President Obama and MSNBC’s Al Sharpton share a common philosophical connection despite their different styles. Both are disciples of Saul Alinsky, the late community organizer whose book Rules for Radicals, has inspired many liberals to demonize and demagogue their opponents as a means of securing political advantage.
So when Obama gave an interview yesterday on Al Sharpton’s radio show, the resulting exchange was revealing. Obama used his platform to paint a horrific picture of what America would look like after March 1 if sequestration spending cuts went into effect.
“We could see mental-health services affected, head start slots taken away. . . . It’s going to have an effect on cutting back on things like meat inspections, or folks at our airports, which means that airport lines may be longer,” Obama said. “Whether or not we can move Republicans to do the right thing is something we’re still trying to gauge.”
Why would Republicans want to go through with such draconian actions? Well, the president explained, it’s all about their wanting to do the bidding of the rich.
“My sense is that their basic view is nothing is important enough to raise taxes on wealthy individuals or corporations,” he said. “And they would prefer to see these kinds of cuts that could slow down our recovery over closing tax loopholes, and that’s the thing that binds their party together at this point.”
Obama went on to explain that if only Republicans could think clearly they would say that raising taxes again (they already went up on 77 percent of Americans as part of the fiscal-cliff deal in January) would help today’s weak economy.
“When you look at the polling, 75 percent of the American people agree with me that the way to reduce the deficit sensibly is through a combination of spending cuts and tax revenue, and if we spread that out over several years, it wouldn’t have a bad impact on our economy — and, in fact, would strengthen our economy by putting us on a more stable financial footing,” he said. “Unfortunately, I think Republicans right now have been so dug in on this notion of never raising taxes that it becomes difficult for them to see an obvious answer right in front of them.”
All of Obama’s rhetoric is straight out of Alinsky’s playbook. The fact that he is now becoming more explicit and resolute about his liberal agenda is rooted in the simple fact that he no longer has to face the electorate. That’s why he feels comfortable trotting out the Full Alinsky.