Jeffrey Lord: Remember Sarah Palin?

Welcome to the club, Gov. Walker
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The American Spectator's Jeffrey Lord, on the AmSpec Blog, sees Alinsky's Rule 13 in action:

I know you can remember. She made liberals foam. Go nuts. Crazy nuts. And when some of us tried to point out that she was following a path trod by other conservatives from a young Richard Nixon to an old Ronald Reagan to a middle-aged Rush Limbaugh and George W. Bush and Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter -- the path of most hated conservative in the land -- we were told (indignantly!) that this wasn't so…that it really was all about Sarah herself. She was just…just…well…fill in the epithet of your choice.

Suddenly…Sarah Palin turns out NOT to be the most hated conservative in America. Uh-uh. The crown has been rudely snatched and jammed on someone else's head. That honor has now reverted to a white guy. This one named… Scott Walker. Shoved into the coliseum as the lions roar… he's Hitler. He's Mussolini. He's a Nazi, a Fascist, a racist, a tool of billionaires. He's so bad he makes Sarah Palin look reassuringly plain old vanilla.

Not to put too fine a point on this, but this is what happens when a conservative or even someone who is not a movement conservative but flies enough conservative colors -- becomes the focus of left-wing wrath. What we are watching in real time is the demonization of Scott Walker by the left…a process recently devoted exclusively to Sarah Palin and before that to George W., the talk radio stars, Ann Coulter, the Fox crew.

The irony is that this process is now becoming familiar to more and more people -- more people get the game. Which has two interesting side effects.

One, people begin to realize what the real game is -- discrediting conservatism itself by using one star as a target. The old Alinsky trick of picking the target, freezing it, personalizing it etc.

And two -- by focusing on the newest target with such fierce animosity, it makes the last target fade into… dare we say it… the comfort of a reassuringly familiar face...

We have just one minor disagreement with Jeffrey Lord. When the left is done with Scott Walker, it's not bloody likely that "someone now unknown" will be thrown into the middle of Alinsky Memorial Coliseum to face the lions. It will be "deja vu all over again," because they don't consider the demonization of Gov. Palin to be complete. As Aaron Goldstein succinctly phrased it at the IC Blog:

"Make no mistake. Sarah Palin is still in the crosshairs."

This goes double if she gets into the 2012 presidential race as expected.

- JP

Debunking the Left's "anti-intellectual" meme: It's all about Alinsky

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Libertarian Mike Farmer at his Bonzai blog expresses his frustration with the tactics used by the Left and some "moderates" against Sarah Palin:

The centrists continue the drumbeat of Palin being anti-intellectual. None of them have produced any evidence, except maybe a quote or two about intellectual snobbery, but that's about the snobbery, not the intellectualism.

[...]

She's reasonably intelligent, seems like a fair, good person, personable, expressive -- she's nothing like the conniving political animal, or the complete dolt portrayed by her detractors.

[...]

What is this incessant need about of moderates and progressives to have all those who oppose them be anti-intellectual?

The answer is in a book -- Rules for Radicals by radical leftist Saul Alinsky.

Alinsky's Rule Number 5:

"Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counterattack ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, who then react to your advantage."

Kyle-Anne Shiver explains how to handle the ridicule ploy:

Refuse the temptation to defend yourself; defense takes the bait.

Remain calm and in control of all emotions.

Laugh-off the ridiculer's attempt at goading.

Speak the truth of your own convictions with courage, boldness and forthright frankness.

If, and when, you do change your mind about some issue, then put it out there in candid fashion, outlining the precise reasons behind your change in position.

But never, ever, ever, ever, ever give an inch to the devilish lure of ridicule.

John Hawkins suggests turning Alinsky back on the Alinskyite Left:

"While we conservatives don’t have to stoop quite as low as the left has, we do need to start giving them a taste of their own medicine, if only to make them think twice about the way they’re treating our side."

Since this is war, Michael Naragon advocates using a proven and ancient strategy against the Left's Alinsky methods:

"In the world history classes I teach, my students are required to read the work of Sun Tzu, The Art of War... I believe that these lessons can be applied to our current ideological warfare with the Marxist Left... I believe there are two major themes in the book: deception and intelligence. The commander who possesses skills in both areas will never be defeated. Period. That’s a promise from Sun Tzu."

Which of the three proposed ways of dealing with the Left's use of Alinsky's tactics is best? That may depend on the circumstances. We suggest that Sarah's supporters become familiar with all three. Just remember that one reason Sarah Palin is steadily gaining support from independents is because they have been turned off by the Left's use of riducule against her. Alinsky's followers may have gone to that well too may times, and it's backfiring on them. So using ridicule against them has to be done sparingly, carefully and in only in the right situation. Ronald Reagan was a master of this.  His jabs at liberals were humorous, but never seemed mean-spirited to anyone (except liberals). They were so effective that liberals stopped using the l-word and began calling themselves "progressives."

- JP

Quote of the Day (September 21, 2009)

Bob Morris:

"Hey, Sarah Palin says something outrageous and liberal blogs get infuriated, foam at the mouth, and run the story constantly. I’d say she has them well-trained."

- JP

Mark Noonan on The Palin Effect

To paraphrase George C. Scott's Patton, "Alinsky, you magnificent bastard. Sarah Palin read your book." And she's using it as a weapon against your dark army, as Mark Noonan observes in "The Palin Effect":

“Death Panels” did it - and I know our liberals still yank their hair in frustration…there was no such thing, they assert.

[...]

But... so were there “death panels” in the health care reform proposals, disguised as various commissions and committees which would [oversee] what coverage plans were to provide. And Sarah Palin’s phrasing was crucial to turning the debate firmly against Obama and his Democrats.

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We’ll have to see if Palin can develop Reaganesque ability to re-shape public perceptions. But, be that as it may, Palin has shown why she rose so far and so fast - and still has a shot at the White House in 2012: she’s very, very smart.

And she’s made the left jump to her tune - that, in and of itself, will provide satisfaction when set against the slanders the left has launched against her.

Recommended reading.

- JP