Frank Luntz: "Who Single-Handedly Poisoned Health Care Issue"

[KoKo]

If one man can single-handedly poison the debate over significant issues in America, that man is Frank Luntz
by Bill Berkowitz | February 10, 2010 - 10:36am | permalink
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Frank Luntz is above all else a practical man. Everything he does has been carefully calculated, weighed, and measured, be it his focus groups, his questionable "fair and balanced" polling, or his Instant Response dial sessions. And there are words. Words that influence political campaigns; words that sway public opinion; words that confuse; words that deceive. Most of all, words that win. If you're looking for poetry do not come knocking of Luntz's door. If you're looking for color, you'll not discover a Luntzian rainbow. What you will find these days, however, is his Mighty Wurlitzer of words cranked up to full blast.

If Luntz has his druthers, he will help turn the battle over regulatory reform into a repeat of the fight over healthcare reform; a knock-down, dragged-out process that in the end will lead to more confusion, more cynicism, and more stasis. (Luntz instructs clients to use the word "more" as often as possible.)

-snip-

Deja vu all over again

If much of this sounds familiar, that's because it is consistent with the Luntz playbook for defeating healthcare reform. In his 28-page report titled "The Language of Health Care 2009," Luntz laid out "The 10 Rules for Stopping the 'Washington Takeover' of Health Care." Anyone that has followed the health care reform from debate from the very beginning will not only recognize a number of the following talking points, but will likely think to themselves, "Hey, I've heard those lines before." In June of last year, Media Matters for America pointed out that in a press release issued by House Minority Leader John Boehner "criticizing a health care report by President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers," Rep. Boehner use five Luntz-created talking points in one sentence.

After laying out his talking points, Luntz emphatically states that Republicans "MUST be vocally and passionately on the side of reform."

The talking points:

1) "Humanize your approach" by talking only about individuals and not the "healthcare system";

2) "Acknowledge the 'crisis' or suffer the consequences" - reframe the meaning of "crisis." The script: "If you're one of the millions who can't afford healthcare, it is a crisis." "Or better yet" suggests Luntz: "If some bureaucrat puts himself between you and your doctor, denying you exactly what you need, that's a crisis";

3) "'Time' is the government healthcare killer" - "Delayed care is denied care." The script: "Waiting to buy a car or even a house won't kill you. But waiting for the healthcare you need - could. Delayed healthcare is denied care.";

4) "The arguments against the Democrats' healthcare plan must center around 'politicians,' 'bureaucrats,' and 'Washington.' ... not the free market, tax incentives, or competition";

5) "The healthcare denial horror stories from Canada & Co. do resonate, but you have to humanize them." Luntz recommends using the term "government takeover" rather than "government run" or "government controlled." The script: "In countries with government run healthcare, politicians make YOUR healthcare decisions. THEY decide if you'll get the procedure you need, or if you are disqualified because the treatment is too expensive or because you are too old. We can't have that in America.";

6) "Healthcare quality = 'getting the treatment you need, when you need it." The script: "The plan put forward by the Democrats will deny people the treatments they need and make them wait to get the treatments they are allowed to receive.";

7) "One-six-does-NOT-fit-all." The script: Call for "the protection of the personalized doctor-patient relationship.";

8) "WASTE, FRAUD, and ABUSE are your best targets for how to bring down costs";

9) "Americans will expect the government to look out for those who truly can't afford healthcare." The script: "A balanced, common-sense approach that provides assistance to those who truly need it and keeps healthcare patient-centered rather than government-centered for everyone.";

10) "It's not enough to just say what you're against. You have to tell them what you're for." The script: When describing what you're proposing, use the word "more" as often as possible - There will be "more access to more treatments and more doctors ... will less interference from insurance companies and Washington politicians and special interests."

"The document," Luntz pointed out, was "based on polling results and Instant Response dial sessions conducted in April 2009." And he noted that because "more than one quarter of the population will back significant government involvement in healthcare and a third support 'universal' care," the primary target is the "persuadables and generate support among wayward Republicans and conservatives."

MUCH MORE ...GOOD READ about the WORDSMITH who CONTROLS OUR POLITICAL DIALOG at.....
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/26681

[Jefferson23]

1. Thanks for posting, too bad there was no fight the smears and lies

campaign from the White House....nothing of substance anyway.

[ashling]

2. Frankie and his ilk are

a clear and present danger to democracy.

[Doctor_J]

3. Yup

as soon as we can get a large enough band of brave patriots together to treat them that way, the country will be on her way back.

[customerserviceguy]

4. You're assuming, of course, that Rethuglicans killed HCR

I watched it die the death of a thousand cuts from Democratic congresscritters. From the Louisiana Purchase, to the Cornhusker Kickback, to the Lieberman cave-in, and other assorted sellouts of various principles (like single payer or even a robust public option), this thing wasn't even touched by the Repukes.

[Historic NY]

5. Karma is a bad thing Frank....hope you experience it in a very BIG way.

[Demeter]

6. If He Didn't Have Collaborators in High Places

Like Rahm, and Reid, and the Man Himself, Frank couldn't have gotten any purchase.

[Lars77]

7. The bureaucrat between you and your doctor

This has to be the biggest lie of all. I live in a country with single payer public healthcare and public hospitals and i've never had to deal with a bureaucrat of any kind to get treatment.

I think they say it because Americans are used to dealing with insurance companies, who actually DO put themselves between patient and doctor. And for some reason "bureaucrat" just sound so dangerous.

[TexasObserver]

8. Recommend. Unfortunately, the president handed control of the issue to the GOP.

By abdicating the leadership role on the debate, the president allowed the GOP and their Luntz buzz words to dominate the dialog. He allowed them to frame every aspect of the debate, and what did he get for his consideration? The issue showed down his throat.

[Joe Bacon]

9. Obama gave the Republicans everything they wanted.

He traded away orchard after orchard to those insatiable assholes and they wouldn't give him a single rotted apple back in return.

I've given up on getting any health care reform out of Washington, I'm working full time to enact single payer in California.