Framing; "Republican's complete failure in Iraq."

[benburch]

It is clear now that the Republicans are going to announce a pull-out from Iraq in hopes of salvaging at least some of what they seem likely to lose in the '06 elections. But let us be very careful about how we talk about this, and frame the debate carefully.

They will attempt to make this seem to be some form of a victory; "We saved the world from Saddam's WMDs and set Iraq on the road to self rule." Bullshit.

We need to frame it like this; "The Republicans failed in every way in Iraq, and then lied about it."

They lied about intelligence of WMDs before the war.

They failed to find ANY WMDs after the war started.

They failed to secure key weapons sites after we had won the war.

They failed to manage post-war Iraq to secure the peace.

They failed to control spending on the war and literally misplaced BILLIONS of dollars.

They failed to manage the US Budget during the war and put us in AMAZING amounts of debt.

They failed to reach key objectives and finally pulled out with their tails between their legs and thousands of Americans maimed and killed.

We MUST use the words Iraq and Failure in everything we say from now on.

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

IRAQ = FAILURE

Speak about it in no other way.

[Jackpine Radical]

1. How 'bout "Disastrous adventure?"

My problem with "failure" is that it sort of implies that the undertaking might have been worhtwhile in the first place.

[benburch]

3. Too positive.

Remember the American People are already convinced that it might have been worthwhile to begin with. We must underscore what a fuckup this has been for them.

[BrotherBuzz]

4. How about "Catastrophic Success"?

[RC]

5. Anything to do with Iraq connected with the war MUST be tied

to failure and the bu$h administration.
Success sounds positive. What is positive about invading a defenseless country, killing the men, women and children, destroying their cities so as to better steal their natural resources?

[For PaisAn]

7. A Deadly Failure

Failure is definitely the word to use.
A failure that has cost lives and money.

[RC]

9. That will most definitely work. "Iraq, A Deadly Failure."

[For PaisAn]

10. Yes

They're evil murderers.

[Joe Chi Minh]

11. How about, "A catastrophic attempt by a civilisation

no more than a few hundred years old, to impose Capitalism, its most cherished brain-child, on a very ancient civilisation, in which, as English journalist John Simpson once remarked, the people were doing deals, while we were running around in animal skins".

[acmavm]

2. Never ever ever let the American public forget how much this cost us.

In human lives and money. (Unfortunately I suspect they'll care more about the latter than the former. So if that's the case, shove it down their throats regularly.)

[electropop]

6. They lied about Iraq, then failed, then lied about it some more.

nt

[SpiralHawk]

8. N.B. They don't like being called "NeoCons"

Because the truth stings, and reminds voters who is in CONTROL of the nation.

The word NeoCons brands and labels the traitorous chickenhawk Republicans far more than their deliberate campaign to smear the word "liberal."

Try it out. Call a NeoCon a NeoCon and watch what happens. It ain't pretty.

The word has the advantage of having CON in it -- which underscores their culture of corruption.

the NeoCons complete failure in Iraq...It gets traction.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

12. Positively Rovian!

And I mean that in a complimentary sense. Rove says "If you're explaining, you're losing." "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American People."

This is one we don't have to explain: It's a republican failure.

For that matter "Another Republican Failure" applies to just about everything Dear Leader and his Toe-sucking Congress have done: Iraq War-Another Republican Failure; Medicare Prescription Drug Plan-Another Republican Failure; High Fuel Prices-Another Republican Failure; No Child Left Behind-Another Republican Failure, etc.

ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF!

It's a meme we can work with! Even lends itself to bumper stickers, the utlimate test of modern political success.

[benburch]

13. Thanks!

I have been trying to figure out Rove's methods for years.