Contact information

MidTide Media 123 Pleasant St Suite 300. Marblehead, MA 01945.

In our landmark work Wedged we discuss the perverse incentives for politicians and media when it comes to politics. 

Politicians, whose mission should be to reform and govern through good policy, are driven by the incentive to win votes, which often does not align with their ideal mission. They are motivated to say and do what wins votes (particularly in the primaries, where partisan fringes dominate), even if this is at the expense of their beliefs, principles, and education.

Similarly: media, whose mission should be to inform the public, are driven by the incentive to make money. This means they are motivated to print or show what gets the  highest ratings, the most clicks and shares, etc, rather than what is most informative or accurate.

There is a third group in the political industry that we didn’t cover, but deserves attention here: the advocacy group. We mean groups like the NRA (pro-gun freedom), Brady Campaign (pro-gun control) NRLC (pro-life), NARAL (pro-choice), HRC (LGBT advocacy), NOM (traditional marriage advocacy), etc. 

At first pass, these groups seem much more difficult to corrupt: they push a specific agenda and are beholden to people that really believe in that agenda. Ideally, they would be an authentic expression of their supporters’ beliefs. 

Their perverse incentive is simply that they are motivated to continue existing

What’s wrong with this?

The problem is that victory becomes dangerous to an organization whose justification for existence is a fight. True victory means dissolution.

Dissolution can be painful. We know that organizations have a collective sense of self-preservation, especially as they get big enough and have been around long enough. At a more personal level, the thought of laying off hundreds or thousands of people–including oneself–is highly counter to one’s instincts. 

So often, these organizations just morph into trying to support something vaguely related. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union–founded in 1874–stuck around long after prohibition came and went… and is still around today, fighting the legalization of marijuana. 

Citing the desire to not “flail around” and try to find another cause to continue justifying their existence, Freedom to Marry shut down after the Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide. It’s a newsworthy closure because of its rarity. 

Why Beware?

Some organizations, of course, persist because they don’t have a clear definition of victory. It may seem counter-intuitive to expect gun control/freedom organizations to have such goals.

But lacking clear definitions of victory can be intentional, because victory means one cannot justify pumping donors for money. To get that money–and therefore persist–advocacy groups must be constantly framing themselves at the forefront of a war. In particular, the stakes in the war are huge and highly urgent and need lots of your money right now or something very terrible is going to happen, so donate today! This narrative raises money well, so it’s the narrative that’s pushed, regardless of the ground situation. (Can you imagine the  NRA, Brady, NARAL, or NRLC ever sending you an email that says, “hey nice work–things are looking pretty good for the moment?”)

(Seriously, read the next fundraising email or homepage from an advocacy organization that you don’t necessarily support.)

The National Organization for Marriage–unlike Freedom to Marry–has actually increased its fundraising since the Supreme Court decision. Perhaps declaring defeat is even harder than declaring victory.

In short, advocacy organizations–by their incentives–must always be looking for something flashy and emotional to fight about, in order to get you to part with your money. These fights may or may not be high-priority or on-mission, but the organization is motivated to frame them as both. By this mechanism, they also contribute to the wedge in American politics, turning every issue into an outrage-inducing drag-out fight, when it simply need not be.

37 Comments

  • Chris McAdam, January 19, 2016 @ 1:39 pm Reply

    The need for funding give all of them incentive to cherry pick data, to exaggerate conditions, to ignore possible solutions that don’t serve their agenda and their desire to remain employed. All extremes and all special interests have that motivation to not actually deal with what they claim they want to fix.

    • Something to Consider, January 22, 2016 @ 4:05 am Reply

      I think this is one of those cases where they don’t even need to be "extreme," perse: all of these groups, politically ideology aside, suffer from similar issues of incentives.

      Now we also happen to know that the most partisan people give the most money, so you’re going to see the more partisan groups bringing in the most money, I suspect (like the NRA or Brady).

  • Shakir Mumtaz, February 21, 2016 @ 11:07 pm Reply

    Here is one on the theme of this blogpost. Such incident sometimes get suppressed in the debris of conceived "Conspiracy Theories". What if that is not the case ??
    We should ignore them as a Conspiracy Theories but not without giving them their due consideration; without getting Sentimental, Patriotic, or Nationalistic. Here one for your serene consideration please.

    Apart from Apple i Phone controversy—I suspect there is sure a cover up in San Bernardino killing. 3 White men with the guns story; witnessed by many at the scene, is being hushed up and, Muslim Couple was killed JUST to cover it up. The police officer giving press briefings after the incident looked absolutely untrustworthy and accomplice in the cover-up. We may recall that before 9/11 6-Jewish agents were apprehended in CA, but till today we have no news as to what happened to them? The point to ponder is that as a result ISLAMOPHOBIA spiked exponentially! May it not be a Zionist perpetrated operation whose beneficiary is obvious ? An independent high level inquiry need be conducted by an Independent international commission to unearth the FACTS!!! blogshakir.com

  • conveyancer near me, April 2, 2021 @ 10:12 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 94024 more Information on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • White House Market URL, May 2, 2021 @ 12:04 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • tag heuer replica, May 18, 2021 @ 4:15 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More Info here on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • cheap replica watches under $50, May 29, 2021 @ 9:42 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • microsoft exchange kiralık sunucu, June 28, 2021 @ 7:38 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • hp sunucu teknik servis, June 29, 2021 @ 6:47 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • exchange mail fiyatı, July 26, 2021 @ 8:03 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • additional info, September 2, 2021 @ 1:57 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Info here to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • relx, October 1, 2021 @ 11:02 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • Plymouth workers call in sick more than any other UK city, October 21, 2021 @ 6:51 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • เพิ่มขนาด, November 1, 2021 @ 11:29 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you can find 96074 more Information to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • sbo, November 13, 2021 @ 1:07 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 69112 more Information on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • kardinal stick, January 31, 2022 @ 11:50 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • 파워볼사이트, February 25, 2022 @ 11:52 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • nova88, March 17, 2022 @ 11:46 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • Fashionable watchespatek philippe nautilus box replicaare replica watches legal in the uk, March 18, 2022 @ 7:40 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • Buy Brand New Firearms Online, June 21, 2022 @ 1:12 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More Info here on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • Henry Firearms In Stock, August 28, 2022 @ 4:27 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • sbobet, September 13, 2022 @ 7:54 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • trouvez info, October 25, 2022 @ 9:36 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • Tri-Colour Ecuadorian Mushrooms – 4 Oz,, November 5, 2022 @ 7:36 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • อาหารเสริมชายเสริมชาย, December 6, 2022 @ 11:37 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • voir, December 26, 2022 @ 6:35 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • pour apprendre plus, January 5, 2023 @ 9:15 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 9052 additional Info to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • how to buy cocaine online, January 7, 2023 @ 4:37 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • Aller voir, January 9, 2023 @ 3:20 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Information here on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • Tree Trimming, January 18, 2023 @ 2:55 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • Kitten House for sale, January 26, 2023 @ 2:44 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • medicated mushrooms chocolates bars online., March 6, 2023 @ 4:45 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More Information here to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • สล็อตวอเลท, March 16, 2023 @ 12:48 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • buy firearms online, April 3, 2023 @ 9:32 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/beware-ye-the-advocacy-group/ […]

  • best of jazz, October 11, 2023 @ 2:30 am Reply

    best of jazz

  • fountain healing, October 31, 2023 @ 5:04 am Reply

    fountain healing

  • jazz cafe, November 25, 2023 @ 2:38 pm Reply

    jazz cafe

Leave a Reply