How Democrats can get out of the political wilderness
Conservatives were in this spot 15 years ago. They chose to invest.
Many of us in the anti-MAGA opposition are watching with horror and dismay as the Trump administration silences its critics and uses every lever of government to strengthen its political power. This moment is a uniquely dark one in which left-of-center advocates, organizations, and companies find themselves deep in the political wilderness - and I’m not even referring to the GOP-forced government shutdown.
Fifteen years ago, after the re-election of Barack Obama, Republicans and their far-right allies were also deep in the wilderness. However, it is critical to note that their supporters stepped up in an unprecedented and coordinated way and committed themselves to building long-term solutions to win back power.
During the middle-to-late Obama era, many of the largest names in right-wing media influence were born. Conservative media powerhouses PragerU and The Daily Caller were founded in 2010, followed by the Washington Free Beacon and Turning Point USA in 2012, The Federalist in 2013, and Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire in 2015. Those outlets were started by media entrepreneurs who recognized the need for media investment, and they received the support of values-aligned philanthropists who later pumped millions into their burgeoning operations.
Look no further than the late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA - a cultural media powerhouse that began in 2012 and has grown into a nearly $100 million network of entities. According to its most recent IRS filing, the vast majority of Turning Point’s revenue ($75 million+) comes from grants and major gifts.
Another example is conservative video startup PragerU, an organization that receives hundreds of millions of views monthly pushing fringe, right-wing content online. That group, founded in 2010, has received significant philanthropic support to grow and scale its operations over the years, bringing in over $69 million to its 501(c)3 arm alone in 2024.
Fifteen years ago, most organizations in the conservative media ecosystem were starting from scratch. And now, even after they have taken back power at every level, they are not letting up. Efforts like The Rockbridge Network, launched by J.D Vance and backed by Peter Thiel, Rebekah Mercer, and the Winklevoss twins, are fueling the rise of newer MAGA platforms like Rumble, Truth Social, Tucker Carlson’s new media company, and even Substack. And soon, the Ellison family, close allies of Trump’s, will own or control in some part TikTok, CNN, CBS, BET, MTV, Comedy Central, Showtime and HBO.
For those of us now attempting to counter the Right’s expansive influence, the good news is we are not starting from scratch. An emerging ecosystem of values-driven organizations and companies have proven adept at growing our influence among key audiences, and have grown rapidly in the past two years. Companies and organizations like mine (COURIER), More Perfect Union, Meidas Touch, The Bulwark, Zeteo, and others have built content operations that resonate with key audiences and are primed to scale.
At COURIER, we have built a formidable local news network across 11 states, and have become one of the largest news sources in the country on TikTok. The Bulwark and More Perfect Union, along with a number of fast-growing independent creators, are steadily chipping away at conservatives’ advantage on YouTube, and Zeteo is recruiting top journalistic talent to push left-of-center values on the national level.
Collectively, we have delivered literally billions of content and video views since Trump’s Inauguration and we’re still nowhere near our growth ceilings. What we currently lack is a broad network of committed funders ready to help us build a massive and meaningful opposition media that can drown out theirs. With more venture-sized investments, this ecosystem can and will shift the political and cultural weather in our direction as we each escalate our fight for our freedoms, values, and democracy.
The choice before us is pretty clear: either watch as the far-right consolidates its propaganda machine unchecked, or step forward to ensure that pro-democracy voices are heard, trusted, and sustained. The infrastructure is already forming, but its success depends on funders with the courage and foresight to invest in it now. Just as conservative donors seeded a decade-long media project that reshaped American politics, your support today can catalyze an enduring counterweight—one that protects democratic values, amplifies truth, and ensures that millions of Americans hear a stronger, smarter, and more hopeful story about our nation’s future.
Let’s not wish we had done more when we still had a fighting chance.
With gratitude,
- Tara McGowan, Founder & CEO, COURIER