Alinsky smiling up at Obama over “Phony Scandals” line

By Ben Barrack

In 2009, when Barack Obama said the Cambridge police “acted stupidly”, it was a mistake. When he went out on the campaign trail last week to campaign for a campaign that doesn’t exist, he made reference to “phony scandals”. This was not a mistake; it was a political calculation. We know this because White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was using the same verbiage on television interviews:

So why would the Obama administration make a political calculation that is, on its face, incendiary? The short answer is that he is following his ideological mentor’s advice. He is attempting to “goad” and “guide” his enemies into reacting. He believes political victory can be achieved if he can incite his enemies.

Alinsky and Hitler: Masters at goading their enemies.

Alinsky and Hitler: Masters at goading their enemies.

“The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength.” – Saul Alinsky

Consider what led to Kristallnacht, otherwise known as The Night of Broken Glass, in Nazi Germany in 1938.

“It was used to describe the actions of Nazi youths who went into Jewish towns in Germany on the nights of November 9th and 10th, 1938 and rioted; countless windows were shattered. It was sheer lawlessness on the part of the Nazis. They torched synagogues and destroyed businesses… Hitler’s men allowed the anti-Jewish riots to take place and labeled such acts as nothing more than random violence.” – Unsung Davids, p. 173

What was used as the excuse for these riots? The actions of one young individual. It can be argued that in the months and years leading up to Kristallnacht, the Nazis were goading the Jews. Jewish shops were ordered to be boycotted, Jewish children were restricted in public schools; Jews were denied German citizenship and prohibited from participating in elections; economic opportunities were denied (think about that “phony” IRS scandal).

By applying constant pressure, the Nazis were hoping that someone – anyone – would lash out in a way the Nazis could exploit.

“That opportunity came when a very bad decision was made by a relative of one of the families that was forced to move to Poland. That decision involved assassinating a German official at the German embassy in Paris. The Nazis allowed Kristallnacht to take place while blaming the Jews for a conspiracy that killed a German official. It gave them the excuse they needed to crack down even harder.” – Unsung Davids, pp. 173-174

When Obama referred to “phony scandals”, he knew that he would be goading conservatives because the cover-up of Benghazi, the truth behind Operation Fast and Furious, and the IRS scandal all either implicate the Obama administration in murder or in using an arm of the U.S. Government to go after its enemies.

How is this different from the Nazis? To those eager to reference Godwin’s Law, save it. The Nazis goaded the Jews into acting and that’s exactly what Obama is attempting to do.

Otherwise, why make the political calculation that it’s best to be ambiguous when referencing scandals his administration’s involved in that include five dead Americans (Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, and Brian Terry) and hundreds of Mexicans?

Republican establishment types (RINOs) like Karl Rove and John Boehner have decided it’s best to ignore Obama when he does this. Boehner would rather chastise Rep. Steve King (R-IA) for making an innocuous comment about illegal aliens than call out Obama for referring to scandals that have left blood on the hands of countless administration officials, as “phony”. Conservative commentators and pundits are rightfully outraged at Obama’s comments but perhaps the best course of action lies somewhere in the middle.

Instead of remaining silent in the face of Obama’s bald-faced attempts to “goad” and “guide” so as not to be “goaded” and “guided”, these Republican operatives would best be served by calling out Obama for what he’s doing – using his hero’s playbook.

The way to deal with this is not to angrily react to his calculated use of the phrase “phony scandals”, nor is it to ignore it so as not to be goaded. The way to deal with this is to explain exactly why Obama made the political calculation that using the phrase “phony scandals” was a good idea.

Because he reveres an atheist who dedicated his work to “Lucifer” as did Hitler.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle” – Sun Tzu

The good news is that by referring to genuine scandals as “phony”, Obama may very well be telegraphing his desperation.

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