Grift (intransitive verb): Engage in petty or small-scale swindling

Grift (noun): A petty or small-scale swindle

The U.S. Dictionary

It has been easy to see that the Alt-Right is leading the GOP’s weaponization of “Woke Capitalism” and “anti-ESG” as a political strategy for consolidating power in a tyranny of the minority. (Twenty-one Red States with a total population less than the State of California have 42 seats in the Senate.) I have written about the exemplary role former Vice President Mike Pence is doing as the leader of the Sustainability Flat-Earthers. You also have to respect and give credit to his resilience and resourcefulness. Here’s a guy whose own President wanted him hanged. His political rival Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has the third largest state at his disposal to leverage for his own political ambitions and is doing so very effectively. But by channeling George C. “Want to own part of the Brooklyn Bridge?” Parker, a May 21, 2022, poll shows Mr. Pence running a solid third behind Mr. DeSantis in the GOP’s Presidential primary.

But after reading “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam” by Vivek Ramaswamy,” I realized that cries about “Woke Capitalism” and ESG are a clever verbal sleight of hand—a distracting magician’s feint—while putting Grift Capitalism into place. One of the largely unnoticed building blocks for Grift Capitalism is Ramaswamy’s Strive Asset Management. It currently has one employee, 11 investors (including billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and right wing billionaire activist and rabid Trump supporter Peter Thiel), and a tiny $20 million in assets under management. Apocalyptic warnings about Woke Capitalism and ESG are at the heart of the fund-raising strategy for Strive Asset Management. It is a true “American Hustle.” And it is being brilliantly and ruthlessly implemented, as I will explain.

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