stephanie
01-17-2008, 03:39 AM
By Kyle-Anne Shiver
The emergence of a racial tinge to the Democratic Party nomination fight was all but inevitable, given both Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's training as disciples of Saul Alinsky. Hardball tactics right out of Rules for Radicals provide perspective for understanding the unfolding battle.
Saul Alinsky, the hero of bloodless socialist revolution in America, was a master at explaining how to patiently use whatever weapons one has to bring about the transfer of power from the Haves to the Have Nots. Alinsky's definition of the Haves was broad and rather ill-defined; he simply called the Haves the "establishment." He included all those whom he believed stood in the way of his re-ordered vision. People with money. People with status. People in government. People in the corporate board rooms. Unsympathetic people in the media. The lawyers. The doctors. The merchants. Non-unionized workers. And on and on.
In other words, you didn't have to have a lot to be a Have. All you really needed to have was a political view other than socialism.
Obama's four-year stint as a political organizer and agitator in Chicago's South Side neighborhoods gave him a hands-on education in Alinsky revolutionary tactics, which he seems adept at using now. His problem, however, may be that he is in direct competition for the ultimate power prize, the Presidency, against another Alinskyite, Hillary Clinton, who studied Alinksy and his rule book and turned down an offer to work for him.
Now we have a real fight between two Alinsky-ites -- Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- each of whom has positioned himself/herself as a champion of the Have-Nots, a fighter for socialist remedies to every human problem. And the verbal stabs each is aiming at the other have become more of the focus of the contest than has any substantive issue.
At the moment, I would have to say that Obama is more vulnerable, for he has built a campaign whose themes are at variance with his longstanding affiliations. He is in danger of choking on his own petard, explained thusly by Alinsky in Rules for Radicals:
The fourth rule: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules. (p. 128)
Alinsky defines "political jujitsu" as constantly pushing an adversary to live up to his own rule book, thereby using the weight of the enemy's inevitable inability to perfectly adhere to his rules to "choke him on his own petard."
Over the last week, Hillary has baited Obama on the race issue, but so far he hasn't let go of the high ground and provided her with the heated reaction she is seeking. Hillary is well aware of Alinsky wisdom on successful tactics:
"The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength." (Rules for Radicals; p. 136)
However, when a great many media outlets pounced on Obama's church connection to Louis Farrakhan, Hillary aptly concluded, perhaps, that she needed to do nothing more than wait for Obama's rule book to come into play against him.
Obama still has an awfully strict rule book up to which he must demonstrably live 24/7.
Can he?
read the rest..
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/01/obama_hillary_and_alinskys_rul.html
----------------------------------------------------
A couple of other things to read...
Obama, Hillary and Alinsky's Tactics
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=39595ECB-C0AD-4E37-A093-A2E510FE3A60
----------------------------------------------------
Hillary Clinton’s Wellesley Thesis
http://gopublius.com/
The emergence of a racial tinge to the Democratic Party nomination fight was all but inevitable, given both Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's training as disciples of Saul Alinsky. Hardball tactics right out of Rules for Radicals provide perspective for understanding the unfolding battle.
Saul Alinsky, the hero of bloodless socialist revolution in America, was a master at explaining how to patiently use whatever weapons one has to bring about the transfer of power from the Haves to the Have Nots. Alinsky's definition of the Haves was broad and rather ill-defined; he simply called the Haves the "establishment." He included all those whom he believed stood in the way of his re-ordered vision. People with money. People with status. People in government. People in the corporate board rooms. Unsympathetic people in the media. The lawyers. The doctors. The merchants. Non-unionized workers. And on and on.
In other words, you didn't have to have a lot to be a Have. All you really needed to have was a political view other than socialism.
Obama's four-year stint as a political organizer and agitator in Chicago's South Side neighborhoods gave him a hands-on education in Alinsky revolutionary tactics, which he seems adept at using now. His problem, however, may be that he is in direct competition for the ultimate power prize, the Presidency, against another Alinskyite, Hillary Clinton, who studied Alinksy and his rule book and turned down an offer to work for him.
Now we have a real fight between two Alinsky-ites -- Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- each of whom has positioned himself/herself as a champion of the Have-Nots, a fighter for socialist remedies to every human problem. And the verbal stabs each is aiming at the other have become more of the focus of the contest than has any substantive issue.
At the moment, I would have to say that Obama is more vulnerable, for he has built a campaign whose themes are at variance with his longstanding affiliations. He is in danger of choking on his own petard, explained thusly by Alinsky in Rules for Radicals:
The fourth rule: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules. (p. 128)
Alinsky defines "political jujitsu" as constantly pushing an adversary to live up to his own rule book, thereby using the weight of the enemy's inevitable inability to perfectly adhere to his rules to "choke him on his own petard."
Over the last week, Hillary has baited Obama on the race issue, but so far he hasn't let go of the high ground and provided her with the heated reaction she is seeking. Hillary is well aware of Alinsky wisdom on successful tactics:
"The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength." (Rules for Radicals; p. 136)
However, when a great many media outlets pounced on Obama's church connection to Louis Farrakhan, Hillary aptly concluded, perhaps, that she needed to do nothing more than wait for Obama's rule book to come into play against him.
Obama still has an awfully strict rule book up to which he must demonstrably live 24/7.
Can he?
read the rest..
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/01/obama_hillary_and_alinskys_rul.html
----------------------------------------------------
A couple of other things to read...
Obama, Hillary and Alinsky's Tactics
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=39595ECB-C0AD-4E37-A093-A2E510FE3A60
----------------------------------------------------
Hillary Clinton’s Wellesley Thesis
http://gopublius.com/