Ruling by a radical

The Spectator ^ | 1/25/2009 | Melanie Phillips

[markomalley]

 Interesting story in today’s Sunday Telegraph about what Obama’s first week in office tells us about the priorities and values of America’s new president. The Telegraph reports Republican uproar over one of Obama’s first acts, to lift restrictions on government funding for groups providing abortion services or counselling outside the United States. Abortion is possibly the most toxic and divisive issue in American politics, inspiring violent passions. Obama has said he wants to end the ‘culture wars’ in America; it is hard to think of a more effective way of igniting them. The reaction was immediate and brutal:

Family groups accused him of plotting the ‘infanticide’ of African children. Former presidential candidate Gary Bauer, president of the American Values pressure group, said: ‘It is both sad and infuriating that in the same week President Obama extended new rights to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and began planning to release men whom we know have murdered Americans, he is preparing to sentence innocent children to death through abortion.’

A propos, a number of commentators have noticed the striking omission, in Obama’s inaugural speech, of any reference to the right to life in America’s foundational principles; his reference to the

noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness

was a notable departure from the Declaration’s iconic commitment to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. The Telegraph also reports an immediate contradiction between what Obama proclaimed as a break with the bad old days of corruption and what he actually has done:

Having announced new ethics rules banning lobbyists serving in his administration, the president was immediately forced to make an exception for his deputy defence secretary William Lynn, who has lobbied for the defence industry giant Raytheon.

Not to mention his designated Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, who unaccountably ‘forgot’ to pay his taxes in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. NRO reports:

At Geithner’s confirmation hearing Wednesday, he did not give clear, direct answers to questions about his knowledge of mistakes in his 2001 and 2002 returns... After all, the senators said, Geithner worked for the International Monetary Fund during all of that time, and he signed for and accepted IMF reimbursement for paying self-employment taxes, even though he had not, in fact, paid them. As it turned out, Geithner had done the same thing in 2001 and 2002 that the IRS found he did in 2003 and 2004.

Oh dear. The idea that Obama is a centrist who wishes to end the culture wars is laughable. (Indeed, in such a war there is no centre ground: you are either on one side or the other). The White House website sets out his agenda on ‘civil rights’, which includes expanding federal ‘hate crime’ legislation, ending racial profiling, repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and supporting full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples, giving adoption rights to gay couples, and lifting the federal ban on needle exchange – a policy promoted by drug legalisers on the disingenuous grounds that this will reduce infection among drug users but which actually helps normalise drug abuse. Then there’s the launch of Organising for America, an extension of the community activism Obama encouraged, after he was elected, through a network of informal ’house parties’ to discuss pressing issues. Now it’s to be a formal infrastructure of activism. People may see this as smart but essentially benign politics, merely a bold and imaginative way of cementing a grass-roots Democratic base. On this video by team Obama, both campaign manager David Plouffe and the director of Organising for America, Mitch Stewart, deny in terms that this is to do with winning a second term. This is clearly nonsense. As theAtlantic points out Stewart, a veteran campaign organizer who oversaw Virginia during the general election for Obama, has been designated the key operative in the campaign to re-elect him. But as I pointed out here, such use of community organisation also follows to the letter the template for social revolution laid down by Saul Alinsky, the Marxist ideologue and activist who set out in his book Rules for Radicals how capitalism would be overthrown by the mobilisation of the masses and the whipping up of their discontent. The strategy revolved around creating apparently moderate local organisations that would be manipulated by community organisers -- effectively deniable political agitators -- to foment grievance and dissent. Alinsky’s thinking permeates ACORN and other community groups that in the past were associated with or funded by Obama, and which push an agenda that is as coercive and corrupt as it is seditious. America's First Community Organiser promised ACORN during his campaign that within his first 100 days in office he would invite them in to discuss how they could help him change America.

It has started already.

[tm61]

the local paper in my town is running a story about how obammie is being open to the right. to “prove” their point, they write how he waited until thursday to lift the ban, rather than doing it on tuesday

you cant make this up.

obammie will bring about his own downfall, it will be fun to watch

[wintertime]

‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Without life it is impossible to enjoy liberty or the pursuit of happiness.

[metmom]

ping

[DHC-2]

Such an uproar for losing 5000 PRECIOUS lives to free 50,000,000 people in Iraq ... 5000! How many LIVES will be lost because Obama has lifted this ban? How can these people whine about the losses in Iraq, then turn around and fund something that will kill for more than that? Has anybody got a “body count” on what funding this FOCA did in the past and therefore would do in the future?

[muawiyah]

The "local paper in your town" sounds dangerous to public morals and health.

Let us pray that they go bankrupt as soon as possible.

[metmom]

Abortion is possibly the most toxic and divisive issue in American politics, inspiring violent passions. Obama has said he wants to end the ‘culture wars’ in America; it is hard to think of a more effective way of igniting them.

I'm glad someone sees it for what it is.

[Girlene]

Great article. The referenced piece from Britian’s Telegraph was very good. I wish we would get reporting like that in the US.

Obama, the Alinsky-Trained, Community Organizer, Candidate-in-Chief.

[wintertime]

Then there’s the launch of Organising for America, an extension of the community activism Obama encouraged, after he was elected, through a network of informal ’house parties’ to discuss pressing issues

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Then conservatives must use this Saul Alinsky technique against the Marxists.

There is no reason why these techniques can't work both ways.

[mainepatsfan]

I found there was far more balanced coverage of the Messiah in foreign papers during the campaign than our own MSM.

[nuconvert]

“Then conservatives must use this Saul Alinsky technique against the Marxists.
There is no reason why these techniques can’t work both ways. “

Bump!

[garylmoore]

We have an immoral President of these United States.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

"such use of community organisation also follows to the letter the template for social revolution laid down by Saul Alinsky, the Marxist ideologue and activist who set out in his book Rules for Radicals how capitalism would be overthrown by the mobilisation of the masses and the whipping up of their discontent. The strategy revolved around creating apparently moderate local organisations that would be manipulated by community organisers -- effectively deniable political agitators -- to foment grievance and dissent. "

[The Great RJ]

Obama is just getting started, I expect him to be pushing the “Freedom of Choice Act” in Congress within the first 100 days of his administration. Any thoughts of Obama as a pragmatist or centrist should be abandoned.

[Girlene]

I found there was far more balanced coverage of the Messiah in foreign papers during the campaign than our own MSM.

So did I.

[beejaa]

You say that Obama will bring about his downfall, but organizing his followers along the lines of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” concerns me. It’s not just Obama we have to contend with.

[darth]

Call me cynical, but I think the prioritization of his Executive Orders and other actions is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO HOW MUCH HE OWES THE VARIOUS INTEREST GROUPS WHO FUNDED HIS CAMPAIGN. For example, how much of that $800M+ came from foreign supporters of Al Quaeda which prompted the decision to close Gitmo? Counting the money that funded his campaign under the table, Obama owes a lot of favors to a lot of people.

[Cacique]

Nice piece on Obimbo.


Ideas are more powerful than guns. If we don't let our people have guns, why should we let them have ideas?
-- Josef Stalin

[Maine Mariner]

Yes, “Rules for Radicals” should be read by every FREEPER, if only to understand the thinking of the hard left.

Obama’s people clearly out organized the Republicans (McCain as a candidate did not help).

[StAnDeliver]

"Then conservatives must use this Saul Alinsky technique against the Marxists. There is no reason why these techniques can't work both ways."

They do. Par excellence. He's on the air from 12-3 in most markets...