I am on a mission to get some version of the left to develop a policy development and promotion and infrastructure (PDPI) that can compete with and exceed what the right has had for 50 years. And the left has never had it. I'm working with a group of people to attempt to bring about a left version of the right's PDPIs

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This is a bit wonky, but it's very important if you care about sucessfully promoting lefty issues and values.

I am on a mission to get some version of the left to develop a policy development and promotion and infrastructure (PDPI) that can compete with and exceed what the right has had for 50 years. And the left has never had it. I'm working with a group of people to attempt to bring about a left version of the right's PDPI. Any suggestions, ideas, references and resources would be welcome.

The rest of this article is an AI generated report, using DeepSeek, that compares the left's and right's PDPIs.

**Comparative Rating: US Left vs. Right in Power, Influence & Policy Success (Post-Powell Memo)**

The **Powell Memo (1971)** was a blueprint for conservative power-building. Below is a rated comparison of how the left and right developed power, influence, and policy success since then.

---

### **1. Institutional Power & Infrastructure**

*(Think tanks, legal networks, media, lobbying)*

**Right (Conservatives):**

- Think Tanks: Heritage Foundation, Cato, AEI (well-funded, policy-driven) ï ? ? €“ **9/10**

- Legal Networks: Federalist Society (dominated judiciary) ï ? ? €“ **10/10**

- Media Ecosystem: Fox News, talk radio, Breitbart (ideologically cohesive) ï ? ? €“ **8/10**

- Corporate Lobbying: ALEC, Chamber of Commerce (highly effective) ï ? ? €“ **9/10**

**Left (Progressives/Liberals):**

- Think Tanks: CAP, EPI, Brookings (less unified, mixed funding) ï ? ? €“ **6/10**

- Legal Networks: American Constitution Society (weaker until recently) ï ? ? €“ **5/10**

- Media Ecosystem: MSNBC, CNN, digital media (less unified) ï ? ? €“ **6/10**

- Corporate Lobbying: Unions, activist orgs (weakened over time) ï ? ? €“ **5/10**

**Winner: Right (9/10) vs. Left (5.5/10)**

*Why?* The right built a **self-reinforcing ecosystem**ï ? ? €”think tanks, media, courts, and lobbying worked together. The left lacked this coordination.

---

### **2. Policy Promotion & Legislative Success**

*(Major laws, court victories, regulatory impact)*

**Right:**

- Economic Policy: Reagan/Trump tax cuts, deregulation ï ? ? €“ **8/10**

- Social Policy: Overturned *Roe*, expanded gun rights ï ? ? €“ **9/10**

- Judicial Wins: *Dobbs*, *Bruen*, *Citizens United* ï ? ? €“ **9/10**

- State-Level Dominance: ALEC-driven laws (voter ID, anti-union) ï ? ? €“ **8/10**

**Left:**

- Economic Policy: ACA, IRA (but often compromised) ï ? ? €“ **7/10**

- Social Policy: LGBTQ+ rights, some criminal justice reform ï ? ? €“ **7/10**

- Judicial Wins: *Obergefell*, *NFIB v. Sebelius* (defensive) ï ? ? €“ **6/10**

- State-Level Dominance: Some progressive states (CA, NY minimum wage) ï ? ? €“ **6/10**

**Winner: Right (8.5/10) vs. Left (6.5/10)**

*Why?* The right **locked in long-term policy** (tax cuts, judiciary), while the leftï ? ? €™s wins were often **temporary or defensive**.

---

### **3. Grassroots & Cultural Influence**

*(Movements, public opinion, activism)*

**Right:**

- Grassroots Mobilization: Tea Party, MAGA, pro-life groups ï ? ? €“ **7/10**

- Cultural Shifts: Resisted "woke" policies, rural strongholds ï ? ? €“ **6/10**

- Electoral Impact: GOP took House (2022), state legislatures ï ? ? €“ **7/10**

**Left:**

- Grassroots Mobilization: BLM, #MeToo, climate strikes ï ? ? €“ **8/10**

- Cultural Shifts: Dominated academia, Hollywood, tech elites ï ? ? €“ **9/10**

- Electoral Impact: Dems won WH (2020), but struggled midterms ï ? ? €“ **7/10**

**Winner: Left (8/10) vs. Right (6.5/10)**

*Why?* The left dominates **cultural institutions** and drives **social movements**, but this hasnï ? ? €™t always translated into policy.

---

### **4. Long-Term Strategic Patience**

*(Investing in decades-long influence)*

**Right:**

- Funding & Coordination: Koch network, dark money (long-term) ï ? ? €“ **9/10**

- Judicial Strategy: Federalist Society shaped courts for 40+ years ï ? ? €“ **10/10**

- Policy Durability: Tax cuts, deregulation hard to reverse ï ? ? €“ **8/10**

**Left:**

- Funding & Coordination: More reliant on small donors, less cohesion ï ? ? €“ **5/10**

- Judicial Strategy: ACS only recently gaining traction ï ? ? €“ **4/10**

- Policy Durability: Progressive policies often face repeal threats ï ? ? €“ **5/10**

**Winner: Right (9/10) vs. Left (4.5/10)**

*Why?* The right **played the long game** (Powellï ? ? €™s vision), while the left often **relied on short-term electoral wins**.

---

### **Final Ratings & Overall Winner**

**Right:**

- Institutional Power: 9/10

- Policy Success: 8.5/10

- Cultural Influence: 6.5/10

- Long-Term Strategy: 9/10

- **Overall: 8.3/10**

**Left:**

- Institutional Power: 5.5/10

- Policy Success: 6.5/10

- Cultural Influence: 8/10

- Long-Term Strategy: 4.5/10

- **Overall: 6.1/10**

**Conclusion: The Right Won the Powell Memo Era (But the Left is Adapting)**

- The right **dominated institutional power, judicial strategy, and durable policy wins** by following Powellï ? ? €™s blueprint.

- The left **excelled in cultural influence & activism** but was weaker in **long-term infrastructure and policy durability**.

**Why the Gap?**

- The right **systematically invested** in courts, media, and lobbying.

- The left **relied on elections and protests**, which are more volatile.

**Future Outlook:**

The left is now **copying Powell-style tactics** (judicial nominations, state-level organizing), but the rightï ? ? €™s **40-year head start** means they still hold the edge in **structural power**.

**Final Verdict: Right 8.3/10 > Left 6.1/10** (Based on Powell Memoï ? ? €™s framework).

Authors Bio:

Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect,
connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media.

Check out his platform at RobKall.com

He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity

He's given talks and workshops to Fortune
500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered
first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and
Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful
people on his Bottom Up Radio Show,
and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and
opinion sites, OpEdNews.com

more detailed bio:

Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness and empowering them to take more control of their lives one person at a time was too slow, he founded Opednews.com-- which has been the top search result on Google for the terms liberal news and progressive opinion for several years. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, debillionairizing the planet and the Psychopathy Defense and Optimization Project.

Rob Kall Wikipedia Page

Rob Kall's Bottom Up Radio Show: Over 400 podcasts are archived for downloading here, or can be accessed from iTunes. Or check out my Youtube Channel

Rob Kall/OpEdNews Bottom Up YouTube video channel

Rob was published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com for several years.

Rob is, with Opednews.com the first media winner of the Pillar Award for supporting Whistleblowers and the first amendment.

To learn more about Rob and OpEdNews.com, check out A Voice For Truth - ROB KALL | OM Times Magazine and this article.

For Rob's work in non-political realms mostly before 2000, see his C.V.. and here's an article on the Storycon Summit Meeting he founded and organized for eight years.

Press coverage in the Wall Street Journal: Party's Left Pushes for a Seat at the Table

Talk Nation Radio interview by David Swanson: Rob Kall on Bottom-Up Governance June, 2017

Here is a one hour radio interview where Rob was a guest- on Envision This, and here is the transcript..

To watch Rob having a lively conversation with John Conyers, then Chair of the House Judiciary committee, click here. Watch Rob speaking on Bottom up economics at the Occupy G8 Economic Summit, here.

Follow Rob on Twitter & Facebook.

His quotes are here

Rob's articles express his personal opinion, not the opinion of this website.

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