Anyone paying attention to the talking points being spewed in the aftermath of Katrina has by now heard over and over again the issue of the "blame game". What is troubling to me is that the "blame game"(which is a Republican frame by the way) is slowly winning over the minds of Americans. I was listening to a Sports talk radio program yesterday, and almost out of nowhere the host mentioned that Democrats should stop playing the "blame game", and rather work with Republicans on the Katrina efforts. This was coming from a radio host who is at most times neutral or left of center in his political ideology.
I am afraid Democrats are already losing the Katrina frame debate, and
George Lakoff has aptly confirmed this.
This was not just incompetence (though there was plenty of it), not just a natural disaster (though nature played its part), not just Bush (though he is accountable). This is a failure of
moral and political philosophy -- a deadly failure. That is the deep truth behind this human tragedy, humanly caused.
It is a truth that needs to be told, starting now -- over and over. There can be no delay. The Bush administration is busy framing it in its own way: bad things just happen, it's no one's fault; the federal government did the best it could -- the problem was at the state and local level; we'll rebuild and everything will be okay; the people being shipped out will have better lives elsewhere, and jobs in Wal-Mart!
Unless the real truth is told starting now, the American people will accept it for lack of an alternative. The Democratic response so far is playing right into Bush's framing. By delaying a response for fear it will be called "partisan," the Democratic leadership is allowing Bush to frame the tragedy. And once it is framed, it is hard to reframe! It is time to start now.
I hope the Democratic leadership heeds his advice.
UPDATE I : I went over some of the comments posted here, and I gather some are putting solace in the fact that Bush's poll numbers are low at this point (about 42% approval), and therefore the American people are finally getting the message of what Bush and the Republicans stand for. The greater question we should be asking ourselves is, "Can we make this stick?". I am afraid the answer is a BIG no, if Democrats lose the Katrina framing debate. Another point that has been made in the comments is that Americans are too intelligent to buy into the Republican lies and the "blame game" this time around. If anyone wants to believe in this fallacy, look at the 2004 elections- by that token, John Kerry should have won handily.
The American people for the most part will buy into simple, straightforward truths that Democrats should do well to emphasize over and over again.
I hope the DNC, Howard Dean, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and other democratic leaders and advisors hammer the moral and political framework of Katrina to a level that the American people can easily digest and trust.
UPDATE II :
Some comments here rightly argue that its not only that Democrats are not framing this debate well, along the lines of accountability and responsibility, but that we also lack valuable face time in the media. Republicans have FOXNews and the majority of talkradio to do most of the job for them. AirAmerica is a drop in the bucket for us.
We seriously need to get airtime on TV and radio. Maybe, Democrats have to sit down and look hard at this disparity, and come up with a solution.