Good afternoon friends, bikers and patriots. With so much division in our country right now, I thought I would dive into a 54 year old book, “Rules for Radicals.” Many of you may not be old enough to have heard of this book – much less its author, Saul Alinsky. After all, 54 years is a long time ago. So let’s dive right in.

Who is Saul Alinsky?

Born in 1909, in Chicago, Illinois, Saul Alinsky was born to Jewish-Russian immigrants. He studied criminology and sociology at the University of Chicago, graduating in 1930. He would later work for the Illinois Department of Corrections before turning to “community organizing.” Sound familiar? Through his community organizing efforts, he would found the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council (along with Joseph Meegan) in 1939-1940, and the Industrial Areas Foundation in 1940. He would go on to write several books: Reveille for Radicals (1946), John L. Lewis: An Unauthorized Biography (1949) and Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals (1971). Rules For Radicals outlined his tactics for: polarization, ridicule, personalization of issues and keeping actions within the experience of average people – while outside the experience of the enemy. His devotees would later include Hillary Rodham Clinton, who wrote her senior thesis on Saul Alinsky, while attending Wellesley College (1969), and Barack Hussein Obama.

So What Are Alinsky’s Rules For Radicals?

Here are the rules, which I will dive into in more detail later in this post:

1. Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.
2. Never go outside the experience of your people.
3. Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.
4. Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.
5. Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
6. A good tactic is one your people enjoy.
7. A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
8. Keep the pressure on. Never let up.
9. The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
10. The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure on the opposition.
11. If you push negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.
12. The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.

 

And while there were only 12 rules, provided through Alinsky’s writings, a 13th rule has emerged: “13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” It is interesting that Alinsky uses the word “enemy” quite often. And, as we know in today’s environment, conservatives are the central enemy of the far left. We are not fellow citizens. We are the enemy. Period.

#1: Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.

A very good example of this rule is the unrest we witnessed on our liberal university campuses, starting in the spring of 2024. These activists were loosely attached students (and many outside agitators) with very little in the way of resources. But what they did have were fancy signs, streaming media and lots of Mainstream Media coverage. While these protesters were nothing more than a mob, in most cases, their appearance was that of unstoppable momentum – and strength. Their enemy was the university leadership (Columbia, UCLA, Berkeley, Et. Al), local leaders, state leaders and the Joe Biden administration. Through their seemingly tight solidarity, clashes with local police and pure screaming, they seemed unstoppable. They were not, but the schools, local leaders and the Federal government blinked. Multiple times.

#2: Never go outside the expertise of your people.

This can be best described as Alinsky warning his followers to “Stay inside their lane.” So many of those needing this advice are Gen Z young adults with little real world experience. They are not able to debate real issues and frame them into cogent arguments. So their tactics were largely campus protests, social media posts (which went viral) and creating encampments. Many of these were similar to what we saw with the Black Lives Matter protests in the Summer of Love: 2020. They were able to steer clear of having to file lawsuits, against institutions or the Federal government – and got their message out – to many young adults who are easily malleable.

#3: Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.

Once again, we can go to the protests of 2024 for this. The students of Ivy League schools, and large amounts of outside agitators, quickly pushed their protests to occupations of campus buildings, beatings of counter-protesters, and assaults and profanity laced tirades against law enforcement – leading to concessions from universities like Columbia. This essentially froze law enforcement, due to many factors, some of which were constant MSM coverage and viral live streaming of the protests. Law enforcement, local leaders and the Federal government froze in place. They knew they couldn’t just storm the buildings as it would only create more protests and civil unrest.

#4: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.

Alinsky described this rule as devastating because opponents “can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity”—exposing inevitable flaws or inconsistencies to erode credibility. The best example of this is the Left’s constant chant of “No One is Above the Law!” This led to prosecutors and attorneys general campaigning on no other platform than locking Trump up. Thank goodness it largely failed.

#5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.

This rule doesn’t require much elaboration in today’s environment. All you have to do is go to TikTok, X or Instagram and your timeline will be flooded with far leftist whackos absolutely losing their minds. Some of them are truly fake – to gain clicks and monetization. Others, I hate to say, are real. I will show you two quick examples of this – and I am sure you can find plenty of your own. Can you decide which one is actually losing their mind and which one is only a grifter, after clicks and monetization?

#6: A good tactic is one your people enjoy.

This one is so easy. Who doesn’t like to enjoy life? Perhaps a day of fishing, a family dinner, or hell, a bonfire! We all know the far left Marxists love to enjoy themselves too. And who are we to call them out for enjoying themselves. Hell, they can have a bonfire in downtown Minneapolis, a robbery of an Apple Store or the best: throwing molotov cocktails at the police! What a fucking sad state of affairs.

#7: A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.

This is an easy one to highlight! For years, the Democrats, their DNC approved Mainstream Media, social media influencers and others, have run around screaming about Trump – like their hair is literally on fire. Here are just a few of the “Trump is ruining Democracy” actions and talking points:

1. Trump/Russia Collusion in our elections
2. Two impeachments by house Democrats
3. Trump caused the January 6, 2021 “Insurrection!”
4. Trump thinks he is “Above the Law! – No one is above the law!”
5. Trump is a serial sexual abuser!
6. Trump is a racist!
7. Trump is a white nationalist!
8. Trump is a white supremacist!
9. Trump won’t release the Epstein Files – because he would implicate himself!

 

The list goes on, an on. The seventh, of Alinsky’s Rule’s For Radicals, instructs the radicals to move on and not drag it out. Because, if a tactic drags on – “it’s a drag!” Let’s examine some things they have relentlessly pounded Trump on, before realizing they had dragged it out too long, and moved on to the next! And we all know that politicians, pundits and social media influencers, from both sides, are known to drag things out a bit long at times!

Russian Collusion! Trump colluded with Putin to steal the 2016 presidential election!

No one is above the law! Not even the president! 

Let’s keep calling Trump vile names until one sticks!

Trump won’t release the Epstein files because they implicate him!

Ooopsie! None of these worked… Let’s move on to telling the military to defy legal orders from the president!

It all is so damn stupid. So easy to see through. And they just keep it up. Wash, rinse, repeat!

#8: Keep the pressure on. Never let up.

Rule number 8 is one which Democrats, and their minions, have absolutely excelled at. It started early on with the #Resistance movement. It is easy to find those who ascribe to this by looking at their profiles on X. They will inevitably have these hashtags: #VoteBlueNoMatterWho #BlueWave and #Resist. Once liberals have identified what they are going to use next, they commit to it and never let off the pressure. They never let a Trump controversy die. Unfortunately, this tactic has proven effective for them. And it continues today whether it pushes climate change, J6, abortion, LGBTQA+ issues, illegal immigration, ICE raids, etc., etc. This is a rule which the conservatives need to do a better job of embracing and using.

#9: The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.

This is one of the rules which Democrats like the most. They spin complete doomsday scenarios to push a social agenda as has been done with the climate change lie. Do you remember young Greta Thunberg and AOC telling us the world was going to end in 12 years, 6 years or next week? The left has also used this when speaking of unconstitutional gun laws, COVID-19, government shutdowns during the Obama administration and lately the Texas plan to redistrict their United States house districts.

#10: The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.

Over the past 54 years, this rule, more than any other, of Alinsky’s, has been carried through with near perfection. The Democrats, more than the Republicans, have been persistent in playing the long game. The first example of this I will offer is probably the most critical to their ability to push a social agenda in the present day: the indoctrination of children in our public education institutions. This started decades ago and has given them a very fertile population of young, and not so young, adults who willingly support radical agendas. They buy in completely and have megaphones, with social media, to convince more young people that traditional American values are anti-American. Period. Hard stop.

Fast forward to today, and you can clearly see the operational foundation they’ve assembled is successful. They can bring protesters, to far flung cities, quickly and efficiently. They showed up in Minneapolis, and other major cities, during the George Floyd riots. Transportation was arranged. Props, such as bricks and rocks, were ready. And the rioters had lodging available to them so they could stay as long as necessary. And behind the curtain is plenty of money to make it happen. This money comes from somewhere – and someone. Personally, I believe George Soros’ Center for American Progress is doing much of the funding for these acts of civil disobedience. We can only hope that our Justice Department is tracing the money and is willing to prosecute the individuals who hide behind their curtains of anonymity.

#11: If you push negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.

Goodness! Where does one even start with this one? Since I haven’t used it yet, I will throw out the Left’s lie about Trump after the Charlottesville incident, where they cherrypicked and selectively edited what Trump actually said and turned it into, “Trump said white supremacists were very nice people.” What Trump actually said was there were nice people on both sides peacefully protesting. Trump actually excoriated the neo-Nazis/white supremacists.

Then there have been the repeated accusations that Trump liked Hitler and is a Nazi or fascist. Do you remember Joe Biden’s speech in front of the red backdrop excoriating Trump – and his supporters??

And let’s not forget that because we support President Trump, we are all racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic crazy MAGAts – or perhaps all of them! The Leftists just keep repeating the same thing over, and over and over again until it doesn’t seem crazy to undecided people. And they’ve really done it successfully with the transgender social justice movement. This may be the most unhealthy thing the Democrats, their pundits, the Mainstream Media and social media influencers have pushed on the stage of public opinion. Most liberals believe that conservatives, especially white male conservatives, are the most dangerous demographic in American society. Do any of you recall a white conservative shooting up a school, killing children and teachers – or perhaps a church filled with Catholic students during the first day of school? Of course not. But I remember Audrey Hale (a self proclaimed transitioning female) shooting up Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee – as I am sure you do. Not to mention quite a few other transgender mass shootings. If you do the math on this, because transgender people are an extremely small portion of our overall population, a high percentage of these people are very dangerous. An extremely infinitesimal percentage of conservatives become mass shooters – and if you restrict it to male conservatives – it is probably very close to 0.00%.

#12: The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.

The constructive alternatives are everywhere. Climate change is a perfect example. The Biden administration handed the EV automobile industry a win by specifying specific targets for new EV vehicle sales. Since the Obama administration, the coal and utility industries have been attacked nonstop. This has resulted in wind farms, solar electricity farms and a battery industry to store electricity. The latter of which use rare earth minerals which damage the environment. The problem we are seeing today is that these alternatives are not reliable and cost trillions of dollars. The results are evident in California where rolling blackouts still happen during high demand summer months. If Democrats actually offered alternatives which worked as advertised, we might be able to support them. But instead we waste unimaginable amounts of tax payer dollars and have outcomes which don’t work.

#13: Pick the target, freeze it, and polarize it.

While the Rules for Radicals only listed 12 rules, this 13th rule is accepted to exist: “Pick the target, freeze it, and polarize it.” The target is almost always an individual. And the Democrats will relentlessly attack that person in an effort to kill them politically – or ruin them financially. There are so many examples of people who have been targeted by the Democrats for decades. I’ll offer just a few: Ronald Reagan, Clarence Thomas, George W. Bush, Elon Musk. Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, etc., etc. But the one individual who has been vehemently attacked for the longest is Donald John Trump. This has been happening since the day, in 2015, when he came down the escalator, and announced his presidential candidacy. It was immediate. And literally happened overnight. Remember, that Donald Trump was a darling of the left, Hollywood and media for years before this.

Eight Steps to Socialism

Over the intervening years, since Rules For Radicals was published, the far left of the Democrat Party have followed Alinsky’s rules very well. There have been missteps, the most obvious being their failure to follow rule 12 properly. While they have attacked their “enemy” (all of us) very well, they have not always done a very good job of offering alternatives which are remotely plausible.

A prime example of this is the successful run of Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City. He absolutely had no issue attacking his opposition at every corner. But the solutions he has put forward, as part of his platform, are straight up socialism and will never work in a city the size of NYC. Some of the things he said he will do, more than one of which he has backed off from a bit, are: build more affordable housing and freezing rent, create a Department of Community Safety (meaning defund the police), create city owned grocery stores, provide free public transportation, free childcare and raising the minimum wage to $30. Obviously, the residents of New York City believed him since he was elected by a large margin. The problem with his platform is that he will run out of other people’s money to steal and redistribute. This is why socialism has NEVER worked in any country with a large population. There is not enough money.

This leads me to another list, which is often thought to originate from Saul Alinsky, but cannot be attributed to any specific person:

Eight Steps to Socialism

1. Healthcare — Control healthcare and you control the people.
2. Welfare — Take control of every aspect of their lives (Food, Housing, and Income).
3. Education — Take control of what people read and listen to — take control of what children learn in school.
4. Religion — Remove the belief in God from the Government and schools.
5. Class Warfare — Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor. This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to take (Tax) the wealthy with the support of the poor.
6. Debt — Increase the debt to an unsustainable level.
7. Gun Control — Remove the ability for the people to defend themselves from the Government.
8. Poverty — Increase the poverty level as high as possible. Poor people are easier to control and will keep socialists in power if they are providing everything for them to live.

 

These are all self explanatory, so I am not taking a deep dive into each of them. What I will say is that whoever created this list could predict the future. This is the playbook that modern Democrats – especially those self avowed Democratic Socialists – are following today. Inevitably, this is likely to lead to Marxism and then to full blown Communism. Hell, I even went on X and asked Grok how these eight steps could impact the United States. Here is the response:

In Closing

The far extreme ends of the Conservative —> Liberal ideologies have their fair share of detractors. The moderates of both parties – and undecided independents – make up the majority of the American electorate. What we are faced with today is that the loudest voices are on the far left. They use the megaphone of the internet far better to influence the moderate middle. The Republicans have proven nearly inept with social media and their quieter voices are drowned out by the screaming, dramatic and brash voices of the likes of AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and all the talking heads on Mainstream Media – not to mention social media influencers with millions of followers. As conservatives we need to learn better ways to take over the arena of ideas – and debate them effectively. We are on the edge of a slippery slope to a much larger, more controlling government.

Molon Labe,
The Original Grey Beard Biker™
Email: gbb@TheGreyBeardBiker.com
@AlchemyShootist on X