It was either Adolf Hitler or Joseph Goebbels who said, “The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it.” This is the cornerstone of today’s political scene: Politicians and their bases keep appealing to the lowest common denominator with sound bytes, misleading statements, and fake news designed to attack the opposition. The tactic has successfully split the nation into two; both sides are watching two completely different motion pictures pertaining to the administration of President Donald Trump and U.S. politics.
The left thinks doomsday is nigh. The right thinks we’re living in heaven on Earth.
Saul Alinsky, the community organizer who wrote the seminal 1971 book Rules for Radicals, took a slightly different approach from the aforementioned quote as part of Rule 10: “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.”
He elaborated: “It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.”
Has The Resistance found a workable solution to their string of defeats in the political and culture wars over the last decade?
Repetition is Paramount
Since the election of President Trump, the left – politicians, the news media, and professional activists – have hammered down the message that the real estate billionaire mogul is threatening democracy and that the Republican Party will oppress women and minorities if they hold onto power. Like Coca-Cola advertising their products everywhere, despite everyone being aware of the soda juggernaut, the swamp has repeated this fatuous message on television, blogs, and social media.
Considering the way many in the press and on social media behave, this marketing strategy is working. There’s a steady supply on the left who genuinely believe white supremacists lurk behind every corner, delivering secret messages on television by resting one hand on their arm. There’s an abundance of people who really think Trump is the next Adolf Hitler.
Why? Repetition.
All you need to do is turn on MSNBC or CNN, and you will hear a pundit declare that this is the end of the republic during each broadcast because the president eats McDonald’s or because he wanted peace in the Korean Peninsula. Mika Brzezinski, co-host of Morning Joe, suggests every morning that Trump is the making of a dictator.
It doesn’t matter if the attacks are true – as long as they work, the left is satisfied.
Suffice it to say, gay liberals might think Trump and the GOP hate homosexuals, black progressives may go to bed at night fearful that the White House will target them, and female leftists could be concerned the administration will force women back into the kitchen. While no one on either side of the aisle is advocating these policies, individuals who play experts on television are telling them otherwise, leading the uninformed proletariat to regurgitate these mendacious platitudes.
The tactic of warning the nation that Trump is about to destroy the planet may not have worked the first dozen times, but it might have infiltrated the minds of 20 million people the 23rd or 69th time, hence why 90% of Trump’s coverage is negative. Not even the most independent skeptic is immune to the brainwashing blitzkrieg of the Counterfeit News Network.
Antifa
Pressure Through Outrage
Here is a question: Would you believe someone on television who is telling you that American voters elected a fascist in a Bernard Shaw tone? Or would you tend to believe that person’s statement more if they sounded imminent, genuine, and perhaps a little emotional? Typically, it is the latter that fuels the outrage among those who are easy to upset, which is why the press regularly jacks it up to 11.
We often speak of two camps: the silent majority and the loud minority. Again, it is the latter that makes the headlines and garners the nation’s attention, not the folks who put in a hard day’s work and are too busy to protest the protesters.
Take a gander at the group of misfits who recently harassed Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and his wife at a restaurant, shouting “We believe survivors.” Or, take a look at coverage of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination; the media and leftist demonstrators have already determined his guilt and call him a rapist any chance they get. Or, take a peek at another group of rascals, Antifa, which has destroyed public property, assaulted veterans, and employed fascist methods, all the while earning the endorsement from CNN.
They all have the same two things in common: They apply the pressure and they’re always outraged.
It has become the norm in recent years that if you shriek that you’re offended, whether it is by a brand’s marketing campaign or a celebrity retweeting a conservative, the offending party will backtrack out of fear that they will become the target of the perturbed and asinine social justice mob. The left is that petulant child who needs to get his way or else he will whine, scream, and cry like Caillou. And it works.
Rule Seven vs. Rule Ten
The main problem with the tenth Alinsky rule is that, if employed too much, it abandons the recommendations from Rule Seven: “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” The perpetually offended are not only metastasizing into a nuisance, they’re hurting their own cause. If we have learned anything from the 2016 election it’s that if you denigrate, lecture, and humiliate a certain voting bloc or class of people for an entire year, they will rebel and cast a ballot for a person or party the establishment detests. The left will need to strike a fine balance between both rules if they want to win the debate, which is why they prefer violence and vacuous polemics to discussion.
What do you think of Saul Alinsky’s Rule Ten? Let us know in the comments section!
