Yesterday I discussed how the left use Saul Alinsky’s Rule #13 to advance their cause in the public debate. Just to recap, the left has picked their target – The Kochs – and have attempted to freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. I think most Americans (the ones who aren’t bused in by Big Labor to protest) don’t really see the connection between Charles and David Koch and this “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy.”

Americans are overwhelmingly skeptical of government, but only a minority are conspiratorial. Conspiracy theorists do, however, exist on each side of the political spectrum. They aren’t unique to either the left or the right.

While the left has been very vocal about their disdain for the Kochs, it has yielded very little results. In politics – to affect change – there has to be a change in policy. Republicans won’t stop taking Koch money, and the Kochs won’t stop funding organizations like Americans for Prosperity (fiscally conservative) or The Cato Institute (socially liberal / economically laissez-faire).

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While the title of this post refers to my favorite exchange between Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey and Nashville Democrat Thelma Harper during a debate over concealed carry legislation (“I’d like to declare Rule #13″), I want to talk a little bit about Saul Alinsky today. I can’t seem to find the Ramsey/Harper exchange at the moment, but it’s pretty funny.

Staying on message today:

The thirteenth rule: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

Arguably one of the most important of Alinsky’s rules, number thirteen provides the foundation for public debate over a given topic. It has been used by elements among both the left and the right recently. Let’s take a look at how the left is using this rule today:

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