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During the semester, I shall post course material and students will comment on it. Students are also free to comment on any aspect of American politics, either current or historical. There are only two major limitations: no coarse language, and no derogatory comments about people at the Claremont Colleges. This blog is on the open Internet, so post nothing that you would not want a potential employer to see. Syllabus: http://gov20h.blogspot.com/2023/08/draft-introduction-to-american-politics.html

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Alinsky II

Protest, Assembly, and the First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Alinsky's 13 Rules of Political Tactics

RULE 1: Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.
RULE 2: Never go outside the experience of your people
RULE 3: Whenever possible, go outside the experience of the enemy
RULE 4: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.
RULE 5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
RULE 6: A good tactic is one that your people enjoy. (compare with p. 139)
RULE 7: A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
RULE 8: Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.
RULE 9: The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
RULE 10: The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.
RULE 11: If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside.
RULE 12: The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
RULE 13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

Twelve observations about interest groups



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