The Obama-Alinsky axis
Howard Sutherland writes:
I have been aware of the ideological debt Barack Hussein Obama owes Saul Alinsky, but since so few people now know who Alinsky was or what he represented, the idea has not found much of a lodging in Americans’ minds. Here the Investor’s Business Daily does a good job of showing just how closely and no doubt consciously Obama follows Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. Alinsky’s modus operandi is a blueprint for imposing socialism by stealth, and reflects utter contempt for ordinary Americans—indeed, for ordinary people of all sorts (at least if they’re white).
Americans need to know a lot more than we do about Obama’s political formation and his true beliefs. We can rely on most of the media to obfuscate them at least as assiduously as Obama himself does.
I must, however, append my standard disclaimer: pointing out the dangers of Obama does not imply an endorsement of McCain!
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Steve D. writes:
In Howard Sutherland’s post on Obama’s relationship with Saul Alinsky, he concluded by cautioning “I must, however, append my standard disclaimer: pointing out the dangers of Obama does not imply an endorsement of McCain!”
I find myself in the same dilemma: John McCain is, in my opinion, a tragically mistaken man, and his presidency will be a political catastrophe for America.
But Obama, I have finally realized, is evil; and his presidency will be a moral catastrophe.
In the past, you have outlined practical reasons why a McCain presidency could be a disaster for the American conservative movement, while an Obama presidency may at least (and at last) provide a measure of clarity to the issue of race in America. But despite agreeing with your assessment, I find finally that I cannot hope for an Obama presidency, on any grounds. God may be able to bring good from our evil, but we cannot ourselves bring about good through evil means; and hoping for Obama to achieve power over this nation is beyond what I can allow myself.
If we allow McCain to achieve the presidency, God may yet grant us the grace to avoid the worst of the neocon disasters his candidacy threatens us with.
But if we say “yes” to a man such as Obama, and to all that he represents, purely for a speculative future political gain, what ground do we have to petition God to spare us the consequences of our choice?
This falls far short of an unequivocal endorsement of McCain, but at least I can pray unequivocally for an Obama defeat.
LA replies:
“God may be able to bring good from our evil, but we cannot ourselves bring about good through evil means … “
I agree. Let me explain my position again. My view—which is not knowledge, but an opinion—is that adding up all the good and bad that can come from it, an Obama victory would be less harmful to the country than a McCain victory. That doesn’t mean I am supporting or urging support for Obama. I am not. I oppose them both. And whichever is elected I will continue to oppose him. The only active element in my position is the act of not voting for McCain, which conservatives would normally be expected to do. To repeat, the only positive step involve in my position is simply the act of not voting for McCain, rather than the act of doing anything for Obama. I do not believe in doing anything to help Obama win. I simply believe in not doing anything to help McCain win.
In the meantime, I will continue to make observations about both candidates as I see fit. I may occasionally defend a candidate from something I see as a false charge, as I recently defended Obama from some wildly overheated statements from Republicans about his “I am a citizen of the world” comment in Berlin. But my comments, whether critical or (on occasion) in their defense, should not be taken as support for either candidacy. I oppose them both.
Amit G. writes:
VFR talks about the “debt Barack Hussein Obama owes Saul Alinsky” and that is not right because that is just old fashioned racism that says blacks owe Jews and makes both races look bad. I hear that in the olden days of New York the Jews owned many houses in slums and rent;d them out to poor blacks taking advantage of them. Yes that maybe so but jeqws have since then have tried to make things right by joining in many black crusades and to speak of debts owed is bringing back old grievances and Obama is uniting us to transcend that which divided us in the past.
Posted by Lawrence Auster at August 15, 2008 01:29 PM | Send