Cloward-Piven: Obama's Strategy of Choice Alexander J. Massa President Obama, along with his Goebbels-esque lackey, Rahm Emanuel, have made masterful use of the infamous Cloward-Piven strategy, named for it's creators, Richard Cloward and Frances Piven, 1960s leftist radicals and (no surprise here) college professors. Cloward-Piven, better known simply as the “crisis strategy”, states that no good disaster or tragedy should go to waste, as it is an opportune moment for government to rapidly expand its power in ways not possible under normal circumstances. But as we have seen throughout history, during a crisis or disaster, the people are always willing to acquiesce at least some of their liberty in exchange for momentary security, be it physical, or in the case of FDR and the Depression, economic. Whether or not political leaders ever actually deliver on their promises is irrelevant – once the State gains power it did not have before, it does not give it up. The people will not get it back; it has been permanently handed over to the government. It is inherently dangerous to have a man occupying the Oval Office who, according to the words of Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff, should “never let a serious crisis go to waste”. It is obvious that Obama and Emanuel think as one on this issue. As a “community organizer” and committed friend of the thoroughly corrupt ACORN, he used this tactic as a street organizer, taking advantage of tragedies and using them for his own ideological gain. Who is to say that he won't do the same thing as President? Furthermore, if he is willing to take advantage of existing crises for his own personal gain, who is to say that he would have any reservations about personally inciting or provoking further crises? It is simply unsafe and unwise to have a leader who is willing to take advantage of tragedies endured by his own people to empower himself and ensure his anti-American agenda gets enacted. A crisis is always a dangerous time to pass legislation or make any serious revision or change to our government or national priorities. It is always best to wait a while and let cooler heads prevail. In the wake of a tragedy, the people are always more inclined to throw away their rights and accept expansion of government. However, when the people calm down and begin to recover from the tragedy, their zeal for government intervention wanes. This can be seen on both sides of the aisle. A prime example can be seen in the initial vote for the USA PATRIOT Act, which was passed on October 25, 2001 by a 98 to 1 vote. Whether or not you believe the Patriot Act is a good idea is irrelevant. In the wake of 9/11, the Senate almost unanimously passed a bill that called for the expansion of government, as you can see; it was truly bipartisan, with the only member of the Senate, Republican or Democrat, voting against it being Russ Feingold (D-WI). Now, if the vote had been stayed for a few months, and taken sometime in 2002, that 98 to 1 vote probably would have been something like 80 to 20. As we now know, support for the Patriot Act is pitifully low. The passage of time is the sworn enemy of the adherents of Cloward-Piven. They demand immediate action, so fast that there is not enough time to even examine the change being called for, as is the case of the health care bill, which most Congressmen didn't even read! Now, as I stated before, this is bipartisan. In the health-care crisis pushed by President Obama and his Administration, they claimed that the bill needed to be passed quickly, to ensure the health and well being of the American people. They hoped that their use of blitzkrieg legislation would allow them to pass the bill without people even knowing what was in it, so that they would only realize what in entailed after it was already passed and signed into law. By the grace of Almighty God himself, the health care bill has slowed to a halt, so much so that we are seeing bitterly partisan Democrat lawmakers seriously considering reconciliation, a move which would no doubt be unpopular and would allow the Republicans to take even more seats this November. The American people need to learn about Cloward- Piven and the threat it poses to our very Republic. We cannot allow raw emotion and crises to get the best of us and make us pass legislation that is un-Constitutional; because we think it'll solve the crisis or help America. FDR's “First One Hundred Days” saw the Congress pass a record number of bills, all of them relating to the New Deal. They were passed so quickly that many were not even looked at, and many were later shot down by the Supreme Court for being blatantly unconstitutional. Let's not let Obama try and get away with his own FDR-esque legislative blitz. Learn about Cloward-Piven for yourself and educate your friends and family about the strategy that is so near and dear to our President's heart.