I noticed the wonderfully descriptive phrase "retirement tax" from Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), as quoted in Josh Marshall's
Talking Points Memo, as a description of how Bush's Social Security plans will affect seniors. When we talk about framing our issues, we need to be on the lookout for gems like these -- we should watch not only for bad GOP frames to avoid, but also for good frames to adopt.
So, I suggest using the following words or phrases when describing Bush's Social Security plans:
- "Retirement Tax"
- Gutting
- Slashing
- Looting
- Plundering
- Enron-ing
- "Fuzzy Numbers" (a Bush quote from the 2000 debates)
- Fixed-Income
...and I'd suggest avoiding these words, which the GOP will use to frame the issue:
- Reform
- Crisis
- "Private Accounts" (we already have them -- they're called "401K"s)
- Insolvent (simply not true)
- Bankrupt
- Investment
- Market
- Capital
Other suggestions (from our more experienced framers) are welcome.