After intensely watching the Left for over a decade and a half, he is right with “he” being Steven Hayward over at Powerline. Hayward has completed a book in which he quotes a section of M. Stanton Evens book where he gives an example of how the Left always operates:
In these cases, the routine is always just the same: Build up alarm about some asserted menace to public health or Mother Nature; cite “studies” or “science” of some sort the average person can’t find or fathom; bring forth a crew of activists/politicians/official spokesmen who hammer on these alleged data—all repeated at endless length in hearings, meetings and media forums. Finally, when the public has had its “consciousness raised” enough (i.e., is scared out of its wits) move to adopt the desired big spending-taxing-regulating measure.
Different details, same technique.
Go ahead, name a time when that short playbook ISN’T used? There always a crisis to be had (most of which causes the rest of us to go “huh?” Then we start seeing Democrats from all over start yammering about it almost word for word. It is a variation of The Big Lie mostly because they’re doing the 2+2=5 two step.
They depend on the “Leftist middle” (and poor education resulting in most people having a dearth of a factual knowledgebase other than of pop culture and no critical reasoning skills to spit on) to listen to this dribble to pound it into the back of their minds of an unintelligible word salad when prompted and then support the notion that they have to give more money to these Leftist grifters.
But, to the rescue, a plan with which to fight against it.
Sidenote: I like Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals but then again, I’m not much of a couch potato and RfR requires actual actions.
Emphasis mine:
1. Politics Abhors a Vacuum. Conservatives too often wait merely to oppose a liberal proposal, which leaves the initiative always in the hands of liberals. It is important to beat liberals to the lead.
2. Write the Resolved Clause. One secret of winning a debate is to decide upfront what it is going to be about. Liberals seem to know this instinctively, conservatives all too often don’t—which means they wind up discussing what solutions to adopt, or not, to problems that the liberals have selected. This permits the left to maintain the rhetorical offensive, define the scope of possible action, and wind up getting much of what they want. Conservatives must avoid the trap of simply debating issues as the left presents them, and instead define the issue for themselves.
3. Nothing Is “Inevitable.” This is one of the hoariest verbal-conceptual tricks in the liberal handbook. Usually what is called “inevitable” in Washington is something leftward activists or Beltway pundits assume or want, thus encouraging their cadres while demoralizing their opponents. Conservatives should resist this dismal counsel wherever it is offered, remembering that by their own exertions and advocacy they can change the dynamics of most political situations (and have often done so).
4. Fighting Is Better Than Not Fighting. A self-evident proposition, one would think, but apparently, it isn’t. Nothing can more certainly assure the victory of leftward causes than the failure of conservatives, Republicans, businessmen, et al., to oppose them. This doesn’t mean every battle can be won, or that all battles can be fought at once. It does mean that generally speaking, a vigorous, sustained resistance well-grounded in the facts can drastically change the feedback from the polls and focus groups that are so much relied on.
5. Washington Is Not America. Republicans for the most part come to DC repeating this mantra to themselves, but once more there seems to be a memory problem. The enveloping atmosphere of the city, the hugeness of the government itself, the clamorous interest groups, the TV talking heads—all of this is hard to ignore or overcome. In these precincts, many liberal ideas are regarded as a done deal, something no sustained or decent person could oppose. Opinion surveys often reveal, however, that things look quite different outside the Beltway, especially after the opposition finally starts to oppose.
6. Taxes Are Trumps. As all of the above suggests, the question of high and rising taxes remains what it has ever been—the gold standard of Republican issues. This is the great trump card of the GOP, a solid, powerful and intelligible topic that can be placed over against all the standard liberal promises of something-for-nothing from the federal larder. Whenever the GOP has been able to use this issue in credible fashion—most notably under Ronald Reagan—it has emerged the winner. Whenever it strays from the anti-tax position—as under George H.W. Bush—it gets itself in trouble.
Seem pretty good to me. Except, we have come to the point where the Right MUST start attacking the Left in the Culture Wars. They will submit that there isn’t one even as they are pushing one – the current issue that fits this is Critical Race Theory. They say no one is teaching it, then the NEA and AFT teacher unions go all in that they’ll teach it.
But these aren’t bad rules to follow, especially #4. They do require you to get up off the couch and don your MMA gloves and get into the arena.
If you don’t have any – we’ll lend you some from the ‘Grok inventory. We’ll even coach you as well.
