Rule 10: “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.” 

Alinsky’s tenth rule is based on the idea that any negative can be used to one’s advantage. The Left has used these tactics in many ways over the years. As we on the right have become more aware of these tactics, and they are becoming increasingly desperate in trying to deploy them.

Left-wing organizers have protestors work in three groups (green, yellow, and red) for the specific purpose of inciting the police in a way which left the protestors looking innocent. In a recent interview, Brandon Darby described how this was used at the Republican National Convention in 2008. He said that they chose the yellow group as the group which would get arrested, so their job would be to chain themselves together in PVC pipe (so that the police couldn’t easily remove the chains), then barricade major roadways to prevent delegates from getting to the convention center. However, the yellow team needed time to get into place. This is where the green team came in.

The green group was comprised of the average leftist protestor who did not want to break the law. They were directed simply to protest in the street, not realizing they were being used to distract the police while the yellow group got into place and chained themselves. However, there was also a more extreme plan in place if the green group did not give the yellow group enough time to get into position. This is where the red group comes in.

The red group, comprised, Darby said, of “black mask wearing anarchists,” would come in to physically attack the police. They had signs and riot shields that could be used as weapons, and attacked the police then fled. This would give the yellow group plenty of time to get into position. In the meantime, the police would react to being attacked, and the green group would believe that the police had attacked a peaceful protest. Forcing the police to act with violence is a threat to public safety, but they deployed this tactic to gain sympathy for their cause. Unfortunately, it succeeded in giving them the narrative they wanted.

Something similar happened with the Occupy movement. In some cases, they openly attacked the police, then claimed self-defense. Again, this serves only to cast themselves as freedom fighters working to overturn a bullying system, and it succeeds with it’s audience. Anyone who watched the occupy camps being cleared out undoubtedly saw protesters virtually throwing themselves at the police, hoping to provoke a reaction.

In their mission to make the Right look like persecutors, union leaders in Wisconsin resorted to violence against state government. Of course, in the media narrative, they were the trod-upon lower class forced to rise up against an evil regime. Brian Williams said “From the Mideast to the American Midwest tonight, people are rising up,” as though there were any comparison.

Diane Sawyer said “Today, we saw America’s money trouble meet a reality, a human reality, as teachers, nurses, tens of thousands of state workers took to the streets in this country, protesting cuts by the governors... One lawmaker looked out at the crowds gathered in the Wisconsin capital today said it’s like Cairo moved to Madison.” Oh, please. As if there is any legitimate comparison. Having lost the battle, Union thugs decided to flip the story. With a complacent media at their back, this negative became a positive story for their image.

What is a conservative to do in these situations? We can turn their negatives into positives, too. For example, how much time do we spend thanking President Obama for keeping Guantanamo Bay open after promising it’s closure? Maybe we should spend a little more.