FRAMING A DEMOCRATIC AGENDA -- The American Prospect

[IrateCitizen]

This article is a MUST READ -- TAP had a series of them in their Sept issue, but they weren't available on the internet. I'm so glad that now, at least on of them is.

Framing a Democratic Agenda

By George Lakoff, The American Prospect
September 24, 2003

On the day that George W. Bush took office, the words "tax relief" started appearing in White House communiqués. Think for a minute about the word relief. In order for there to be relief, there has to be a blameless, afflicted person with whom we identify and whose affliction has been imposed by some external cause. Relief is the taking away of the pain or harm, thanks to some reliever.

<SNIP>

Activation of the progressive model among swing voters is done through language – by using a consistent, conventional language of progressive values. Democrats have been subject to a major fallacy: Voters are lined up left to right according to their views on issues, the thinking goes, and Democrats can get more voters by moving to the right. But the Republicans have not been getting more voters by moving to the left. What they do is stick to their strict ideology and activate their model among swing voters who have both models. They do this by being clear and issuing consistent messages framed in terms of conservative values. The moral is this: Voters are not on a left-to-right line; there is no middle.

Here is a cognitive scientist's advice to progressive Democrats: Articulate your ideals, frame what you believe effectively, say what you believe and say it well, strongly and with moral fervor.

Reframing is telling the truth as we see it – telling it forcefully, straightforwardly and articulately, with moral conviction and without hesitation. The language must fit the conceptual reframing, a reframing from the perspective of progressive values. It is not just a matter of words, though the right ones are needed to evoke progressive frames.

And stop saying "tax relief."

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

[DinahMoeHum]

1. Hey, IC, didja see the article by Andrew Levison?

"Class and Warfare: Democrats and the Rhetoric of Patriotism"
Link:
http://www.prospect.org/print/V14/8/levison-a.html

After reading it, I could understand how a Wesley Clark could help the Dems take the military/security/patriotism issue away from * and the Repukes.

Yeah, I also saw Will Pitt's thread earlier...


:kick:

[IrateCitizen]

2. Yeah, it was all part of the same "package"

The most recent issue had 5 or 6 really good articles, all covering the same general subject area.