Saul Alinsky ~ Rules for Radicals Part 2 ~ Sanders

[Her Sister]

Part 1 here: https://gobling.wordpress.com/2016/03/10/redux-revolution-alinsky-sanders-and-the-false-campaign/

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110779659#post10


Redux Revolution Pt. II: Sanders, Alinsky and the False Campaign

https://gobling.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/redux-revolution-pt-ii-sanders-alinsky-and-the-false-campaign/

First Rule: Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.
Second Rule: Never go outside the experience of your people.
Third Rule: Wherever possible go outside the experience of the enemy.

FOURTH RULE: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.


“Rules” in the context of this political campaign is not so much an instruction book as it is a declaration of policy or statement of political identity.

Rule Four plays out as a “Gotcha!” moment; it is meant to shame, to stop momentum; to disparage. It’s a tactic that can be overwhelmingly effective or drawn out to its nastiest extreme.

Early in the campaign, Sanders chose several hot button areas for this ploy: civil rights, gay rights and same-sex marriage. He and his team hammered Clinton. He portrayed himself as a civil rights activist, marching with Martin Luther King while contrasting her as a “Goldwater Girl” for her brief internship with the GOP conservative. Sanders accused Clinton of coming late to rally for the rights of people of color. Bundled with this was the term “super predators,” used when she was First Lady under Bill Clinton’s term of office. When it came to LGBT and same-sex unions, Sanders vilified the path most politicians have taken – the evolution in acceptance.

Echoes of these attacks are still murmuring around the edges. They are brought up periodically to shame Clinton, to cast her as a liar and hypocrite. And, they are meant to anger voting blocs and place Clinton in a defensive mode.

Rule Four can fall apart though. One’s hands must be clean before launching an attack or it will boomerang. So it was in this campaign. Clinton’s team could easily direct those same accusations toward Bernie Sanders.

In the case of civil rights activism, Sanders’ history is weak. He has been rejected by the Congressional Black Caucus and by Rep. John Lewis in particular. Numerous black leaders have endorsed Clinton rather than him, and his three black surrogates – Cornel West, Killer Mike and Nina Turner – have limited appeal. There were also several questionable photos from the 1960s portraying him as a Chicago activist or marching in Selma with MLK. The controversy over identity resulted in a Snopes site, and the messiness of it all detracted from his claims.

But the nightmare for Sanders came after his NY Daily News interview when he admitted to not having studied how big banks would be broken up. |SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT| Clinton wasted no time in attacking him for this in the last CNN debate. Not only did he not follow his rule book, Sanders didn’t know the rules. Clinton, who is a student of Alinsky, tore into him and the effect is still reverberating.

FIFTH RULE: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
SIXTH RULE: A good tactic is one that your people enjoy
SEVENTH RULE: A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
NEXT: The Final Rules (8-13)

MORE ON RULES 5th, 6th and 7th on link:

[NurseJackie]

1. Interesting.

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. Using Alinsky against Sanders is a bold move.

And it works.

[Her Sister]

3. The writer thinks that the BS campaign seems to be following Alinsky

against HRC and her supporters.

[IamMab]

4. A very interesting read, thank you.

All of the hype and hoopla over Sanders' "revolution" pretty much blanketed the other revolution going on, which is Clinton's. Back from her loss in 2008, after intervening years of serving President and Party loyally, she's ready to try again to break the glass ceiling of American politics. That's equally as revolutionary as any idea Sanders put forth.

[Her Sister]

5. booyah!!