Politico-Marketing 101
Wed Nov 10, 2004 at 10:30:02 AM PDT
Repubs have successfully beaten reality. They've been very very adept at playing the frame game and using people. They use emotional and spiritual and visceral indicators to convince voters of their dominance and trustworthiness. So the Liberals of the world need to, first of all, understand this game, second, play it well, and third, negate it. Only after we've succeeded at equaling their game will their playbook become ineffective. And we will get to define the framework in which political questions are discussed and reported.
Fundies, Ignoramuses, Power Mongers, Scaredicats, and Traditional Conservatives
Sat Oct 30, 2004 at 09:50:05 PM PDT
As has been diaried here before, the Rs are looking at tough times ahead. The party can't support such a fractured "base." While appealing to their "base" of fundies and bigots (disgusting, actually, that they consider these extremists their base), they've alienated another large pert of their base, the fiscal conservative social liberals.
I've decided there are several types of Rs. I know this rant will do nothing to frame debates or enhance discourse with the other side. I'm just getting it off my chest.
Understanding the information market
Fri Oct 29, 2004 at 06:18:38 AM PDT
I was originally going to post
this in the excellent diary located here. Then it got waaaayy too long, so I've made diary.
We have the Reporters, the Hacks, and the Bloggers, all playing around in the same information-dissemination field. The Reporters and Hacks, as you've said, would like to think of the Bloggers as similar to themselves. Actually, I contend, the Bloggers have more in common with the Hacks than the Reporters. The difference is, the Bloggers don't spout meaningless talking points, rather, they create the memes and frame the discussions that end up getting turned into talking points by their respective political organizations. This the advantage and responsibility for the Bloggers-- they have the ability to affect policy and message, but they have the responsibility to do it in a reality- and fact-based world.
Kerry offers a Truth Leadership
Thu Oct 21, 2004 at 04:57:17 PM PDT
In an effort to come up with a Lakoffian meme, I stumbled on this one. Apologies if this frame has already been discussed.
What won the election for Jimmy Carter? Truth Leadership. He was not Nixon.
Reagan? A whole host of things, but mostly Strength Leadership, in the Iran hostage sitch. Repubs successfully painted Carter as a pussy.
Bush 41? Strength Leadership, and Reagan Mystique, in that they painted Dukakis as another wimp. Hey, the formula works, right?
More below the fold...
Kerry needs to say this is a War Against Extremism
Sat Oct 16, 2004 at 08:27:49 PM PDT
It's been widely argued that this is not a war against terror, war on terror, war against terrorism... because terrorism is a tactic. Fighting a war against terror is like fighting a war against trench warfare. It's dumb. But Bush keeps saying it and he's gotten to define the war in the SCLM.
In truth, this is not a war against terror. I believe our true war is one against extremism.
Sullivan doesn't think Mary Cheney was a low blow
Thu Oct 14, 2004 at 05:59:08 AM PDT
Apologies for the short diary...
As seen here
I keep getting emails asserting that Kerry's mentioning of Mary Cheney is somehow offensive or gratuitous or a "low blow". Huh? Mary Cheney is out of the closet and a member, with her partner, of the vice-president's family. That's a public fact. No one's privacy is being invaded by mentioning this. When Kerry cites Bush's wife or daughters, no one says it's a "low blow." The double standards are entirely a function of people's lingering prejudice against gay people. And by mentioning it, Kerry showed something important. This issue is not an abstract one. It's a concrete, human and real one. It affects many families, and Bush has decided to use this cynically as a divisive weapon in an election campaign. He deserves to be held to account for this - and how much more effective than showing a real person whose relationship and dignity he has attacked and minimized? Does this makes Bush's base uncomfortable? Well, good. It's about time they were made uncomfortable in their acquiescence to discrimination. Does it make Bush uncomfortable? Even better. His decision to bar gay couples from having any protections for their relationships in the constitution is not just a direct attack on the family member of the vice-president. It's an attack on all families with gay members - and on the family as an institution. That's a central issue in this campaign, a key indictment of Bush's record and more than relevant to any debate. For four years, this president has tried to make gay people invisible, to avoid any mention of us, to pretend we don't exist. Well, we do. Right in front of him.
Find videotaped lies
Thu Oct 07, 2004 at 05:03:17 AM PDT
Got an idea. I posted this in another thread, but feel it's important enough to warrant more discussion.
The SCLM is inherently lazy. They like a pre-packaged story that fits in a news segment or sound byte. And since a picture is worth a thousand words...
The reason that the Cheney lie has ballooned so nicely is because there is video on both ends of the lie. If there is video, the media will cover it. And that's the key to having a story with legs. Every pundit jackass can run the rebuttal clips. Look at the stories that have been the media's focus:
Bush huffing like a schoolboy > on video
Cheney lying about meeting Edwards > meetings on video
Cheney's denial he's ever linked Iraq and Al Qaida > definitely recorded on video many times.
Dan Rather showing documents, then apologizing for it >ON VIDEO.
So maybe we should be looking for the stories that have video legs. They're easier to pitch and easier for the SCLM to run with.
Republican wingnuts suffer from a form of narcissism
Sun Oct 03, 2004 at 01:57:42 PM PDT
From LGF:
Here's thought. Institute a draft for all Islamic males between the ages of 18 and 45. Faster than you can say camel manure--- mass exodus to Canada.
Safer America. Happier Canada. Praise Allah!
I can't begin to post every nasty wingnut comment I've seen that fits a similar, frightening pattern as this one. Right Wingnuts are narcissists. Look it up. I conclude this based on information from the American Psychiatric Institute.
I am no psychiatrist, but I do find the similarities between clinically diagnosed narcissists and the many wingnuts we run into to be freakishly disturbing.
Americans now seeing the smirk that turned off the world
Sat Oct 02, 2004 at 09:39:14 AM PDT
Bush has now shown the American people the face he's shown the rest of the world. The same small-minded, provincial, stubborn attitude that has turned off our friends worldwide was broadcast into the homes of 60 million people while Kerry challenged him.
This is why nobody else supports us. This is why allies are dropping off the Iraq map, quietly. This is why the UN can't wholeheartedly back our efforts, and we can't be trusted anymore. The petulance of a small boy in a diverse and complicated world.
Bush reminds us all to be very afraid... again
Thu Sep 23, 2004 at 11:40:41 AM PDT
Poster on Oval Office Wall...
Thu Sep 23, 2004 at 05:25:13 AM PDT
If you look real close at some of the pictures of the Oval Office, you can see a poster in the background. I was able to magnify it and enhance a little.
Matthews pounding Republican
Wed Sep 22, 2004 at 04:42:53 PM PDT
Right Now! ON Hardball...
NYTimes: Bush Opens Lead...
Sat Sep 18, 2004 at 11:13:13 AM PDT
Come on now, SCLM!!!
"Bush Opens Lead Despite Unease Voiced in Survey"
More analysis to make your brain ooze out of your freaking head. When will the headlines reflect the actual story?
This NYTimes/CBS News poll has Bush up 51-42 among likelies. On the bright side, it notes that:
About 80 percent of respondents said that Mr. Bush was either "hiding something" or "mostly lying" in talking about the war in Iraq.
...So it's not all bad in the article. Kerry's biggest problem continues to be the headlines. They are the most important part of this campaign, where the votes he is fighting for aren't really paying attention, and don't really care to read articles about the race. A headline is the only place he can affect the perceptions of the available electorate, in print media.
