Rapid Resist is a left-of-center agitation group created in 2017 to oppose the election of President Donald Trump and the Trump administration thereafter. Rapid Resist claims to have managed the “largest peer texting operation in the US in 2017” with 132 clients, including Planned Parenthood. ^{1 2} Rapid Resist uses peer to peer text message technology to rally support for left wing causes and politicians.

Founding

Yoni Landau and Jennifer Friedmann originally founded Rapid Resist under the name California Organizes, which focused on rallying left wing activists in Republican-held Congressional districts in Ohio, Kentucky, Idaho, and Arizona. ³

Early on, Rapid Resist identified single mothers as the largest demographic of left-wing political activists who could benefit from their objective to facilitate left-of-center political agitation. The goal was to reach out to potential activists quickly and efficiently, especially to protest events with media coverage. ⁴

Once a demographic was established, Rapid Resist employed Hustle to contact left-of-center organizers in targeted districts and cities using peer-to-peer texting.

Objective

Rapid Resist advocates for various left-of-center causes including immigration, government funded education and healthcare programs, and promoting the claim that President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign engaged in a conspiracy to assist Russian intelligence efforts to hack the Democratic National Committee’s emails and otherwise interfere in the 2016 general elections. ⁵

Rapid Resist aims to supplement left-of-center protests by identifying potential agitators and asking them to protest local events with peer to peer texting campaigns. Rapid Resist consists of two staff members, with approximately 50,000 volunteers completing most organization of protests in local areas. ^{6 7}

Leadership

Before founding Rapid Resist, co-founder Yoni Landau worked for the White House Office of Management and Budget under the Obama administration. ⁸

Landau also founded and owns Resistance Labs, which manages Rapid Resist.

Co-founder Jennifer Friedman worked as the Ohio regional organizing director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, and senior communications advisor for the Obama presidential campaign. Friedman also worked as Organizing Fellows Manager for Organizing for America, to increase support for then-President Barack Obama’s policy priorities while in office. ^{9 10}

Method

Rapid Resist solicits other left-wing organizations to gather information about newsworthy rallies and political events to direct potential agitators. ¹¹ To determine where to rally volunteers, Rapid Resist uses information gathered through Indivisible and similar organizations. ¹²

After identifying locations for protests, Rapid Resist volunteers contact potential agitators using a peer to peer texting platform developed by Hustle, an organization that caters to left-wing organizations. Rapid Resist purchases contact lists of potential targets, improves targeting parameters, then gives those lists to volunteers to send personal messages via SMS text messages. Since its creation, Rapid Resist has sent over 5.5 million text messages to left-wing activists. ¹³

Elections

In 2018, Rapid Resist claims to have recruited 10,000 people to run races in districts held by Republican incumbents. By approaching left-wing activists in local townhalls to encourage them to run, about 8 percent agree to running for local office. ¹⁴

In March 2017, Rapid Resist used their platform to protest then-U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), who was running for re-election. It notified local activists who disrupted a local fundraiser to protest Senator Heller’s position on a conservative healthcare bill. Senator Heller reversed his position after a Rapid Resist-assisted demonstration. ¹⁵ Senator Heller was the only incumbent Republican Senator to lose in the 2018 midterm elections. ¹⁶

Issue Advocacy

In 2017, Rapid Resist volunteers rallied 4,500 agitators to the district offices of Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) to campaign against the repeal of Obamacare. ¹⁷

1. “Connecting the Resistance via Text Message w/ Rapid Resist’s yoni Landau & Hustle’s Perry Rosenstein | Episode 64” Resistance Dashboard. November 6, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2019. https://www.resistancedashboard.com/node/309
2. “Home.” Rapid Resist. Accessed May 4, 2019. https://rapidresist.org/
3. “Connecting the Resistance via Text Message w/ Rapid Resist’s yoni Landau & Hustle’s Perry Rosenstein | Episode 64” Resistance Dashboard. November 6, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2019. https://www.resistancedashboard.com/node/309
4. “Connecting the Resistance via Text Message w/ Rapid Resist’s yoni Landau & Hustle’s Perry Rosenstein | Episode 64” Resistance Dashboard. November 6, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2019. https://www.resistancedashboard.com/node/309
5. Novick, Ilana. “Resistance against Trump is just a text message away – and organizing leaders say it’s working.” Salon. August 12, 2017. Accessed May 1, 2019. https://www.salon.com/2017/08/12/resistance-against-trump-is-just-a-text-message-away-and-organizing-leaders-say-it-is-working_partner/
6. “Connecting the Resistance via Text Message w/ Rapid Resist’s yoni Landau & Hustle’s Perry Rosenstein | Episode 64” Resistance Dashboard. November 6, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2019. https://www.resistancedashboard.com/node/309
7. “Connecting the Resistance via Text Message w/ Rapid Resist’s yoni Landau & Hustle’s Perry Rosenstein | Episode 64” Resistance Dashboard. November 6, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2019. https://www.resistancedashboard.com/node/309
8. Wall, Alix. “Q&A: A quick way to call the resistance to action.” The Jewish News of Northern California. January 9, 2018. Accessed May 4, 2019. https://www.jweekly.com/2018/01/09/qa-app-calls-resistance-action/
9. Novick, Ilana. “Resistance against Trump is just a text message away – and organizing leaders say it’s working.” Salon. August 12, 2017. Accessed May 1, 2019. https://www.salon.com/2017/08/12/resistance-against-trump-is-just-a-text-message-away-and-organizing-leaders-say-it-is-working_partner/
10. “Jen Friedman.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 4, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-friedman-22447660/
11. “Connecting the Resistance via Text Message w/ Rapid Resist’s yoni Landau & Hustle’s Perry Rosenstein | Episode 64” Resistance Dashboard. November 6, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2019. https://www.resistancedashboard.com/node/309
12. “Rapid Resist Activates Protestors.” Fast Company. May 25 ,2017. Accessed April 25, 2019. https://www.fastcompany.com/40423982/rapid-resist-activates-protestors-so-lawmakers-can-hear-what-their-constituents-really-think
13. “Home.” Rapid Resist. Accessed May 4, 2019. https://rapidresist.org/
14. “Connecting the Resistance via Text Message w/ Rapid Resist’s yoni Landau & Hustle’s Perry Rosenstein | Episode 64” Resistance Dashboard. November 6, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2019. https://www.resistancedashboard.com/node/309
15. “Rapid Resist Activates Protestors.” Fast Company. May 25 ,2017. Accessed April 25, 2019. https://www.fastcompany.com/40423982/rapid-resist-activates-protestors-so-lawmakers-can-hear-what-their-constituents-really-think
16. “Rapid Resist Activates Protestors” Giving Compass. July 27, 2017. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://givingcompass.org/article/rapid-resist-activates-protestors-so-lawmakers-can-hear-what-their-constituents-really-think/
17. “Connecting the Resistance via Text Message w/ Rapid Resist’s yoni Landau & Hustle’s Perry Rosenstein | Episode 64” Resistance Dashboard. November 6, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2019. https://www.resistancedashboard.com/node/309