Rules for Conservative "Radicals"
What MAGA can learn from the original political radical, Saul Alinsky
Intro: Saul Alinsky is MAGA Now
(This is Brief #2 of 40 of Project Solomon’s 2024 election coverage. Read the intro post here.)
Rebuilding an America First foundation will require major grassroots efforts, cultural investments, and institutional changes.
A successful MAGA movement will take effort beyond this election, but activist Saul Alinsky offers a blueprint for how to win now and long-term.
Perplexity: “Saul David Alinsky (1909-1972) was an influential American community organizer, political theorist, and writer who pioneered modern community organizing techniques and strategies. His most famous work, “Rules for Radicals” (1971), outlined tactics for effective organizing.”
Context
When I was younger, I heard all about “Saul Alinsky Radicals” from conservative family members. The man wrote the playbook for a young Barack Obama, and inspired Hillary Rodham’s Master’s thesis at Wellesley. I was told he was a…bad guy.
So I was surprised to learn more about Alinsky this year as I read his primary source material, the infamous “Rules for Radicals” operating manual for community organizers.
Alinsky was not a Marxist. He may very well have become a proud “MAGA extremist,” if he were still alive. Conservatives should absorb his lessons for the next 40 days (and four years).
Five Lessons from Saul Alinsky
Change Culture to Win Long-Term. Call it the Alinsky-Breitbart doctrine. Thirty years before Andrew Breitbart argued that politics was downstream from culture, Alinsky argued “cultural reformation is a prerequisite for political revolution,” citing John Adams. Alinsky and Breitbart understood the importance of the Overton Window in politics, and why it was critical to push the gravitational center to your side, not just the edges.
Just Win, Baby. And Win Ugly if Needed. Culture won’t change overnight, but the Presidency will. The Left believes their ends justify their means because they believe this election is existential. Alinsky articulated the “ethics of tactics” well (see below). In today’s case, Kamala and her surrogates will judge *any* tactic the Trump campaign deploys as unethical and “dress their own behavior in moral garbs” (defend democracy!). They will resort to desperate tactics as defeat appears more likely. “Nice” conservatives need to grow up and fight fire with fire. Apologize as needed on November 6th.
Inaction is a (Terrible) Choice. Elections are about control of the past, present, and future. The dominance of today’s progressivism is due to Leftist control of academia (history), journalism (news), and the administrative state (policy). Winning the long-term cultural war is only possible if conservatives control at least one of these power centers, and the Presidency is the only office available this year. Conservatives that sit out this election are complicit in preserving the status quo, and will ensure that future grassroots cultural investments are targeted and stifled. (Looking at you, pro-life Christians.)
Win Elections, and Get Your People In. The mistake casual political observers make is in thinking that Congress matters much at all. Entrepreneurs make similar mistakes when they try to opt out of politics and simply attempt to route around existing power structures with business solutions. The President (appointments) and Senate (confirmations) do matter when it comes to regulators and judges. Trump appointees could determine the future of tech and the American economy, something even lifelong Democrats begrudgingly agree would be a good thing.
Meet People Where They Are: Alinksy knew how to use humor to win messaging wars. Comedy is the art of effective truth-telling (as the only crime in humor is not being funny), and the time to push good messaging is now, not in two months. There is still time to cajole swing voters into registering, to redpill independent’s on the media’s corruption, and to select targets for ridicule that will demoralize the Left. Win the meme war.
Five Action Items for MAGA
There is no glory in defeat. Playing to win the election means nailing tactics and community organization. But what can individuals actually do?
AC/DC: Activate lazy allies, Celebrate converts, Demoralize antagonists, Crush dissent. The most important organizers in the MAGA movement are in the swing state voter registration leaders, and those activating young Pennsylvania men in particular. When speaking with moderates, study RFK Jr.’s messaging to win more converts. Demoralize Democrats by exposing Kamala’s deepest flaws (show Black voters Kamala’s DA record, show vets the Walz stolen valor interview). And humiliate Republicans who cross the picket line in order to crush internal GOP dissent.
Boycott Google: Winning the long-term culture battle against the administrative state, academia, media, Big Tech etc. will require a long-term ground game. But there’s an exposed Achilles heel today: Google. MAGA should boycott Google immediately, by switching web browsers, and changing default searches to an AI tool like Perplexity (used above), crimping Google’s ad revenue. Getting 10 million Trump voters to switch browsers would hurt Google and send a wake up call to Tech companies everywhere: rigging your algorithms will lead to organized commercial war. (Full post this week.)
Buy Bitcoin. Fuel movements with momentum. No tech sector has broken more definitively for Trump than the crypto industry where this election is existential for the entrepreneurs operating in the field. A mass movement to purchase $47 worth of bitcoin would achieve three things: 1) signal support for a pro-Trump industry and reaffirm Trump’s alignment with crypto, 2) demonstrate strength in numbers to the big banks and ensure that financial companies fear dire potential consequences for debanking Conservatives, and 3) create a virtuous cycle that further hardens opposition to the dystopian central-bank digital currency surveillance initiatives. (Full post this week.)
Mock relentlessly (but intelligently): Mock weak liberal men with no “intersectional” points (avoid “ism” criticisms) and ridicule sycophantic corporate press at every turn. The reason RFK Jr.’s Trump endorsement speech was so effective was his meticulous attack of the corporate media. He exposed them as propagandists, and MAGA would do well to a) ignore MSNBC (known liberal shills), and focus energy on any press who still delude themselves into believing they are objective. The primary targets for ridicule are Kristen Welker, Margaret Brennan, Kaitlin Collins, Dana Bash, Van Jones, and every available white liberal “man.” Or just follow the Babylon Bee. (Full post this week.)
Stay Calm; Trigger the Enemy into Making Mistakes: Alinsky knew that “the real action is the enemy’s reaction” and “a goaded enemy is a strength because they are forced to keep moving perpetually.” Conservatives should avoid taking the bait from Kamala’s campaign surrogates. The best thing to do at this point is focus on #1-4 and avoid bad tactics, loose focus, and inaction.
Final Thoughts
There’s eight weeks until the election. Winning is all that matters today, and we should focus on what can be done to ensure President Trump is re-elected.
Now (and later), Saul Alinsky may prove to be an unlikely guide for how individuals can organize and contribute to Trump’s political success. Focus on registering men in swing states, demoralizing public Kamala supporters, and taking small simple steps to demonstrate MAGA’s collective boycotting strength over the next quarter.
Those attacks will pay long-term dividends.
-Solomon
Post Script: Alinsky’s Guide to Winning Tactics:
Power is what the enemy thinks you have.
Never go outside of the experience of your people.
Go outside of the experience of the enemy.
Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.
Ridicule is man’s most powerful weapon.
Good tactics are enjoyable.
A tactic that goes on too long becomes a drag.
Keep the pressure on.
The threat is more terrifying than the thing itself.
Develop operations that keep pressure constant.
Push a negative hard and deep enough that it will break through.
Price of a constructive attack is a constructive alternative.
Pick target, freeze, personalize, polarize.
Alinsky’s Ethics of Tactics:
Concern with the ethics of tactics is inversely correlated with personal interest.
Judgment of ethics is dependent on the political position of those in judgment.
The higher the stakes, the greater latitude with tactics.
Judgment on tactics needs to be put in the time period and context.
Concern with ethics increases with means available (if you’re advantaged).
When something is less important, you can afford to think about ethics more.
Success or failure is a mighty determinant of ethics: history is written by the winners.
Tactics change depending on the imminence of victory or defeat.
Anything effective will be judged as unethical by the other side.
Do what you can with the means you have and dress it in moral garbs.
Always use general terms that are adaptable to new circumstances or data and draw a clear contrast with your enemies.