Cliff Potts: The Veteran Progressive Who’s Passing the Torch

By WPS News Staff Reporter
October 2025

Cliff Potts, a retired activist, independent blogger-publisher and author, has spent nearly two decades fighting for progressive change in the United States. Once energized by the promise of America, he now finds himself exhausted, disillusioned, but still committed to the mission — albeit shifting gears.

Potts graduated in 1990 with a 3.59 GPA and an estimated IQ of 150 in 8th grade — markers of early intellectual promise. Yet by his own account, the subsequent years brought “a lot of struggles succeeding in life.” He launched two blogs (one focused on activism, one on news) and has authored multiple books, the latest titles available on his author page and Amazon-listings: Spiritflight and How to Die Like a Medieval Peasant. He has also committed deeply to online activism: crafting posts, scheduling campaigns, and attempting to influence discourse since the early 2000s.

As of October 2025, Potts reports his plate is full: he has every post scheduled through the end of October, and he recognizes he is “getting too old for this stuff.” He views his forthcoming career transition as inevitable: “I have my books. I have some more books to publish … that’s pretty much the end of my work as far as the United States is concerned.” The cost of travel and logistical strain also plays a role; he notes that a round-trip flight to the U.S. from abroad costs some USD 1,600, not to mention on-the-ground expenses. He adds: “I mean, the trip to and from the United States? No. … And then there’s the cost of everything while you’re there.”

Potts is blunt about his feelings of burnout, frustration, and marginalization. “I’m doing a great job in servicing the nation,” he says, yet finds himself “hated by everybody for it … that is bullshit.” He senses that his identity as an elder white male has often made him the enemy among those who might otherwise support his ideas: “I am an elder white male. Therefore, I am the enemy no matter what I stand for.” He rejects the path of reactionary politics: “Saddle up with the Trump fascists? I can’t do that because that’s just plain stupid.” Nonetheless, he acknowledges shared social position with many who have taken that path.

What emerges is the portrait of a man who begins to step back — not because he’s abandoning his values, but because he is consciously changing roles. He sees younger creators — for example a Wisconsin-based influencer who calls himself “The Dark Left” — as the people to carry forward the digital activism mantle. Potts amplifies their work rather than trying to go full-tilt himself any longer. In his words: “At some point, I need to do everything I can to turn over what I’m doing to people like him.”

For the broader progressive movement, Potts’s transition is instructive. It highlights the pitfalls of solo-actor digital activism: the high cost, low payoff, personal burnout, and structural invisibility even when the message is right. It also reflects a generational tension: older activists who provided foundations, and younger digital natives who are executing new tactics. Potts doesn’t frame his retreat as defeat — instead, as strategic realignment. He has books to finish, archives to preserve, and a spotlight to step away from.

In doing so, Potts reminds us that activism is not only about shouting the loudest — sometimes it’s about knowing when to hand the megaphone to someone else, and walk off stage with your head held high. He may be stepping back, but by planning his hand-off, he ensures that the mission continues.

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