In a number of comments, one of which is presented below the fold, I have been taking issue with the doomed Democrat strategy of seeking nothing but money from our community. I pointed out many times that the Kossack community is rich in talent, full of creative people who can contribute things that are indeed more important than money. (And Kos, now that the fiscal quarter is past, you can get on to these other issues now!)
Many of us, including me, are not in a financial position to make a significant contribution of money to the cause. However, equally many of us have talents in political communication that could be put to good and valuable use by candidates if only they would listen.
Many times when I voice my complaint, supporters of one candidate or another urge me to contact the candidate's campaign and offer my services. I do so, but so far haven't even received a reply. Read on to see a specific example, and if you think I have a point, please recommend as my diaries tended to vanish into the void quickly. Perhaps for good reason, but perhaps not.
Let me repeat a post I may as a comment on a Jack Carter thread. At the end I will make a specific suggestion on how we can change things for the better.
"I wish you well in your campaign, Jack, but I fear that you, like all too many of your fellow progressive candidates, fail to appreciate that money isn't the only commodity in this election.
Our community is filled with talent in various areas of communication and politics, but not only do candidates seek nothing but money, but offers of other assistance are routinely ignored, as I have personally found out on many occasions.
Karl Rove and his minions are winning every framing battle, because Democrats don't spend enough time or bring in enough linguists (like me) to fight back. There are many skilled artists who can provide effective campaign art and t-shirts (as I did for Arianna Huffington in the governator campaigns). There is plenty of talent in our community!
It is very annoying to those of us without disposable incomes that campaigns are so disinterested in receiving help they so desperately needed.
In another thread, I posted similar thoughts and a supporter of one candidate invited me to contact the campaign and offer help. I did, several days ago, with no reply at all. This candidate (CA-49) has a webpage which not only is poorly constructed, but which even has major grammatical errors.
Every campaign needs a Lakoffian linguist in addition to skilled proofreaders (I'm not, as readers of my books know all too well). But you candidates just ask for money, and you don't even use it to hire qualified people to do those necessary tasks! Naturally someone in my circumstances would prefer to be paid, but I'm willing to volunteer if only some campaigns would listen. The only person to reply to my email inquiries was Sen. Boxer (not in original comment, but added here.
" Thank you for contacting my office to express your views on 'framing' the pbulci (sic policy debate. I am aware of the publications of Professor George Lakoff. Your suggestions have merit.
--Boilerplatge text deleted---
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
"
Without the support of linguists who can go toe-to-toe with Karl Rove, Democrats will not win this election. Already he has kicked our but on immigration, be allowed to use "amnesty" where only a plea bargain was offered.
Perhaps the candidates believe they have the skills to fight these battles themselves or with their handlers. But you don't. And Dems are getting whipped in every framing battle. So some candidates should get the help they need, whether volunteer or paid, in order to get the job done.
Money isn't everything, even in politics!"
So, how do we rectify the situation so that our assorted talents can be put to good use in the November elections?
First of all, I think that this issue needs to be discussed within our community. We need one of the front pagers to take the lead and helped organize our talent pool and present it to the candidates. When I write to a candidate, I don't even get a reply from their campaign. But if Kos or one of the front pagers used their connections to bring it to their attention, we might be able to get something done. We need to have someone set up a page where they could list their contact information, experience and talents. This information should be provided to the candidates we support together with an exhortation that they take advantage of these skills.above all, we need qualified linguists, in addition to George lakoff, to bring their skills to communicating the Democrat message.
Among the failures I have noted in previous comments and diaries is the failure to confront Karl Rove and his allies in their hijacking of the immigration debate. As I pointed out many times, no amnesty was ever proposed. What was put on the table was a plea bargain, and if we had insisted on using that term we would have been able to maintain the frame of the discussion. It is obvious that with the fate of 12 million people under discussion, but some sort of plea bargain has to be made. People can have legitimate disagreements about the terms of the plea bargain but by using the word amnesty Rove was able to inflame many Americans and successfully mislead them.
in addition, in the civil rights battle, we have allowed some politicians to try to straddle the fence by talking about some sort of civil unions. We should take over the frame by referring to these proposals as "separate but equal", words which should turn the stomachs of most Americans.
Besides issues, I have found that many of the messages put forth by Democratic candidates have passages that are inarticulate and even ungrammatical in ways that turn off prospective voters. If the front pagers would take up the cause, we could confront these campaigns and get them to take advantage of our talent pool and greatly improve their political communication.
But many of you are in a position to do something directly! If you work on a campaign for one of our candidates, you can bring this issue to their attention directly. Although I am and not in a position to make financial contributions, I am willing to devote as much time as I can do volunteer work for campaigns that need my skills as a linguist. Perhaps my Ph.D. in linguistics will not impress,but as the author of over 100 books, many of which are available at any major bookstore, I know that I can bring some communication skills to the table, especially in areas of framing and watertight arguments. I know that there are many others in our community who can do so too, all we need is for someone to get the attention of the campaigns.
Thanks for reading this terribly long diary, and if you think I'm on the right track, please bring it to the attention of others. We are up against a formidable opponent, Karl Rove, who has not only mastered the art of rhetoric but who has turned it into a poisonous weapon, threatening us all.
Communication is a heavy burden for us, so for a little comic relief go ahead and take the poll.