The left is beginning to learn from their mistakes, and conservatives should take notice. Groups such as Black Lives Matter (BLM) are revamping their approach to politics, and if they succeed, they will become more influential.

BLM is altering its strategy to focus more on changing policy. The activist group – known for its protests against police shootings of unarmed black men and women – plans to engage in fewer demonstrations while devoting more resources towards opposing President Donald Trump’s policies. In an interview with The Washington Post, BLM co-founder Alicia Garza said: “People are channeling their energy into organizing locally, recognizing that in Trump’s America, our communities are under direct attack.”

The Daily Caller reports:

Various leaders in the BLM movement agree with Garza. The election of Trump jolted the group, causing them to make the change from protesting. The movement now wants to focus on gaining more voting power and getting involved in more political movements. Garza helped with the Women’s March platform and DeRay McKesson, an activist who live-tweeted the Ferguson riots, joined Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez’s transition team.

BLM is working to organize a more effective resistance to the president through raising support at the local level. DeRay McKesson recently created Campaign Zero, and organization designed to enable activists to reach out to their city and state governments and push their agenda. On their website, you can enter your address and find out who your local and state representatives are. They will also be able to look at any upcoming legislation that will be on the ballot. They are hoping to use websites such as this to reach their political objectives.

This new approach is something of which conservatives should take note. The left has lost much of its political clout, but they’re currently working towards regaining it. This pivot could push them closer to realizing their goals. When they engaged in protests and riots, the American public saw them for what they were: a violently anti-police organization. It was this type of behavior that helped conservatives win the election. However, if they are serious about organizing locally – and every indication says that they are – they will be able to gain more influence.

Many people on the right and the left mistakenly believe that change can only be achieved at the federal level. Voter participation in local elections has been decreasing gradually. One of the reasons for this is that national elections tend to earn more media coverage. We are more concerned with voting for presidents than we are mayors.

Although national elections are certainly important, it is the state and city politicians who affect our everyday lives the most. Local governments are the entities responsible for implementing legislation that impacts law enforcement. For this reason, groups such as BLM are right to focus on getting laws passed at the city and state level. If conservatives are going to resist anti-police measures, we cannot look to the federal government. We must work on influencing legislation in our cities – perhaps even use the left’s own tools against them. It is the only way we can effect real change.