Here's the thing: I think Nick and AF are actively detrimental to the dissident right. You're talking about what alternatives exist, while conveniently leaving out the fact that Nick himself is responsible for a lack of alternatives. He spent YEARS attacking other groups and people on the dissident right.
And those same groups spent years attacking Nick. So why did Nick's attacks succeed and his enemies' attacks not succeed? Especially when they had huge leads on Nick when he first arrived?
People have this idea in their head that everyone has a quota of political content that they
must consume. That is the underlying assumption behind a lot of this "if we could just get X out of the way, everything would be better" way of thinking. If they could just get Nick out of the way, his fans will have no choice but to start consuming wignat content. After all, they have to go somewhere to fulfill their quota.
But it really doesn't work like that. People don't
have to do anything. If Nick dropped dead tomorrow, his fans could just take the time they current spend paying attention Nick and spend that time playing video games or watching porn.
If other people in the Dissident Right have stagnated in the last few years, it's not Nick's fault. It's because either their product sucks or their message sucks. Look at Keith Woods. He's kind of wignattish and he blew up in the post-Groyper War era because he makes a quality product. Counter-Currents' circulation has doubled post-Groyper War. And Nick has taken shots at both of them. If you are making a quality product, Nick can't hold you back.
I think a big reason why AF has outperformed other Dissident Right outlets comes down to the simple fact that Nick offers people hope and wignats don't. "America First is inevitable" is a hopeful message. "There is no political solution" is not. It can not be understated how critical of a difference that is. Even if it were true that the establishment is invincible, totally rigged, and immune to reform and the only hope for a better world is on the other side of an apocalyptic systemic collapses, most people would rather just stay in the Matrix than live in that world. If THAT is the redpill, then they will take the blue pill.