how conservatives use language to frame the issues . . .

[OneBlueSky]

here's an interview with George Lakoff, a professor of linguistics and cognitive science at Berkeley that may shed some light on why conservatives have been so successful in framing issues in the political arena . . .

Framing the issues: UC Berkeley professor George Lakoff tells how conservatives use language to dominate politics

By Bonnie Azab Powell, NewsCenter | 27 October 2003

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/10/27_lakoff.shtml

BERKELEY – With Republicans controlling the Senate, the House, and the White House and enjoying a large margin of victory for California Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's clear that the Democratic Party is in crisis. George Lakoff, a UC Berkeley professor of linguistics and cognitive science, thinks he knows why. Conservatives have spent decades defining their ideas, carefully choosing the language with which to present them, and building an infrastructure to communicate them, says Lakoff.

The work has paid off: by dictating the terms of national debate, conservatives have put progressives firmly on the defensive.

(snip)

Why do conservatives appear to be so much better at framing?

Because they've put billions of dollars into it. Over the last 30 years their think tanks have made a heavy investment in ideas and in language. In 1970, Lewis Powell wrote a fateful memo to the National Chamber of Commerce saying that all of our best students are becoming anti-business because of the Vietnam War, and that we needed to do something about it. Powell's agenda included getting wealthy conservatives to set up professorships, setting up institutes on and off campus where intellectuals would write books from a conservative business perspective, and setting up think tanks. He outlined the whole thing in 1970. They set up the Heritage Foundation in 1973, and the Manhattan Institute after that.

And now, as the New York Times Magazine quoted Paul Weyrich, who started the Heritage Foundation, they have 1,500 conservative radio talk show hosts. They have a huge, very good operation, and they understand their own moral system. They understand what unites conservatives, and they understand how to talk about it, and they are constantly updating their research on how best to express their ideas.

- much more . . .

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/10/27_lakoff.shtml

[ArmchairActivist]

1. Damn good read!

Nice link... Too bad the conservatives will just 'frame' it as more rantings from the lunatic Berkeley left. :eyes:

-AA

[OneBlueSky]

2. kick . . . good read here, folks . . . n/t

.

[maxanne]

3. this is excellent

thanks OneBlueSky. One of our biggest failures as a party is not only failing to look at the big picture - but lacking a vision and a plan for the next 30 years.

edited to add: I work for a nonprofit where we have a few workshops a year on worldview and framing. If Democrats took this seriously, we'd have a much better chance of getting somewhere.

[kentuck]

4. Repubs have found a winning combination....

Tear down your opponents personally but build your own policies and issues up with positive words, even if most of them are outright lies.

[maxanne]

5. that's right kentuck

and it works, because they've so thoroughly taken over the national dialogue. Words like "feminist" and "liberal" didn't become slurs accidentally. Every issue that was important to progressives 30 years ago has been swept off the table of national discourse. From discussing poverty, racism, female equality, and education - we've moved to discussing school prayer, pledging alliegence, discounting affirmative action, and school vouchers.

They planned this takeover long ago, while we agonized over fights we couldn't win (gun control) and let them put us on the defensive. While our leaders sold us out for big corporate donations. While we fought hard for some lackluster candidate to win, because at least it was a Democrat.

We have no vision. We need a 10, 20, 30 year plan. And we need to frame our own discussions, using our own terms. We need to stop letting them make up the rules WE play by.

[kentuck]

6. We need to take the issues the Repubs are weak on and....

frame them in our own terms. For example, the deficits are a good example. We need to define them as robbing our nation of a prosperous future, indebting our children, and placing a permanent tax upon every American that they will see nothing in return for the taxes they will pay on the huge debt the Repubs are running up.

Another issue is their plan to reform Medicare and Social Security. They call it "reform" but it is more of a plan to destroy it...because they have traditionally been against both programs and America would be naive to think they have changed their minds after 60 years.

They say they are for our military but their deeds belie their words. They have cut massive amounts from our veterans, including veterans hospitals, and they have used our troops as if they were pawns in a gam of chess. They have not respected our troops or their families. yes, they are there to defend our country but they are not there to die for lies and preemptive wars.

Those are some weak areas that I think we could attack immediately and start making a difference.

[maxanne]

7. I agree

now, if we could only get the candidates to do it.

[candy331]

8. I read this article today

and listened to Dean as he spoke tonight and he mentioned how repubs like to frame the issues and he mentioned two, "clear skies and healthy forests. I have heard him mention that his camp was not going to allow them to frame the issues and I truly hope this is the case because this article really makes sense. Maybe we can e-mail this article to his camp.