It just takes three easy lettersSaul Alinsky’s Rules For Radicals:(from americanglob.com)
RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)
Here’s how the left, in collusion with liberal media, achieves this. They pick, personalize and isolate the target with a single word, add the letters E-R-S then attack and ridicule. Simply adding “ers” to the end of a word may seem like a simple and somewhat lazy approach but it’s been fairly effective. Let’s examine a short list of the “ers.”TEABAGGERS
This is the first and most obvious of the “ers” because as the Tea Party emerged in the spring of 2009 it was immediately recognized by the left and the media as a threat to Obama. The term Teabagger was pushed on liberal blogs and instantly embraced by a number of high level media figures, notably CNN’s Anderson Cooper and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow among others. The Maddow link goes to a HuffPo story titled Teabagging Rallies Ruthlessly Mocked On Maddow Show. See Rule 12 above. Are you starting to get the picture?BIRTHERS
The whole “birther” thing is particularly interesting because contrary to everything you’ve heard, this movement was started by liberals. When was the last time that anyone in the media mentioned that Red State, one of the most influential conservative blogs in America, banned birthers? In this case, the left with help from their media allies, successfully transferred ownership of the issue to anyone who questioned Obama’s conspicuously absent paper trail.DEATHERS
The term deathers has been employed twice. The first time was during the furious debate over ObamaCare when Sarah Palin said government bureaucrats or “death panels” could ultimately decide who gets life saving healthcare. The media conveniently overlooked Obama’s famous “let them eat painkillers” moment while liberals in the blogosphere proceeded to label all opponents of ObamaCare as deathers. The second time the deather term was utilized happened just last week. As news broke that Osama Bin Laden was killed by a Navy SEAL team, the Obama Administration initially suggested it would provide photographic proof. Now that Obama has decided not to release the photos, anyone who wants to see them is a deather. Last Thursday, 5/5/11, CNN published a piece titled Deathers Take Over Where Birthers Left Off.TENTHERS
Tenthers is a term used by the left to mock supporters of state authority described in the 10th amendment to the United States Constitution. The use of the word arose during the ObamaCare debate as numerous states chose to exercise their constitutional right to defy the federal government. The Attorneys General of 26 states are currently engaged in a legal battle with the White House over ObamaCare.H8ERS
Haters or H8ERS is a term used by the left to describe anyone who they perceive as an opponent of gay marriage. It doesn’t matter to the left that many prominent conservatives have endorsed civil unions or even gay marriage. The left relies on painting any and all conservatives as people who “hate” anything that impedes their political agenda.
There are probably more “ers” terms I’ve neglected to mention here and I’ll conclude with a prediction. By the time the 2012 presidential election is in full swing, all of the old “ers” terms will be in heavy use and at least five new “ers” will be invented. The new “ers” will be created by liberal blogs like Daily Kos and the Huffington Post. From there, they’ll be granted legitimacy by news networks like MSNBC, CNN and others.
All in the name of defending Obama from any criticism.
Count on it.
Bonus links:
• Summary of Saul Alinsky's 'Rules for Radicals'• More Saul Alinsky stories: here
• Preview RfR at books.google.com
• RfR at amazon.com
