Excellent, Lanny, thanks!

Question:  does Lakoff discuss the continuous work of Luntz's partner,
Bill McInturff?  McInturff is the principal pollster for the RNC
(Republican National Committee).  Since the mid-1980s they have operated a
marketing-message development machine that is highly sophisticated.  It
focuses on 630 bellwether precincts nationwide; basically, Republicans are
confident that when they can win those 630 precincts, they will win the
Presidency 83% of the time.  This is the mechanism by which Luntz explores
and tests the persuadability of the electorate and finds the words and
refines the messages that fit their cognitive-emotive "frames."

The think-tanks abet this effort by (1) coming up with ideas and proposals
and rhetoric to be tested and (2) providing the intellectual material to
fill out the framing words.  Check out Hillsdale College's far-right-wing
publication, Imprimis, which is sent free of charge to every state and
federal elected official in the US.  (www.hillsdale.edu)

They use political methods that are equally long-range.  Key electoral
positions, for example Secretaries of State in important swing states like
Florida and Ohio, are "high value targets" for RNC.  The move toward
non-verifiable (no paper trail) electronic voting technologies also serves
this strategy, along with "vote suppression" tactics in these same
targeted swing states.

Thus, while i think Lakoff is definitely on to something here, he
underestimates drastically what Democrats and environmentalists will have
to do to even begin to catch up to Luntz, McInturff & Co.

Bill Witt


> Review– By Lanny Schwartz
>
> Don't Think of an Elephant! By George Lakoff. Chelsea Green Publishing,
> White River Vermont. 124 pp. $10.00.
>
> Those of us interested in the environment have been stunned by the
> political success of anti-environment politicians. We think there is a
> great disconnect between what people vote for and what they actually
> get. As one of my "rules of life" I always think that people are pretty
> predictable, they will do what is in their self-interest. Yet we now see
> people voting against their self-interest. As some columnist wrote, "How
> to you get poor people to vote for tax cuts for billionaires?"
>
> George Lakoff in this book tells us how. Lakoff is a liberal leaning,
> cognitive psychologist with the University of California. Democrats have
> always laid out facts and programs and assumed that people would figure
> out what was in their best interests. Clearly that is not working. What
> does work is appealing to people's "frames." We all have mental
> constructs and identities that have developed from our experiences in
> life or by hearing certain things repeatedly. Recall Hitler's famous
> saying that a lie is as good as the truth if you repeat it often enough.
> The often repeated claims of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq created
> a frame. The government coming to get your guns is another frame created
> by endless repetition.
>
> Lakoff decribes two global frames. The conservative frame is the "strict
> father model" with economic self-gain to protect the family, a
> subordinate position for women, and even an idea that it is immoral to
> help the less fortunate. All this harkens back to Ayn Rand and her Atlas
> Shrugged. The liberal frame is the "nurturing parents model" with the
> real "family values" such as child protection, honest communication,
> freedom, prosperity for everyone, and a nice place to live. Some people
> are stuck in only one frame. Most of us have some frames from both
> models. Both sides try to enhance their frame to these swing voters.
>
> No matter the facts and logic, people will generally not accept anything
> that does not fit into their frames. These might be frames or identities
> such as "union worker" or "God-fearing Christian." Frames must be
> appealed to with values statements that are consistent with those of the
> target audience. The facts and programs touted by Democrats are always
> doomed to failure. The Republican strategy was developed over the course
> of 40 years by financially well supported think tanks such as the Cato
> Institute and the Club for Growth. Lakoff suggests that Democrats could
> quickly adopt the Republican framing strategy, since the research has
> already been done and the product successfully test.
>
> The conservative genius of framing is consultant Frank Luntz. Each year
> he provides a very limited circulation book that has the framing words
> for the year. It goes to presidential speech writers and other political
> officials. The highly unified conservatives all agree to use these
> words. I recalled a TV discussion of an issue, a Republican county
> treasurer in Oklahoma described her views. Later in the broadcast a
> conservative senator used the exact same words. Whew!
>
> A conservative frame is "tax relief", not tax cuts. The word "relief"
> makes it seem like an affliction that must be cured. Within this frame
> the concept is not critically question. Healthy Forests and Clear Skies
> are frames that also are received uncritically. Lakoff points out that
> when you hear such Orwellian names, it flags a political weakness that
> may be an opening for the opposition.
>
> Those of us interested in the environment have plenty of values to sell
> that people really want, but they must be properly framed. For example,
> "sustainable development" doesn't work as a frame, but "protecting
> America's grandeur" does. "Pollution control" doesn't work, but "poison
> free cities" might.
>
> Before I was baffled. This book provided to me one of those "a ha"
> experiences, now I get it. I would suggest that this book is of great
> value to those interested in environmental protection.
>
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latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/