Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals

You know, it interested me that all of a sudden the great boogeyman was Saul Alinsky, how could this guy that I read when I was in High School, whose book I thought intersting, but, nothing more than that, be the structure of presidential power and control of the country. So, I bought another copy because I lost mine, and decided to give it a reread, if my president is trying to use mind control on me, I want to know about it. It turns out that this is more than Republican Playbook, but, because Republicans, I believe, I don't read books by and large, they only partly understood. Let's go through the rules and let me explain.First Rule Of Radicals: Power is not What You have But What The Enemy THinks You have. Sort of like when everyone on BSM (BS Mountain, or Fox News as you may prefer) was predicting a Romney victory, with the swells of non-existent Middle class White men standing up for the country, and voting that possibly Non-American out of the White House. Of course, in reality, there were no swarms of white men, and the numbers weren't on their side, and the amount of power they have was quite limited.Second Rule: Never Go Outside The Experience of Your People. Okay, Romney created a surplus in MA, at least temporarily, by issuing State Bonds, which he then sold to the market. The man ran a Billion Dollar business, but, his biggest ideas were, "End Plan Parenthood (when he was pro-choice for half his time as Governor) and Veto Obamacare." I don't think Romney is a wealth of intellectual fortitude, but, I do believe the man could've developed an actual plan with complicated ins and outs, but, keep it simple, focus on God, Country, and Socialism.Third Rule: Wherever Possible Go Outside The Experience Of Your Enemy: Everyday we were told by the Conservative Media that Romney's business experience puts him in the lead of understanding how to create jobs and get the country back on track.Fourth Rule: Make The Enemy Live Up To Their Own Book of Rules: They paint liberals as people who want free stuff, rather than as people who believe their tax money should go to them. By asking questions that paint them into the corner such as You believe it's a right to have Health Care and Food and Shelter, and the Democrat is forced to say Yes.Fifth Rule: Ridicule is Man's Mos Powerful Weapon: If I have to explain how they ridicule the President of the United States, you aren't watching Fox News.Sixth Rule: A Good Tactic is One That Your People Enjoy: What news show has the highest rating? If blistering unfounded accusations and other perfundities didn't fire up the ire of the watching public the Conservative Media wouldn't be saying it.Seventh Rule: A Tactic that Drags on Too Long Becomes a Drag: Knowing when to turn to something else, knowing when to switch targets, seems to be a specialty that keeps their news popping.Eighth Rule: Keep The Pressure on: Bengahzi anyone, a tragedy yes, a national scandal no, a conspiracy definitely not. If anyone would've treated the other 9/11 in such a way, well, Bill O'Reilly would be calling a young man whose father died in the incident Unamerican Garbage and threaten to beat him up and kick him off the show.Ninth Rule: The Threat is more Terrifying than the Truth: Benghazi, Agenda 21, Universal Health Care, Obama's Reelection... should I go on?Tenth Rule: Utilizing All Tactis to Keep Pressure on: Fox News, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh all do this.Elevenths: Push a negative until it becomes a positive: The 47 Percent becomes an accurate and gutsy statement on the true state of America. Turning Positive statements of your enemy into negative.Twelth: The price of an assault is a constructive alternative: This is where Republicans screw up, they're never willing to pay the price for their actions and come up with Alternatives. The fact that so many things have passed, hasn't been because of the lack of the republican's ability to utilize 11 rules, it's been their lack of ability to utilize the Twelth.Thirteenth: Pick The target, Isolate it, Polarize it, and Freeze it: Obamacare, Taxes, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid... these tactics have served brilliantly to polarize our country.Does Obama use these techniques. Yes. But not nearly as effective or as showy as the Republican party. They brilliantly showed you their playbook and then told their viewers it was the other teams, and then are wondering why they're losing. They think they have far more voters than they actually have. This is an incredibly brilliant book on human nature and building groups and organizations.

This Chicago based socialist/activist author has, in all likelihood, done more to "change" modern America and to polarize its people and its politics than any other man; and this book spells out precisely how his minions and his disciples (including such Chicago notables as Hillary Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, and those in ACORN who indoctrinated Barack Obama) did it. I emphasize the word "change" since that was a major thrust of the author. The ramifications of this book go far beyond its date of publication. For it is exactly as its title asserts: a set of tactics and tactical rules to be adhered to by organizers, radicals, activists, and revolutionaries in their drive to overthrow the establishment and, as the author says, "CHANGE THE WORLD FROM WHAT IT IS TO WHAT THEY BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE."The book is loosely divided into three parts. Initially, the author presents his view of life and society, revealing his own radical ideology. As he sees it, society is structured in three levels: At the top are what he terms the "Haves" (nowadays termed "The Rich") - the few who have the money, the power, and the law on their side and whose primary interest is in maintaining the status quo. At the bottom are the "Have-Nots" - those who have little money, no power, and no hope of bettering their condition but who have a strong desire to relieve the "Haves" of what they possess. In the middle are the "Have-a-Little, Want Mores" (the middle class) - those who have a little and want to keep it and are generally too complacent to take any action to improve their lot. The (to me somewhat fanciful) goal, as asserted by the author, is to educate radicals and provide the tactics and tactical rules by which they can lead the "Have-Nots" to the promised land of money and power by taking what the "Haves" have.In the mid-section of the book, Alinsky identifies the types of people who will made good radical organizers and explains how they should be trained. Then, in the third part he mandates the tactics and tactical rules which they must employ to achieve their ends.Here are a few excerpts from the book to whet the reader's appetite: A revolutionary organizer must shake up the prevailing patterns of their lives--agitate, create disenchantment and discontent. (pg. xxi) Remember: once you organize people around something as commonly agreed upon as pollution, then an organized people is on the move. (pg. xxiii) History is a relay of revolutions; the torch of idealism is carried by the revolutionary group until this group becomes an establishment, and then quietly the torch is put down to wait until a new revolutionary group picks it up for the next leg of the run. Thus the revolutionary cycle goes on. (pg. 22) The eleventh rule of the ethics of means and ends is that goals must be phrased in general terms like "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," "Of the Common Welfare," "Pursuit of Happiness," or " Bread and Peace." ["Change"?] (pg. 45) The job of the organizer is to maneuver and bait the establishment so that it will publicly attack him as a "dangerous enemy." (pg. 100) But it is equally difficult for you to surrender that little image of God created in our own likeness, which lurks in all of us and tells us that we secretly believe that we know what's best for the people. (pg.123) As we have indicated before, all issues must be polarized if action is to follow. (pg. 133) Fifth rule: Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. (pg. 128) Eighth rule: Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose. (pg. 128) Rule thirteen: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. (pg. 130) A leader may struggle toward a decision and weigh the merits and demerits of a situation which is 52 per cent positive and 48 per cent negative, but once the decision is reached he must assume that his cause is 100 per cent positive and the opposition 100 per cent negative. (pg. 134)As I began reading this book, first published 38 years ago, it became apparent to me that, although people may not have known it at the time and most may still not know it, the author, Chicago based socialist/activist Saul Alinsky, may very well have been the most dangerous man in America. And time has pretty well borne that out since, in the main, radical leaders are now in power and now dominate America's political scene. Strangely enough, however, the real "Have-Nots," those without money, power, and hope, are pretty much where they've always been and where they will always to be, but now they're waiting for the "Have-a-Little, Want Mores" to join them.There can be no doubt that, at the community level, Saul Alinksy's methods did much good work and relieved much suffering. But when applied at the national level they have poisoned America's political process and polarized the nation. So, although I feel that the implementation of Alinsky's methods has done great harm, when viewed from the standpoint of its intended purpose, this book rates five stars. Everyone should at least be aware of it.