How Trump is making Alinsky’s Fourth Rule work for us
As long as you are not offended by colorful language, the read of the day has to be this essay at Ace of Spades Headquarters by the writer identified as Open Blogger. In it, he wittily lays out “How losing my political values helped me gain my freedom.” I am not 100% sure that he is being completely ironic. But the logic of his argument is inescapable. He starts with Alinsky’s Fourth Rule:
There's a frustrating game that the left plays with conservatives. It's an Alinksy tactic called, "Make them live up to their values." Now, living up to one's values isn't a bad thing, but setting high standards ultimately means that you'll sometimes fall short.
This tactic has been a sure win for the left for decades, now. Any misconduct by Christians is fair game, and Republicans are held to the highest standards, while Barney Frank diddled an underage page and remained a revered Democrat. Until President Trump.
And then came along Trump, a guy just ripe for demonization by the left. I think it's fair to say that even his early supporters worried that the Democrats would successfully make him toxic to the general voting public with his boorish behavior, vulgarity, multiple bankruptcies and very public divorces.
But something strange happened. Not only did Donald Trump not care about attacks on his character, neither did anyone else. We saw this new paradigm assert itself over and over during the primary throughout repeated media predictions that this time he's gone to far and he's cooked.
This same indifference that helped Trump carry the election has continued into the early days of his administration. With it comes a refreshingly freeing state of mind.
Open Blogger then describes how he has adopted this tactic, of not caring what they say and fighting back. “Retribution,” he proudly proclaims.
There aren't any rules anymore because the left only applies them one way. And in doing so, they've left what once was a civil compact between the two parties in smoldering ruins. (snip)
I no longer have any investment in any particular political values, save one: The rules created by the left will be applied to the left as equally and punitively as they have applied them to the right. (snip)
This new philosophy has freed me of more emotional angst that I can describe. Literally nothing the left says or does matters to me anymore. I don't care about their tantrums. I don't care about their accusations. I don't care if they say Trump is lying. I don't care if Trump is lying.
They created this Frankenstein. They own it. I am free of all obligation. I will never play defense again. I will attack, attack, attack, attack using their own tactics against them until they learn their lesson.
What I will not do is let them play my values against me ever again. I don't need to prove that I'm better than them. I already know it.
There is much more. Read the whole thing.