Saul Alinsky

The community organizing pioneer that influenced both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Alinsky practically invented the grassroots organizing that transformed the political landscape in the 1960s. His Rules for Radicals is a classic work on political activism. Now he is back in the news because of his connection to the two Democratic presidential frontrunners. Hillary Clinton wrote her senior thesis on Alinsky and Barack Obama worked at a non-profit organization that Alinsky founded.

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