The Message Thing ... (by Jim Wallis)

[kentuck]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/04/opinion/04wallis.html

<snip>
SINCE the 2004 election, there has been much soul-searching and hand-wringing, especially among Democrats, about how to "frame" political messages. The loss to George W. Bush was painful enough, but the Republicans' post-election claims of mandate, and their triumphal promises to relegate the Democrats to permanent minority status, left political liberals in a state of panic.

So the minority party has been searching, some would say desperately, for the right "narrative": the best story line, metaphors, even magic words to bring back electoral success. The operative term among Democratic politicians and strategists has become "framing." How to tell the story has become more important than the story itself. And that could be a bigger mistake for the Democrats than the ones they made during the election.

Language is clearly important in politics, but the message remains more important than the messaging. In the interests of full disclosure, let me note that I have been talking to the Democrats about both. But I believe that first, you must get your message straight. What are your best ideas, and what are you for-as opposed to what you're against in the other party's message? Only when you answer those questions can you figure out how to present your message to the American people.

Because the Republicans, with the help of the religious right, have captured the language of values and religion (narrowly conceived as only abortion and gay marriage), the Democrats have also been asking how to "take back the faith." But that means far more than throwing a few Bible verses into policy discussions, offering candidates some good lines from famous hymns, or teaching them how to clap at the right times in black churches. Democrats need to focus on the content of religious convictions and the values that underlie them.

<snip>
Until Democrats are willing to be honest about the need for new social policy and compelling political vision, they will never get the message right. Find the vision first, and the language will follow.

...more

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Jim Wallis is an excellent writer. More people should be listening to

him. Of course, if he were given HALF the media time that the right wing, fundamentalist religious types were, many more people WOULD be listening to him.

Sojourners is excellent journalism and well worth a subscription.
Jim Wallis, the editor of Sojourners magazine, is the author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It."

This article is also mentioned in a post in here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x144821

but this article is worth posting in multiple places to get the attention it deserves.

[ewagner]

2. The most important point of the snippet

Find the vision first, and the language will follow

As true as that may be, it's equally important that we pay attention to the "techniques" of communication. The Repub have done this masterfully and they're good at it because they are more prone to "message discipline".. For better or worse, we (Democrats) are not very good at all with "message discipline". But we need to get better at it.

[kentuck]

3. Our Party has been too cautious and defensive with our language...

in my opinion. Decide on what we stand for and defend it to the death. Don't back down to these Repubs.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. Absolutely. That attitude is what almost won Hackett that seat in Ohio.

(I think he actually won....but we won't have that discussion!)

[ewagner]

5. This is the spirit we need!

[kliljedahl]

6. & this is what we have

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