General Discussion

BlueStater

(7,596 posts) Sun Jan 29, 2012, 09:22 PM Jan 2012

How many people here have actually heard of Saul Alinsky before Newt started talking about him? [View all]

I consider myself pretty knowledgeable in politics and history and know about tons of obscure people I doubt most Americans have ever heard of but I never knew or heard of Saul Alinsky before Newt brought him up. My parents, who actually grew up in the late 60s and early 70s, have never heard of him either. Is he really this prominent father of radicalism or whatever the Obama-hating nutjobs are currently portraying him as or just some obscure name that barely anyone has heard of until the lunatics dug him up from the past?

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How many people here have actually heard of Saul Alinsky before Newt started talking about him? [View all] BlueStater Jan 2012 OP

never heard of him until this thread mdmc Jan 2012 #1

He was talked about much in the 2008 campaign cthulu2016 Jan 2012 #2

I never heard of him. provis99 Jan 2012 #3

I'd heard of him, but I'm old. He was pretty well-known in the '60s. The Velveteen Ocelot Jan 2012 #4

Same here OffWithTheirHeads Jan 2012 #13

Me too on both counts. Know who Alinsky is may be a function of how old one is pampango Jan 2012 #50

Never. nt ZombieHorde Jan 2012 #5

not all that obscure-- I certainly knew about him niyad Jan 2012 #6

Ditto! You beat me to it by a minute, I think, niyad. elleng Jan 2012 #9

by just a minute!! two great minds. . . niyad Jan 2012 #10

YUP! elleng Jan 2012 #14

I've heard of him. Hillary was a fan. limpyhobbler Jan 2012 #7

If by "fan" you mean "thought his model was ineffective", yes. boppers Jan 2012 #46

Yes he is/was prominent, but I don't think of 'radicalism.' elleng Jan 2012 #8

Never. snagglepuss Jan 2012 #11

Here's a good article from the Chicago Sun Times ("Newt needs a lesson about Saul Alinsky") MidwestTransplant Jan 2012 #12

not me. Quantess Jan 2012 #15

I have to admit I did a Bill Maher--googled his ass! nt MADem Jan 2012 #16

Same. boppers Jan 2012 #48

GOP obsessed with him riverwalker Jan 2012 #17

Lots of Amazon.com customers have ... eppur_se_muova Jan 2012 #18

Never had heard of him Lifelong Protester Jan 2012 #19

Me. Rules for radicals. Warren Stupidity Jan 2012 #20

In the 80s we had a film in the college collection called "Saul Alinsky Goes to War" nt Gidney N Cloyd Jan 2012 #21

Before Newt? Yes. Before they started blabbering about him in 2008? No. drm604 Jan 2012 #22

i survived of the 60`s madrchsod Jan 2012 #23

Me and the Spousal Unit. Course we went to liberal egghead colleges TalkingDog Jan 2012 #24

Rules For Radicals is on my book shelf loyalsister Jan 2012 #25

Long time ago. madamesilverspurs Jan 2012 #26

+1 nt bemildred Jan 2012 #27

me grasswire Jan 2012 #28

Saw a story of him when rallied the poor of Chicago MMJjestic Jan 2012 #29

"Rules for Radicals" was listed in the Whole Earth Catalog after 1971. greendog Jan 2012 #30

LOL !!! - Great Stuff Here... WillyT Jan 2012 #31

When Glenn Beck was still on FoxNews he mentioned him all the time while bashing Obama & Democrats Tx4obama Jan 2012 #32

Here you go... Major Nikon Jan 2012 #37

Thank you for finding it :) n/t Tx4obama Jan 2012 #39

I became familiar with the "Alinsky method" the hard way. mia Jan 2012 #33

Bottom line, his name sounds Jewish and sounds like "Trotsky". Mayberry Machiavelli Jan 2012 #34

He was a key source for anti Vietnam strategies. grantcart Jan 2012 #35

I had but I've worked with community organizations n/t Gormy Cuss Jan 2012 #36

I read a Playboy Interview with him in the early 70s. MarianJack Jan 2012 #38

Never heard of him until Newt referred to him. n/t kiranon Jan 2012 #40

I knew of him and studied his methods dixiegrrrrl Jan 2012 #41

The name is new to me. JDPriestly Jan 2012 #42

I have, but the first time was the 2008 campaign RZM Jan 2012 #43

I heard of him -- even before the 2008 campaign. Jim Lane Jan 2012 #44

The Beck-heads were talking about him during the 2008 election. backscatter712 Jan 2012 #45

I love Bill Maher and this clip does a lot more than just explain Alinsky renie408 Jan 2012 #52

Yes. ellisonz Jan 2012 #47

A little Prophet 451 Jan 2012 #49

For us old folks who went to college in the 70's or 80's, his book was used in some poli sci classes FlaGatorJD Jan 2012 #51

I am familiar with his name but have no idea what he was pushing even thought I did buy one of his jwirr Jan 2012 #53

He was a good friend. GeorgeGist Jan 2012 #54

I just picked up Rules for Radicals myself. backscatter712 Jan 2012 #55