Cheney Speaks to the Reptile Brain

[depakid]

It's Willie Horton all over again. The Bush family is subjecting Americans to psychological operations, only the level of sophistication and deception is an order of magnitude higher than it was in 1988. And it could turn the election, if not used effectively in rebuttal. Here's how it works, and how Dick Cheney just used it masterfully:

We humans, being the product of a long evolutionary process, really have three brains. And, as the Bush psy-ops folks know, politicians who win campaigns do so because they speak to all three of those brains.

<snip>

When Dick Cheney recently took John Kerry's comment about sensitivity in the war on terror out of context and spun it for his audiences, he was performing a psychologically masterful bit manipulation of all three brains. Only ridicule with a subtext of fear has this power.

<snip>

John Edwards, for example, has crafted a message that speaks simultaneously to a voter's intellect (neocortex), heart (limbic brain), and survival needs (reptilian brain) with his "two Americas" frame. If his ticket is to win, John Kerry must do the same with every single issue in this campaign, while at the same time using "light hearted humor" (dripping sarcasm, like Teresa's "they want four more years of hell," is dangerous) to highlight Bush's failures and incompetence. And if ever there was a candidate whose flip-flopping, fear-mongering, military desertion, and incompetence was ripe for ridicule it's George W. Bush. (A reality not lost by websites like www.whitehouse.org.) Handled correctly, an advertising campaign that lightly ridicules Bush while clearly and accurately pointing out his failings could be devastating.

More...

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0817-13.htm

While I don't necessarily buy into all details of the psychological analysis, it seems to me that Hartman nevertheless reaches the right conclusions for the right reasons- "The simple reality is that issues framed in intellect will never trump issues framed in emotions."

I keep seeing people defending the "high road" and frankly this frightens me. There is no high road in politics- this campaign isn't just about issues- no campaign has ever been. That's just not how politcs works- particularly in America. It's dangerously naive to think that Kerry can continue to absorb these hits and not hit back with equally effective attacks of his own. it may seem "noble" and "above the fray" but historically, it's a losing strategy. There's no denying it.

While it's true that the 527's have been taking this tack- I just saw part of a Media Fund ad that seems to follow Hartman's advice- they don't have the resources to saturate the markets like the campaign does. Moreover, they lack the stature and credibility of the candidates themselves.

I hope I'm wrong- but so far I'm in complete agreement with the author: "If the Kerry campaign doesn't quickly figure out how to use ridicule to make these sorts of essential framing and piercing issues work properly, we may be in for a replay of the Bush/Dukakis meltdown."

[jeff30997]

1. He appeals to the reptilian brain because he's a slimy snake.

[checks-n-balances]

2. Thanks for posting this - it makes sense to me & I think Hartman is right

Actually, mopaul brought up almost the same thing yesterday and it generated lots of replies.

Hope you and I are both wrong, but I really do think someone in the Kerry campaign needs to read this, because I KNOW that the average citizen population out there is more affected by primitive thought like this. I've encountered the problem myself in communicating with certain segments of the population.

It's one reason that the Klan, skinheads, Identity & various hate groups have succeeded to the extent that they have - because they exploit this human inability to move beyond the most primitive impulses & thoughts.

Here's the other thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2213654

[iwantmycountryback]

3. He is a reptile

Having cold blood helps Cheney relate to the reptilian part of people's brains.