I am very excited by the post Kos has made on the front page about our core values. This is exactly the type of discussion we need to be having. The republicans have been successful because they are able to reach beyond single issues to communicate a broad vision of how, and why. Their values inform their answers to why things are the way they are, and how to make them better. There allegience to these espoused values may be total horseshit, but they resonate with voters because the values they communicate are recognizable to John Q. Public.
As Kos states, the issue goes beyond mere Lakoffian framing. Linguistic gymnastics aside, we need to get used to discussing our vision for America in terms that connote our core values. As its been said, before you can do the framing you need to know what goes in the picture. To communicate our core values, we need to learn how to speak progressive. Much More below the flip...
The R's did a great job in their Contract With America in developing a set of ideals. More importantly, they settled on the core values of their community and some key ways to speak with the same voice. As a progressive coming up, you learn how to speak labor, and choice, and environment, but not how to speak progressive. As a up and coming conservative, they teach you how to speak conservative. Here's how:
In 94 Newt passed around a list of words to use in connection with the Contract with America. These words took the core values of the advancing R majority and put them into key phrases that would touch the right emotional pressure points. The steady use of these words in the proper context would steadily produce the frames they wanted to communicate their core values. Here are Newt's important words for conservatives:
Contrasting Words:
Often we search hard for words to help us define our opponents. Sometimes we are hesitant to use contrast. Remember that creating a difference helps you. These are powerful words that can create a clear and easily understood contrast. Apply these to the opponent, their record, proposals and their party.
decay... failure (fail)... collapse(ing)... deeper... crisis... urgent(cy)... destructive... destroy... sick... pathetic... lie... liberal... they/them... unionized bureaucracy... "compassion" is not enough... betray... consequences... limit(s)... shallow... traitors... sensationalists...
endanger... coercion... hypocrisy... radical... threaten... devour... waste... corruption... incompetent... permissive attitudes... destructive... impose... self-serving... greed... ideological... insecure... anti-(issue): flag, family, child, jobs... pessimistic... excuses... intolerant...
stagnation... welfare... corrupt... selfish... insensitive... status quo... mandate(s)... taxes... spend(ing)... shame... disgrace... punish (poor...)... bizarre... cynicism... cheat... steal... abuse of power... machine... bosses... obsolete... criminal rights... red tape... patronage
Optimistic Positive Governing Words
Use the list below to help define your campaign and your vision of public service. These words can help give extra power to your message. In addition, these words help develop the positive side of the contrast you should create with your opponent, giving your community something to vote for!
share... change... opportunity... legacy... challenge... control... truth... moral... courage... reform... prosperity... crusade... movement... children... family... debate... compete... active(ly)... we/us/our... candid(ly)... humane... pristine... provide...
liberty... commitment... principle(d)... unique... duty... precious... premise... care(ing)... tough... listen... learn... help... lead... vision... success... empower(ment)... citizen... activist... mobilize... conflict... light... dream... freedom...
peace... rights... pioneer... proud/pride... building... preserve... pro-(issue): flag, children, environment... reform... workfare... eliminate good-time in prison... strength... choice/choose... fair... protect... confident... incentive... hard work... initiative... common sense... passionate
Now most/many of these words could easily be used by any campaign that wants to communicate effectively. There are however, a few that I'd like to add for our side to begin using:
- key terms and phrases for dems: social, progress, invest in the future, build our community, honoring hard work, providing opportunity, making a commitment, coming to terms with reality, providing leadership, solving problems, make America better, strong families/businesses/individuals need strong communities, social justice, justice, success, tolerance, security, identity, liberty, freedom, individual choice, privacy, the chance to make your decision/ control your own destiny, provide options, science, public, common good, invest in opportunities/ communities/ our future/ the common good, strength in unity, common purpose, shared dividends, spiritual beings, health, wellbeing, tradition, updating tradition, fight, golden rule, greatness, the American Dream relies on a joint commitment, consumer interests, citizen interests over corporate crony interest, careers, livable wage jobs, sustainability, respect, human dignity, make the America Dream a reality
- key terms and phrases for repugs: antisocial, conserve the wealth of the few, wealth over work, ignoring reality, corporate, inconsiderate, royalist, tyrannical, inhumane, selfish, unrealistic, theocratic, dictatorial, out of touch, hypocritical, unjust, endangering our future, spoiling our opportunity, intolerant, narrow minded, short sighted, fanatical, in the pocket, holding back progress, stuck in the past, deny science, huge multinational corporations, cronies, materialistic, at odds with reality, irresponsible, don't care enough about our future/you/your community to ___ because their cronies profit from ___, get rich off your problems, want to control the choices you make, control, machine, corporate handout, steal, limit choices, ruin the environment, refuse to get serious, say one thing and do another, cogs in a corporate machine, impersonal, live in a dream world, naïve, ignorant of history, ignorant, destroying tradition, limit, dead end jobs, minimum wage jobs, impossible to maintain, unsustainable
Please use this diary as an opportunity to brainstorm some of your own key words and phrases that will form the basis of speaking progressive! Only by creating a contrast between us and the other side will we be able to break through. This contrast is between a group of people devoted to bringing the american dream to all people, through a shared commitment to our community and a respect for people who earn their keep in life, and a group of antisocial, out of touch cogs in a machine that considers you irrelevent, and doesn't care enough about your community to let progressives solve problems because they get rich off of them. It is a contrast between an America that builds careers for people instead of minimum wage jobs, that invests in our communities to promote social justice, instead of living in a dream world where dead end jobs are good enough. You get the idea...