HuffPo - "Frank Luntz Pens Memo To Kill Financial Regulatory Reform"

[TomCADem]

There is no bill out of the Senate, but no matter. Here are the lies about whatever bill is being debated in Congress that will be accepted as gospel by Fox News and the GOP. It is amazing! Its like looking in the future! There is not even a bill on the table, and we already know what Fox News will say!

The interesting thing will be the degree to which these very same talking points will be re-cast as liberal talking points. For example, "Luntz urged opponents of reform to frame the final product as filled with bank bailouts, lobbyist loopholes, and additional layers of complicated government bureaucracy." Whoa, that is almost liberal sounding!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/01/frank-luntz-pens-memo-to_n_444332.html

In a 17-page memo titled, "The Language of Financial Reform," Luntz urged opponents of reform to frame the final product as filled with bank bailouts, lobbyist loopholes, and additional layers of complicated government bureaucracy.

"If there is one thing we can all agree on, it's that the bad decisions and harmful policies by Washington bureaucrats that in many ways led to the economic crash must never be repeated," Luntz wrote. "This is your critical advantage. Washington's incompetence is the common ground on which you can build support."

Luntz continued: "Ordinarily, calling for a new government program 'to protect consumers' would be extraordinary popular. But these are not ordinary times. The American people are not just saying 'no.' They are saying 'hell no' to more government agencies, more bureaucrats, and more legislation crafted by special interests."

In Republican circles Luntz's words, which have helped the party score win the message wars over health care and other legislative battles, are often treated as gospel. Already, some of the advice he's offered on regulatory reform has found its way into the political discourse -- with a proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency seemingly on life support under Republican objections.

* * *

In addition to tying regulatory reform to a massive government takeover, Luntz's memo includes several other data points and messaging suggestions as a blue print for the legislation's defeat. Opponents, he writes, would be well served to link the package to the financial industry bailout (which, it should be noted, is fundamentally not part of the legislation). According to accompanying polling data, 52 percent of voters said they would be "much less likely" to vote for their member of Congress if they voted for a financial reform bill that contained a fund to bail out banks and Wall Street.

[DainBramaged]

1. The MSM needs to expose this to shoot it down before it gets off the ground

but we know that has as much chance of happening as I do of finding my youth.

[global1]

3. If The MSM Won't Do It Then The Dems Need To Go Out With The 17-Page Memo.....

in hand and tell the American Public how the Repugs will try and kill any reform that will benefit them. They should read passages of it and then take the passage apart. Don't let this memo and talking points take hold. Knock it down before it gathers any head of steam. Say things like - "You will soon be hearing on Fox News and out of the mouths of Repugs (whatever the passage is)." Then say "This was put together by a person that is paid by them to come up with their talking points. Here is why this is wrong and here is why they are wrong."

Take the wind out of their sails before they even weigh anchor.

[depakid]

4. Expose it? They're willing and eager participants

Their pundits, senior editors and newsreaders will be drinking in and repeating every word and phrase.

And if history is any indication, many Dem will be buying into the framing, too.

[Me.]

2. After All The Luntz Memo Was So Successful In Killing HRC

[depakid]

5. Nah, they only shaped the debate from the outside and defeated the most popular & effective elements

of the plan, while rallying their base- and making the Dems look inept and complicit as they sold their own constituencies down the river.

[Lorien]

6. HRC? where's the public option? The price controls? The "access for all"?

You think that the mandate qualifies as real health care reform? Maybe we should all be required to carry a credit card from Citibank as well?

[TomCADem]

7. The Lutz Memo Gave Republicans Cover For Opposing Any Bill, Likewise...

This memo is designed to excuse Republican opposition to a finacial reform bill, which of course makes it tremendously hard to secure near universal support from Democrats, and gives individual members like Stupak leverage to push their pet causes, which weakens the bill.

[Me.]

11. #5, 6 & 7

I hear you and while we didn't get the po, the memo was designed to kill the bill completely. IMHO the bill will be improved upon as time goes on and I firmly believe that the just say no strategy will bite them in the a$$ in the end. Plus you're going to have a lot of people like Warren and Volcker stumping for it. So while short term it may cause havoc etc., my feeling is that as a long term strategy it will fail.

[MadBadger]

15. No, but it was successful in driving support to their side

[ashling]

8. Luntz is such a lieing slimy little shit

I can think of only one word to describe him: diarrhea

[Overseas]

9. K&R to expose pathologically power-hungry Luntz to more light. //nt

[Bobbie Jo]

10. Looks like someone got the memo...

...it's getting thrown against walls as we speak.


Edited to add: Recommended.

[DFW]

12. Luntz isn't in this for the power. He's in it for the money.

He's a non-caring gun for hire available to the highest bidder with no scruples. That's the Republicans.
He's no idiot. He knows no one will follow someone who is the very epitome of the "nerd." But that's only
his physical appearance and his voice. Behind his "aw shucks" exterior is a calculating very keen mind
which is out to make the most of its capabilities, and that is getting millions from anyone willing to
pay him to formulate their "message." Republican financiers have far more money than we do, and their dictionary
has less room for "scruple" than the new Texas history textbooks have for Thomas Jefferson.

Not that I'd necessarily want someone like Frank Luntz on our side, but he's very good at what he does,
and he is handsomely paid to stay that way. We need to watch closely what he does for them, because they
will use it, and usually very effectively unless we compose counter-arguments that are equally effective.
Luntz' evil genius is that he knows how to construct arguments that appeal to the simple mind, and there
are a LOT of simple minds out there of voting age.

[FrenchieCat]

13. Luntz ain't that smart. What he has going for him is a media willing, waiting and wanting to play.

That's what makes it easy.

Kinda of like Rove. He ain't all that either,
but he doesn't have to be, cause those he needs to spread
the big lies are right there doing it.

[DFW]

16. I've never met Rove, so I can't say about him

I've met Luntz plenty of times. Believe me, he IS that smart.

[FrenchieCat]

17. If he didn't have the media repeating every fucking thing he told them to repeat adnauseum,

his shit wouldn't smell so good,
that's all I'm saying.

[DFW]

18. But that's his specialty, what he's paid so highly to do

His job is to get the media (and the teabaggers, and as many other mindless minions old enough to vote
as he possibly can) repeating every fucking thing he tells them to repeat--until they believe it. He
gets Republican members of Congress repeating every one of the talking points he comes up with on the Sunday
talk shows, and then it gets reported that all Republicans are "on message." This is not some group think
that they all subscribe to. They don't subscribe to anything except money and power. This is a script they
follow, and Luntz gets the Republican Oscar for best original script.

Fox must love him--it gives their own scriptwriters weekends off.

[bridgit]

14. So start running against Luntz, then put Grover Norquist's face on his shoulders...

I'd bet the number is breathtaking just how few bagging republican obstructionists and jaw-jacking bigots even know who either of them are, even know who their overlords are ahhhh - it has to be nicer when you can get the thought challenged/shock addled Pavlovian' of Fox to play in the mud puddles you'd never

[damyank913]

19. Why shouldn't we enable Wall Streets unbridled greed. It seems to work so well for us.

:sarcasm:

[pampango]

20. "Luntz urged opponents...to frame the...product as filled with bank bailouts, lobbyist looopholes.."

I suspect we'll be seeing many such allegations from DUers whether Lutz is behind it or not. ;)

[Bobbie Jo]

21. Kick

:kick:

[applegrove]

22. They risk another bad recession if they allow for rabid growth of shadow banking.

Why would they do that? Short term $$$ from bankers to help the GOP get elected. That same short term thinking that caused the banking crisis in the first place.