Alinsky Rule 8: Keep the Pressure On (It’s like Deja-Vu)

 Rule 11: The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.

Alinsky goes on to say that “It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign. It should be remembered not only that the action is in the reaction but that action is itself the consequence of reaction and of reaction to the reaction, ad infinitum. The pressure produces the reaction, and constant pressure sustains action.”

By /// September 7, 2012

Rules for Radicals 10: Turning A Negative Into A Positive

Rule 10: “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.” 

Alinsky’s tenth rule is based on the idea that any negative can be used to one’s advantage. The Left has used these tactics in many ways over the years. As we on the right have become more aware of these tactics, and they are becoming increasingly desperate in trying to deploy them.

Left-wing organizers have protestors work in three groups (green, yellow, and red) for the specific purpose of inciting the police in a way which left the protestors looking innocent. In a recent interview, Brandon Darby described how this was used at the Republican National Convention in 2008. He said that they chose the yellow group as the group which would get arrested, so their job would be to chain themselves together in PVC pipe (so that the police couldn’t easily remove the chains), then barricade major roadways to prevent delegates from getting to the convention center. However, the yellow team needed time to get into place. This is where the green team came in.

By /// August 31, 2012

Reid’s Glass House

Good news for Senator Harry Reid: If he’s a little bored while waiting for Mitt Romney to release his tax returns, there are plenty of other elected officials — in his own party, to boot! — who merit the same eyebrow-raising he’s directed at the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. The Senate majority leader has expressed consternation about the fact that Romney has some money in offshore accounts, which probably reduces his tax burden. According to the Huffington Post, Reid quipped, “Most Americans don’t have the benefit of Swiss bank accounts or tax shelters in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.” And Gawker just published more than 950 pages of Bain documents related to Romney’s offshore holdings, saying they detail his use of “exotic tax-avoidance schemes available only to the preposterously wealthy.”

Some of the “preposterously wealthy” Americans who do use such “schemes” include Senators Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), and John Kerry (D., Mass.). That should be music to Reid’s ears, since his transparency crusade might be a little easier to pull off within his own party.

Read more at National Review

By /// August 24, 2012

Rules for Radicals 9: The Power is in the Threat

Rule 9: The threat is more terrifying than the thing itself.

The ninth rule in Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals deals with fear. Alinsky wanted his followers to threaten action, hoping that the threat itself would incite a reaction. This is the easiest way for radicals to win: to have those on the Right react defensively while the Left doesn’t actually have to do anything but threaten action. No actual action required!

Sometimes, these are threats of violence. For example, Michelle Williams, Chief of Staff for the New Black Panther Party threatened the 2012 RNC National Convention in Tampa, FL next week saying “Our feet will be on your motherf***ing necks.” Domestic terrorist groups are also threatening violence violence at the event. Law enforcement is preparing for any eventuality, but the Left is not getting the reaction of fear from the Right for which they likely hoped.

By /// August 24, 2012

Rules for Radicals 8: Keep the Pressure on

Rule 8: Keep the pressure on. Use different tactics and actions and use all events of the period for your purpose. “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. It is this that will cause the opposition to react to your advantage.”

Alinsky’s eighth rule in Rules for Radicals, is made possible by a ruthless, steady stream of the other ten rules. Different tactics not only keep those employing them from getting bored (see rule 7), but they keep those on the receiving end busy deflecting attacks. By keeping those on the Right occupied, the leftists utilizing these tactics are able to achieve victory in other battles with minimal resistance.

By /// August 21, 2012

PA judge rules voter ID law not too restrictive, then defeated plaintiff proves it

Last week, opponents of voter ID laws — the easiest and most common-sense method to safeguard against identity theft at the ballot box — received a one-two punch in Pennsylvania that should put their crusade against the security measure down for the count.

On August 15, a Pennsylvania judge upheld the Commonwealth’s new law requiring one of a plethora of forms of identification — including a driver’s license, accredited school ID, government employee badge and a new voter-specific ID, among others — be used at a polling place to certify a voter is who they say they are.

The next day, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit got the ID she needed to vote despite the alleged hurdles her ACLU lawyers said stood in her way.

Read more at The Daily Caller

By /// August 21, 2012

Rules for Radicals 7: Don’t let them get Bored!

Rule 7: A tactic that drags on for too long becomes a drag. Commitment may become ritualistic as people turn to other issues.

Alinsky’s seventh rule in his manifesto Rules for Radicals is one that we have seen played out over and over again throughout history and it’s no surprise that the Left has a pretty short attention span.

Remember when the tolerant Left was going to boycott Whole Foods? In 2009, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey spoke out against Obamacare saying instead that he favored individual choices in healthcare in a Wall Street Journal OpEd titled “The Whole Foods Alternative to Obamacare.”

By /// August 10, 2012

Rules For Radicals: Rule Six – Enjoy Marxist Tactics!

Rule 6: A good tactic is one your people enjoy. “If your people aren’t having a ball doing it, there is something very wrong with the tactic.”

Saul Alinsky’s Rule 6 in his infamous manifesto Rules for Radicals was beautifully employed by the destructive and carefree Occupy Movement that graced this nation with its “anything goes” movement.

Late in 2011, the Occupy movement was born. They claimed to stand for some standard Left-wing values but, it would seem, many wouldn’t be so ready to occupy if it weren’t fun. Maybe they wouldn’t have stuck around for as long as they did if so many celebrities didn’t stop by to tell them how cool they were. Occupy turned out to be something more akin to a festival than a serious political movement. There was sex, there were drugs, and there was rock & roll. Apparently, nobody had to go to work in the morning (or for many mornings to come).

By /// August 6, 2012