Alinski’s Rules 14 Mar 2020

    Another great day to be an American.

    We need to get right into Alinski's book. It had such 
an impact that even today our Democratic party is trying to
regain the ground lost when things (Trump) went awry.
    Alinski's book gave us 12 things that he felt needed to
happen to accomplish the goal to Fundamentally Transform 
America.
    * RULE 1: “Power is not only what you have, but what the
enemy thinks you have.” Power is derived from 2 main sources
– money and people. “Have-Nots” must build power from flesh
and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plenti-
ful supply. Government and corporations always have a diffi-
cult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost 
exclusively with economic arguments.)
    * RULE 2: “Never go outside the expertise of your 
people." It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling
secure adds to the backbone of anyone. (Organizations under
attack wonder why radicals don’t address the “real” issues. 
This is why. They avoid things with which they have no 
knowledge.)
    * RULE 3: “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise
of the enemy.” Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety
and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many
organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly ir-
relevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)
    * RULE 4: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of 
rules.” If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send
30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one
can possibly obey all of their own rules. (This is a serious
rule. The besieged entity’s very credibility and reputation
is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not 
living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away
at the damage.)
    * RULE 5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There
is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also
works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into con-
cessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to
create anger and fear.)
    * RULE 6: “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” 
They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do 
more. They’re doing their thing, and will even suggest better
ones. (Radical activists, in this sense, are no different 
than any other human being. We all avoid “un-fun” activities,
and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring
results.)
    * RULE 7: “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a
drag.” Don’t become old news. (Even radical activists get 
bored. To keep them excited and involved, organizers are 
constantly coming up with new tactics.)
    * RULE 8: “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep 
trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the
opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with
something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never
giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup,
recover and re-strategize.)
    * RULE 9: “The threat is usually more terrifying than the
thing itself.” Imagination and ego can dream up many more
consequences than any activist. (Perception is reality. Large
organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something
that may be furthest from the activists’ minds. The upshot is
that the organization will expend enormous time and energy
creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions.
The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in 
demoralization.)
    * RULE 10: “If you push a negative hard enough, it will
push through and become a positive.” Violence from the other
side can win the public to your side because the public sym-
pathizes with the underdog. (Unions used this tactic. Peace-
ful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions
in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management’s wrath,
often in the form of violence that eventually brought public
sympathy to their side.)
    * RULE 11: “The price of a successful attack is a con-
structive alternative.” Never let the enemy score points 
because you’re caught without a solution to the problem. (Old
saw: If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the
problem. Activist organizations have an agenda, and their
strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum
to wield their power. So, they have to have a compromise 
solution.)
    * RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it,
and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the
target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; 
people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very
effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)
    So to condense his idea of what he needed to do was to lie
and pretend you are someone you aren't. 
    Don't talk about things you don't know about. 
    Talk over your audience like they are dumb. 
    Challenge every rule of your target, all at once, if 
possible. 
    Ridicule the target to make them angry which creates 
mistakes. 
    If your people like to demean the target, let them. 
    Change up your tactics often.
    Attack them and don't let up. 
    Make them think bad things will happen if they don't do 
what you tell them.
    Lie, lie, lie and make them mad enough to get violent. 
It creates allies.
    Always have a solution or compromise.
    Pick yout target and separate them out so they depend upon
just you.
    The use of this information goes on, even today. Just 
listen to Bernie or 
    Warren and few others. They won't tell you what they are doing
but knowledge is power and we can wake people up.
    Now put Republican in where he refered to enemy or opposi-
tion. Explains a lot about how we are being treated every day
by liberals and the media.
    This was a bit long but it helped me set the groundwork
for next week's application phase. 
Come back.

Conservatively,
John