John, I'm not as pessimistic as you might think, I'm just surprised that the progressives continually concede the rhetorical war to the right wing and thus obligate themselves to accept their losses or to spend a huge amount of effort trying to dig themselves out of holes they didn't have to fall in.
This is especially true for those first impressions where nuanced thinking and some effort to sort facts is required. In those instances it's imperative to get your message out early and to counter simplistic, emotionally appealing and misleading slogans that distort the truth. If you're too lazy, too stupid or too busy to do that then good luck trying to change the minds of the many people who became convinced that they know the "truth."
Your example of the stereotype the Republicans were trying to hang on Obama is interesting but it's a little of an outrider because it didn't take. It didn't take because Obama branded himself very firmly in the presidential election, because Obama is in the news almost every day and because most people still had a wait and see attitude. In other words, the facts were in front of them, it was an issue they could easily judge for themselves and most of the undecided still haven't decided. That's why his approval ratings have stabilized at 50%.
But good luck trying to convince a large percentage of the "swing voters" that health care won't cost them, that the health care plans will work, that health care doesn't represent a "government takeover of the health care system," that health care isn't a huge step toward socialism or that the health care plan doesn't permit the government to pay for abortions.
The only health care attack the progressives effectively countered was the "kill grandma" attack and they hit that early, hard and often. That's what has to be done on every material, misleading talking point and it has to be done with outrage and passion.
You can't get up and lecture people like you were teaching a college class on political philosophy or logic, you have to stand up like an old time union president and you have to hit hard, keep it simple and and commit by standing behind your words emotionally.
And if you make the spinners look like fools they'll think twice about doing it again and again.
I'd throw down the gantlet and start out by telling the public, "Someone's trying to make a fool out of you, they think you're stupid enough to believe..."
But, alas, it seems that Obama and the Democrats are much nicer than I am or, as Blue would say, more civilized. Ed |
