Posted on 08/05/2009 10:37:08 AM PDT by RED SOUTH
RULE 1: "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." Power is derived from 2 main sources - money and people. "Have-Nots" must build power from flesh and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply. Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with economic arguments.)
RULE 2: "Never go outside the expertise of your people." It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone. (Organizations under attack wonder why radicals don't address the "real" issues. This is why. They avoid things with which they have no knowledge.)
RULE 3: "Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy." Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)
RULE 4: "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules." If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules. (This is a serious rule. The besieged entity's very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)
RULE 5: "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." There is no defense. It's irrational. It's infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)
RULE 6: "A good tactic is one your people enjoy." They'll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They're doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones. (Radical activists, in this sense, are no different that any other human being. We all avoid "un-fun" activities, and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring results.)
RULE 7: "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag." Don't become old news. (Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics.)
RULE 8: "Keep the pressure on. Never let up." Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)
RULE 9: "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. (Perception is reality. Large organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something that may be furthest from the activists' minds. The upshot is that the organization will expend enormous time and energy, creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions. The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.)
RULE 10: "If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. (Unions used this tactic. Peaceful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management's wrath, often in the form of violence that eventually brought public sympathy to their side.)
RULE 11: "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative." Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem. (Old saw: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Activist organizations have an agenda, and their strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum to wield their power. So, they have to have a compromise solution.)
RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)
Out Yankee the Yankee, eh? Have at it man... community agitation and grievance politics not really my style. Good luck though!
This is why the Democrats' refusal to be part of the public health plan that the rest of us will be forced into is such a potent issue. Every single Republican needs to mention it as often ad possible next year.
I use a different book.
That is rule thirteen. You omitted Rule 10.
RULE 10: "The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign."
Agree, push the issue but keep in mind the congress could easily agree to this plan and leave us looking silly.
They could do this because a Senator or Congressman will still go to whatever doctors they want and will never get denied any treatment no matter the cost. It will appear that they have the same plan as us little people but in reality the rules won’t apply to them whatsoever.
With respect to Rule 4. Perhaps turning in whitehouse.gov to flag@whithouse.gov for posting inaccurate information about the congressional heath care bill would be in line?
The NappyOne
I’m following a different set of rules:
Rule One -
All guns are always loaded.
Rule Two -
Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
Rule Three -
Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target.
Rule Four -
Be sure of your target and what is behind it.
Why are Alinsky’s “rules” given any concern?
They have NEVER been shown to work for anything.
From Alinsky’s book: (Parenthetical text is mine.)
1. The Purpose
In this book we are concerned with how to create mass organizations to seize power and give it to the people;(Ain’t happened)
to realize the democratic dream of equality, justice, peace....(Ain’t happened)
“Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.’ This means revolution.”(Ain’t happened) p.3
“A Marxist begins with his prime truth that all evils are caused by the exploitation of the proletariat by the
capitalists. From this he logically proceeds to the revolution to end capitalism,(Ain’t happened) then into the third stage of reorganization into a new social
order of the dictatorship of the proletariat,(Ain’t happened) and finally the last stage — the political paradise of communism.” (Ain’t happened)p.10
Not an impressive success rate.
Some little weasel dreamed up some drivel fifty years ago.
Big whoop.
“Alinsky, you magnificent bastard! We read your book!”
“Make the enemy live up to his own rules.”
The Islamists - are experts at this... and they’re slowly taking over.
Right. Except for getting an Alinsky disciple elected as President of the United States, these rules have had almost no effect whatsoever.
“A Marxist begins with his prime truth that all evils are caused by the exploitation of the proletariat by the
capitalists. From this he logically proceeds to the revolution to end capitalism,(Ain’t happened) then into the third stage of reorganization into a new social
order of the dictatorship of the proletariat,(Ain’t happened) and finally the last stage — the political paradise of communism.” (Ain’t happened)p.10
No, what they promised ain’t happened, but they took power nonetheless in large portions of the globe and caused untold suffering and millions of deaths.
If cap and trade, nationalized health care, card check and immigration reform pass, they will be well on their way to inflict their proletariat paradise on us.
None of us have any delusions that they’re plan will bring us happiness, but many of us have a fear of them taking power.
Believe what you like.
Me, I piss on Alinsky and his “rules”.
bookmark
I don't see a time line in those rules. Leftist are long term planners. They are beating the crap out of us with this strategy as they now have complete control of our educational system, the media, almost every sector of government bureaucracy and on and on.
They are just now starting to see the fruits of their evil deeds and it's starting to pay off big time.
We must take back the schools and the primary sources of information (the media) or freedom will eventually fail.
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