Tracking and fighting back against odious GOP legislation in Congress”;

“[Providing] morale-boosting coverage of the grassroots opposition and resistance efforts outside the beltway”;

“[Providing] positive coverage of Democrats who boldly call out Trump and aggressively work against him [and] hold him accountable”; and

“Fighting outrage fatigue.”

Shareblue has also indicated that yet another Brock organization, the American Independent Institute, will award, on Shareblue’s behalf, grants to fund the efforts of “top investigative journalists to cover, expose, and damage the Trump administration and its allies.”

Though Shareblue is a relative newcomer to the political scene, by no means is it a minor player in left-wing circles. Indeed, the organization’s website drew 162 million unique viewers during the second half of 2016 ⸺ a 50 percent increase over the preceding 6 months.

In addition, Shareblue recently announced its plan to develop a premium service where subscribers can pay a fee to participate in a Twitter-like forum open only to leftists and progressives. By Brock’s telling, such an ideological echo chamber will provide “a powerful way of merging our connection to the grassroots with our platform.”

Shareblue’s overarching objectives are to become “the go-to news outlet” for “grassroots Trump opponents” and “opposition leaders”; to force “Trump allies … to step down or change course due to news we push”; and to embolden Congressional Democrats to “take more aggressive positions against Trump.”

At its heart, Shareblue is rooted in the philosophy and tactics of Saul Alinsky, the famed socialist community organizer whose profound influence on both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has been well established. Alinsky made it clear that left-wing radicals should constantly strive to “rub raw the resentments of the people,” “fan … latent hostilities to the point of overt expression,” and “agitate to the point of conflict.” Moreover, Alinsky explained, these radicals must cultivate unity against a clearly identifiable enemy ⸺ in this case, Trump ⸺ who can be caricatured as the very personification of evil.

Alinsky summarized it this way: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it…. [T]here is no point to tactics unless one has a target upon which to center the attacks” ⸺ so as to effectively cultivate in people’s hearts a negative, visceral emotional response to the face of that target wherever it is seen. Further, Alinsky advised leftists to avoid the temptation to concede that their opponents are not “100 per cent devil” ⸺ i.e., that those opponents may possess certain admirable qualities like being “churchgoing” or “generous to charity.” Such qualifying remarks, Alinsky said, “dilut[e] the impact of the attack” and amount to “political idiocy.”

By following Alinsky’s prescriptions for political combat, Shareblue takes its place alongside a host of aggressive left-wing allies who are likewise engaged in the battle to paint President Trump and his advisers as quasi-satanic figures, and to permanently enshrine the Democrats as America’s overlords.