What Do I Have In Common With The Tea Party?

Not much, but there is on thing that we do have in common and that is we read the same book.

As many of you know, I am in UConn School of Social Work for my Master’s in social work and I’m specializing Community Organizing. One of the people that we study is Saul Alinsky and so has the Tea Party, there is an article in Politico about them taking up the methods of Alinsky, Kenneth Vogel writes in the article “The new tea party bible” that “Rules for Radicals,” the iconic liberal organizing manifesto by Saul Alinsky, was an unlikely bible for tea party activists as they tried to mobilize their movement last year.” Well Alinsky was more than an “iconic liberal organizing”, he worked to form the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). In another article in Politico, “The Right loves to hate - and imitate - Saul Alinsky”, Vogel writes that,

Often described as the father of modern community organizing, Alinsky helped poor and working class urban communities around the country push for improved living and working conditions by confronting, satirizing or negotiating with the establishment, as well as by building diverse coalitions including small businesses, labor unions and religious groups, such as the Roman Catholic Church.

He’s long been a hero on the left, but the right’s fascination with him dates to the 2008 presidential campaign, when lots of attention was paid to Alinsky’s impact on leading Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton, who wrote her college thesis about him, and Barack Obama, who trained in — and utilized — his community organizing techniques.

And now the ultra right wing Tea Party has embraced his methods, the article began by saying…

Conservatives just can’t seem to make up their mind about Saul Alinsky.

Was he a tactical genius to be imitated, an agitator whose teachings will undercut the right’s goals, a devil-worshiper leading young conservatives down the path to damnation, or some combination of all three?

The modern right harbors an “almost schizophrenic view of what they can use and learn from Alinsky, and yet he is this totally evil guy,” said Sanford D. Horwitt, author of “Let Them Call Me Rebel,” a biography of Alinsky.

For school, I have read many articles by and about Alinsky’s work, he helped the oppressed gain a voice in society and showed them how join together to fight for a common cause. Using Alinsky’s tactics brought about change in the ways government protects its citizens, the tactics were instrumental creating the SSA, the SEC, the EPA and OSHA. The tactics also helped pass child labor laws and the 40-hour workweek. Now those very same tactics are being used by the Tea Party to tear down all the protections that we have. They want to return us to the era of the Robber Barons. Am I the only one who finds this ironic?