2. Why Alinsky? Would you borrow tactics from Adolph Hitler? How did Progressives in America gain power? --Hillary Clinton! --Barrack Obama! --Caesar Chavez! --The National Education Association! Rules for Radicals can become our manual for defeating the Left.
4. Alinsky’s A-moral Principles The first principle is to have no principles. The only objective is the “general welfare.” The only illegitimate means is the failure to use whatever means are available. People are motivated only by self-interest. Morality is a cloak to hide self-interest. Truth and justice are always relative and therefore irrelevant.
5. Organization is Power The sole purpose of organization is power. There is no other source of power in human relations but organization. Organizations achieve power by persuasion, intimidation, law or brute force. --”If we can’t use the power of persuasion we will use the persuasion of power! –SEIU’s Andy Stern.
6. Revolution Not Evolution All societal change comes through revolution. Revolutions must be preceded by a change of social consciousness. --People must first be made to feel frustrated, defeated, lost and hopeless. With each revolution, the victors become the new oppressors and the cycle must start again.
7. Dog Eat Dog What is a “controversial issue?” (Line jumpers!) “All life is partisan.” Those who fail to promote their own interest are passively supporting their enemies. You will never get change without conflict. “Change means movement; movement means friction.”
8. Language Controls Power Who are the true Liberals? Why do we call Fascists “Progressives?” What is “affirmative” about Affirmative Action? Why do we refer to a life style characterized by disease and suicide as “gay?” Was Che really a “freedom fighter?”
9. War By Other Means Alinsky agreed--Politics is war by other means. Organization is the key to victory. But organization also grows out of victory. --Organization is both the cause and the effect of power. Major defeats can fracture morale. --Do we want to die on this hill? --Will this help to build the organization?
10. The Program--Quid pro Quo Organizations build around issues. No single organization can take on every issue. No two organizations can agree on every issue. So we must unite for mutual support. --On the Left, Sierra Club, Code Pink, SEIU, Acorn, Moveon, NAACP etc. The “quid pro quo” (the “Program”) is the essence of community organization.
11. Tactics and Opportunity Tactics must be adapted to events. Tactics must be based on a realistic evaluation of opportunities. Tactics require imagination. --Ghandi and passive resistance. The essence of any tactic is the reaction it provokes. (Rosa Parks)
12. Rule 1 – Power Imagined “Power is not what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” --Hiroshima -- Bomb or bust?
13. Rule 2 – Comfort Zone “Never go outside the experience of your people!” (County Commissioners meeting) --Confusion, fear and collapse. But our experience is growing! --Remember your first rally? --The next county commissioners meeting!
14. Rule 3 -- Unfamiliar Turf “Whenever possible, go outside the experience of the enemy!” --The Inchon Landing! --Health care and town halls! --”Al Gore Lies!”
15. Rule 4 -- Double Standards “Always make the enemy live up to his own rules!” Absolute power consists in enforcing a double standard. Compare… --Barney Frank’s home prostitution ring --Larry Craig’s wandering foot “Progressives have “No enemies on the Left.” Conservatives eat their young.
16. Rule 5 -- Laughter the Best Medicine “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon!” --There is no defense against it. --Ridicule provokes anger. --Anger provokes mistakes! Bush was portrayed as a dumb cowboy; Cheney as Darth Vader! It worked!
17. Rule 6 -- If You’re Not Having Fun… “A good tactic is one that your people enjoy!” Before launching an attack you must ask…. --Can we win? --Can we enjoy the process or is it a chore? --Will it weary our people so that they become disheartened? --Are our tactics growing the organization?
18. Rule 7 -- Don’t Be A Drag! “A tactic that drags too long is a drag!” To be effective, a tactic must be focused. There must be a clear time line and realistic objective. You must know in advance what you are willing to accept as victory. The Left employs “Incrementalism!” (National Monuments)
19. Rule 8 -- Pressure! Once a tactic has been selected and a target identified, bring all possible resources to bear! Once engaged, keep the pressure on! “Pressure is most effective when it is focused, relentless, and seems to be unending.” Avoid terminal tactics! Retain the seeds of controversy! Demand the impossible! (The Jackson-Sharpton shakedown)
20. Alinsky’s Rule 9 – The Threat “The threat you imagined is usually more terrible than the thing itself.” (“Outing!”) All successful negotiation is by extortion. There is no such thing as “good will.” Negative campaigning is “conflict resolution.” Blackmail your enemies when possible, but Never bluff!
21. Rule 10 -- The Value of Pressure “The major premise for attacks is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure on the opposition.” Pressure arises out of conflict. The stress of pressure causes mistakes. Mistakes create opportunities. --”Tea Baggers” on “Astro-turf!” --”Granny has joined the mob!”
22. Rule 11 -- The Dark Side (of a Negative) “If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break into its counter side.” --Fire hoses and police dogs. (Civil Rights) --Passive resistance. (Where to sit!) --The party of “No!” (Yankee Doodle!)
23. Rule 12 -- Constructive Alternatives “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative!” Make extreme demands! --But plan to compromise! --If all your demands are met--catastrophe! --Partial concessions leave the door open to more demands. (Vouchers)
24. The Essential Rule Number13 “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it!” --What is your grievance? --Who is responsible for it? --(Whenever possible, name an individual!) --Is the responsible party vulnerable? --How can we isolate this target?
25. Get Personal! Alinsky taught that “People hurt sooner than institutions.” Forget “the commissioners!” Go after the offending individual—by name! Attack on every level. --Character --Motive --Skeletons in the closet --Back waxing! (Florida’s Crist against Marco Rubio) Ignore distractions. Stay focused on the target!
26. POLARIZATION Polarize the target! Isolate it and pin it down, as if… --Your cause is 100% right and just. --The enemy is 100% wrong and evil. “Let nothing get you off your target!” The object (for Alinsky) was to destroy, not to convince!
27. Morals and Qualms But what about our moral principles! Progressives are engaged in gradual treason! --They are eroding our Constitution. We must avoid moral equivalence! --The burglar has no claim on his lost wallet! We must face reality! This is a life and death struggle for the lives of our children! “Last guys don’t finish nice!” – Saul Alinsky
