The late Saul Alinsky and his writings are drawing much interest and study, in that the current President and Secretary of State were apparently his disciples. All one has to do is “google” (a new verb in the English language) “Rules for Radicals” and read for yourself. What I wish to comment upon is number 13 under “Tactics”: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” It is this tactic, adopted by the Progressives, that seems to have thrown Republicans and conservatives completely! In practice, this means the Progressives “go after” someone personally, using everything and anything they can find, (or even things they make up!)
We see how they vilified George Bush over the last 8 years, then Senator McCain, then Sarah Palin, (who apparently has been chased off the political scene by the tactic!) Gone are the days of the Lincoln Douglas debates, where people will “agree to disagree”. Gone are the days of mutual respect and fair play.
The Progressives seek to seize power permanently and turn the country into their version of a Soviet State. It’s time for the “Defenders of the Republic” to “fight fire with fire” rather than whimper they are not being treated “fairly”!
“I don’t understand why I didn’t get a chance to respond!” lamented one conservative lawmaker who’d been lured to a “debate” where he was beset upon, ridiculed and reviled by a hostile crowd and didn’t even get a chance to open his mouth!
The latest target, however, has been citizens who have shown up at town halls to object to the Health Care plan. For the first time, the Alinsky tactic has not been successful, because thousands of people showing up at hundreds of town meetings are hard to target.
In many respects, the tables have been turned. Speaker of the House Pelosi accused protestors of “carrying swastikas”, which follows the Alinsky “polarize it” formula. The Obama joker pictures have triggered “racism”howls from the Administration, in spite of the same tactics used against Bush. Basically, the Progressives like to “Dish it out, but can’t take it!” The mass tactics of town halls and Tea Parties have been hard to vilify effectively.
The quicker the Conservatives lay aside their genteel notions of politics and go for the jugular in these political fights, the better the chances of survival. Of course there will be those who huff “we’re stooping to their level”! But that’s a little like the British Officers who railed against the Indians of North America in the 1750’s because they wouldn’t line up in rows on a battle field and “fight like men!”