At an unspecified time before the 2020 general election, a structured political war-gaming exercise was conducted in which participants are assigned roles as different “fictitious” activist and political organizations and tasked with developing action plans to “move the needle” in a contested election environment.
The session is led by Nadine Bloch (facilitator, affiliated with Shutdown DC) and Patrick Young, with co-facilitators Rowan and Barbara Dale. Participants are divided into five teams, each roleplaying a real-world-style organization.
The simulation exercise is set around the 2020 election cycle, with the opening scenario beginning on Election Night 2020 — with Trump showing leads in Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Participants are divided into five teams for role-playing purposes.
The five teams represent:
keepgoing.org — a national nonprofit focused on Democratic GOTV efforts
Wisconsin United — a racial/economic justice community organization
United Grocery & Bakery Workers Union — a 130,000-member labor union
Liberty City Antifa — a Philadelphia-based militant anti-fascist network
Capital Disruption — a DC-based direct action network focused on climate/social issues
Teams are evaluated on whether their plans are plausible, realistic, power-building, and risk-aware, with a mock “Supreme Court” assigning scores each round. A key moment in the transcript shows Nadine Bloch coaching the Antifa team on their strategic role: “Our job is to be on one end of the continuum… radical action… that partly makes everything else seem much more doable, more moderate” — a classic “radical flank effect” strategy.
The simulation featured specific steps that would be taken to punish Trump supporters using their “positions of corporate prominence to lock out all Republicans including those on the Trump team from future corporate jobs, media interviews, etc.”
This video documents an organized simulation training activists to coordinate disruptive tactics around a contested 2020 election scenario, with groups ranging from mainstream nonprofits to militant networks working in concert toward shared political goals.
Citations
Weaver, M. [Millennial Millie]. (n.d.). Election simulation. Millennial Millie. https://www.millennialmillie.com/