At the Yearly Kos, I got to hear two famous people who are known for progressive message framing, George Lakoff and Jeffrey Feldman. Lakoff seems to believe that Obama has his frame down the best with the concept, "Get rid of the very idea of the right and the left and the center." Feldman believes that Clinton will win the Iowa via Intellect,Politics, Service and Revolution. The latter word is one I personally quibble with, but that's his opinion and apparently the DMR Register agreed with him when they endorsed Clinton.
I believe there is a third way to frame the message, but more from an agenda view, and not just rhetoric. It's understanding how the Republicans played the game, but how they failed or lied to voters, then change it whereby everyone gets a chance to have a piece of the pie. The person who has some clear ideas about this strategy is Dave Mudcat Saunders. This first part is to talk about the importance of rural voter.
Slide under the fold and have a cup of coffee..
Mudcat was not well known to bloggers anywhere until in June when he pretty much took a swipe at the A-List bloggers and accused them how being part of the Metropolitan Opera wing of the Democratic Party which has stereotyped his people and his culture and drove them out of the tent. Good thing he didn't write that here or at Firedoglake, Digby, Taylor Marsh, or Open Left. He would have been banned immediately, even if there was some truth to the matter.
What Mudcat wasn't insinuating all bloggers were a member of the Metropolitan Opera, he was suggesting that he was tired of many urbanites having some built in prejudices against those who live in rural areas or have a southern drawl. He is questioning that beneath their frames, they believe rural voters (especially those in southern states) are racist, socially backwards, fundamentalist in faith, gun toters, and believe going to war is the only way to be patriotic, next to saying "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance.
Mudcat's right about those stereotypes. I lost track of the many times I have seen on this blog and at the DU who make fun of John Edwards' accent and wish it were different. I experienced that myself when I moved from Texas to Boston 20 years ago, and it took me a long time to drop my West Texas drawl in order for folks to take me more seriously in the work place. But I didn't mind at the time because I also began to understand the urban plight that was so different from Texas.
Mudcat Saunders was an advisor to Mark Warner and Jim Webb in their races, in which both were successful, and now he isJohn Edwards' National Rural Liaison, or at least that's what he told Norm Goldman yesterday on Ed Schultz's show. In that interview, and again in the DVD that is being mailed in Iowa, Mudcat mentioned some interesting studies at the University of South Florida and from the Center for Rural Strategies in Tennessee. The one from South Florida has proven that the rural vote was decisive in determining the Presidency and is likely to be pivotal in this election. Center for Rural Strategies has reinforced that opinion with its poll tracker, which shows the GOP, especially Bush, is losing ground with rural voters.
In a terrific video that the Edwards campaign released yesterday, Mudcat was featured many times about the problems in rural America. Jobs moved overseas, most of the kids moving away, hospital closings because doctors won't practice in small towns, etc. His clips were based on these stats that he quipped in the radio interview yesterday (sorry, Big Eddie's podcasts aren't available as of yet, so I'm using notes):
*Of rural voters surveyed, 38% cited lack of economic fairness as their top issue
*Only 9 percent listed the Iraq war as a priority, yet of those tracked nation-wide, 19% of the men and women who fight in the war are from rural areas, and 27% return as causalities. So, the war is a kitchen table issue because many families cannot afford for their children to attend college without enlisting in military to help pay for their education. And they wonder if their kids will make it back. What kind of future is that?
Mudcat suggest the following for any candidate, but Edwards seems to fit the bill the best in obtaining the rural vote:
Neutralize or work with the wedge issues the Republicans created in the past 40 years. Examples:
*Rural voters are no more racist as many have friends of different races.
*Parents who are losing their jobs and wondering if they can feed their kids are not going to be concerned if gay people threaten their marriage.
*Guns are used by hunters for legitimate purposes such as duck or quail hunting. Whether we approve of hunting, this is a way of life in rural areas. Brian Schweitzer and John Tester are prime examples of hunters who are also populists.
*Health care is unaffordable and distance-wise, more remote, in rural areas; rural voters want better health care and particularly for veterans, do not wish to drive 50 miles to the next VA hospital if they have an emergency
*Rural Americans want a better education too, or else jobs become more scarce
John Edwards has the best Rural Recovery plan of all of the candidates. It's something that has been diaried many times, most recently by Chaoslilith.
Mudcat said most of the folks are rural areas aren’t necessarily Republicans. I believe the rural vote will be pivotal and we have the best opportunity in this race. I'd rather choose a candidate who has never been above his raisin' and that candidate is John Edwards. He connects with the rural voter very well. Here's a testimony from Doug Gibson:
And unlike Feldman, I think that is why Edwards will win Iowa. Here's the video DVD, For the Country. Dial-up warning: It is 12 minutes long, but well worth watching.
Update: my apologies to the Richardson supporters for omitting his name in the poll. Unlike the rest of the diary, the poll is a done deal once one pushes the publish button. The other is to let readers know that I will have another diary about this framing, using what else Mudcat had to say, what community leaders in Iowa asked John Edwards a few weeks back, his answers and how this all fits together for an agenda, not just rhetoric.