My Problems with Liberal Rhetoric

[gulliver]

Republicans are better than liberals at rhetoric, the art of effective communication. That's a really sad statement, because Republican rhetoric, while effective, is so boneheaded and artless that Sarah Palin and the Tea Party are its twin epitomes. What is it about liberals, who as a population are generally highly intelligent, that makes us fail so often and so miserably at the game of rhetoric?

Here is my list in no particular order.

• We are reluctant to frame our arguments. Framing has been framed as uncool.


• When we do frame the argument, we frame it to reflect our liberal values rather than to accomplish our liberal goals. Liberal framings are great for intra-liberal arguments though. The damage is impressive, if only it were to Republicans. Which is worse, racism or homophobia?


• We don't sing in unison. There is no amplification factor like they have in the Republican echo chamber. Every time one liberal says "heave," the other says "ho" at the same time. Someone should second me on this.


• We don't continually repeat our points repeatedly. People forget how forgetful people are. Did the RNC actually use donor money to go to strip clubs a while back? Did Bush and the Republicans in Congress ruin the economy? IIRC, over 95% of people would have trouble with these questions.


• We try to persuade when we can get away with just assuming. It's deplorable, but you can support even the stupidest points and sell the vilest lies without saying them. You just assume they are true while saying something else. Republicans likely disagree that this is deplorable.


• We try to prove rather than persuade. Rhetoric and geometry are two different things. In geometry, you can't prove that two line segments are the same length by using only hand waving and winking. But you can in rhetoric. Trust me. I have your best interests in mind and like you very much. ;-)

[moksha]

1. The Democratic Party suffers a deficit of leadership and backbone.

Both of which are required to meet your valid points. The Democratic Party has been ineffective in framing. And, it is going to cost us.

[sendero]

15. There is a reason for this...

... the party leaders don't want to help the people, they are bought lock stock and barrel.

Nobody who can walk and chew gum at the same time could fail so utterly to make our case, a case that at least 80% of Americans would get behind if anyone looked like they were actually going to do something.

[Recursion]

21. Whom do you blame: the corrupt pol, or the voters who keep re-electing him/her?

Since these are the people we repeatedly re-elect, at some level we have to acknowledge the fact that this is the part we're asking for.

[sendero]

24. It's a corrupt system..

... where it is all about money. But, the people are eventually wake up and smell the coffee, and business as usual is no longer going to work.

[Davis_X_Machina]

26. There are no non-corrupt systems...

...not so long as there are people in them, and not angels.

The genius of The Federalist Papers is that Madison, Hamilton and Jay were clever enough to realize that.

[sendero]

28. I agree..

... but there are degrees. Used to, it was done at the margins. Now it is right in your face.

[Davis_X_Machina]

31. It was always right in your face...

...there was no golden age, it was never better -- nor was it ever worse.

The belief that we, today, live under a uniquely vile -- or uniquely virtuous -- government is a form of presentism.

[Recursion]

33. Really? Money forces us to vote for these people?

Ultimately, it takes the people's approval for a corrupt politician to stay in office.

[DailyGrind51]

2. "Our" leaders assume that people can see through the other side's lies, thus feeling

no need to counter them with the truth.

[ericinne]

3. Republicans have a plan.

Seems to me like their entire platform is "VOTE FOR US, BECAUSE WE CAN BITCH ABOUT THE OTHER GUY" then have no plan of their own.

Would you want someone who's bitching that a bomb isn't getting defused fast enough helping defuse the bomb when they have no plan of doing it?

I think that point needs to be emphasized OVER AND OVER. Sure the left isn't perfect, but at least the left has a plan.

[Winterblues]

11. Don't kid yourself, Republicans have a plan and have been following it for years.

It has just about come to fruitation. their plan is to bankrupt America so the ONLY spending our country can do is for Defense. No Social Spending at all and NO Big Government Intrusion on their rape and pillage. We are not very far away from their end game..They are winning now and have been for more than two decades.

[JonLP24]

23. In Arizona

The entire GOP platform is illegal immigration. The only other issue on their platform is tax cuts. Tax cuts for everything. Economy hurting? Tax cuts. Job overseas? Tax cuts will attract businesses to come here and stay here. Can't find a job? JD Hayworth on extending unemployment benefits in a state with an unemployment rate higher than the national average-"We need a safety net, not a hammock." Answer for creating jobs? Tax cuts! :crazy:

[Recursion]

4. And who the hell came up with the terms "single payer" and "public option"?

The day we all started saying "single payer" rather than "Medicare Part E" I knew we had lost the fight.

[gulliver]

10. I agree

Make the Medicare program available to the public. Maybe next term.

[Zoroastor]

18. Libs think people want the truth...

...when in fact, what they want is comfort - comfort that someone is gonna kick the terrorists' asses, comfort that no one is going to take your money, comfort that things aren't going to change from the "good old days". The right has it figured out in that regard.

[gulliver]

27. That's kind of a hard but true point, imo.

Some of the truth sucks. People basically just want to live comfortably and have happy lives. Liberalism is the best hope for that, but that needs to be sold. People who aren't persuaded need to be persuaded. You can't just argue and inform.

The irony to me is that liberalism is the better ideology for comfort, safety, and the "good old days." The right has the rhetoric down better, but that is because they put a lot more of their resources into Sales than R&D.

[DireStrike]

29. Yes, but the thinking part of the base needs to know that our leadership KNOWS the truth

Someone campaigning needs to harp on a few feel good messages for the general public - and then in venues that the general public doesn't notice, needs to show that they have an intricate understanding of the issues.

The problem is that when they do that, the GOP usually points out part of the complex argument and says OMG LOOK HE VOTED FOR IT BEFORE HE VOTED AGAINST IT. I dunno why that didn't happen to Obama. Maybe McCain really had some honor after all the shit they did to him. Maybe they just dropped the ball. Maybe Obama proved to the people who REALLY run the country that he would do what they want him to... and put a better face on it than McCain.

[Radical Activist]

5. Progressives like showing what independent thinkers we are.

That means we gain points by not repeating anyone else and regularly disagreeing with Obama. There are both merits and drawbacks to that.

[Davis_X_Machina]

6. Watching movement conservatives I have decided a.) We need to learn...

...to lie better.

That and b.) play to people's worst instincts.

That should do the trick.

[cynatnite]

7. The Dems have "big tent party" syndrome...

There are a lot of different voices saying different things. Dems generally love diversity and open thinking. That's why we don't sing in unison.

I do agree that the repukes have mastered the art of hyperbole to the extreme and they know how to get their base frothing.

[gulliver]

13. And that is a good thing

One of our greatest strengths is that we tend to keep our minds open and listen to what everyone has to say. We should never change that. But there are times when pulling together is important too. I just wish we were better at figuring out when that is.

[Recursion]

20. That phrase was invented about the GOP

Atwater called them the "Big Tent" party, back before they had kicked out all of their pro-choice pols.

[Davis_X_Machina]

8. Serious this time: Here's a bit of pure liberal rhetoric....

...on the flooding catastrophe in Pakistan:

I bet Obama and Petraeus are annoyed at mother nature having the gall to interfere with our death drone profit sector.

How does that sound to anyone not already deep in the bubble? What real people talk like that?

[Smashcut]

9. We can start by calling ourselves LIBERALS again

Especially since the word "progressive" has been co-opted by a certain faction of "centrists" (read: closet conservatives) and doesn't have much meaning at this point.

[JoePhilly]

12. Dead on.

Frame the message, use the same words, repeat those words, declare victory, and then claim that all real Americans can see it ... what every IT is.

And to extend on the persuasion point. 2 specific tactics.

Tactic 1: Let's imagine a room full of people at a town hall. They all believe X, but you want them to believe Y ... what you do is position 5 loud proponents of Y ... one in the dead center ... and then one offset from the center, halfway to each corner ... you have these 5 people go nuts, demand to be heard. For many in the room, it will appear that the ENTIRE room is in agreement. Those who can be moved, move.

Tactic 2: In a straight debate, an expert will always beat an ideological partisan ... except when the expert is perceived to be condescending to the ideological partisan. If the expert is perceived to be using their "expert status" to persuade people rather than "facts", the ideological partisan, who is a "regular person" gains credibility. In effect, the "expert" is trying to "trick me". This tactic is used by the right wing to discredit experts all the time. This is why Sarah Palin has followers. She's being treated badly by "experts".

The left tries to REASON its way to common ground ... the right threatens, badgers, and screams its way to getting what it wants. The result is that we on the left expose CRACKS into which the GOP crawls, and then pushes us apart. Our message gets complicated.

Meanwhile the GOP screams "cut and run", "drill baby drill", "with us or against us" ... repeat, repeat, repeat.

[yowzayowzayowza]

14. Democrats ... "sing in unison"?

:rofl:

"I am not a member of any organized party — I am a Democrat." - Will Rogers.

[RC]

16. We Liberals are at a major disadvantage because

truth and facts are important. For the Republicans, not so much. They can do spin and outright lie about almost everything.

In other words when you are honest, you are at a disadvantage to liers that can and will say anything to make their point.

[phantom power]

17. For fun, I'll add a couple:

We liberals mostly prefer to avoid pissing people off, even our opponents (see: Obama, Barack). The GOP is very very happy to piss off their liberal opponents. In fact, it seems to energize them.

The GOP always knows who its enemies are: liberals, environmentalists, non-christians, feminists, poor people, etc. When they need a scapegoat, they always know by second nature who to use.

[nevergiveup]

19. Liberals and progressives

are in general more educated and up to date on issues of the day but being smart and current doesn't win elections if you can't connect with low information voters. We suck at the 3rd and 4th points in this post and we pay the price. Republicans have these down to a science.

[TheKentuckian]

22. A bad blend of crooks, chameleons, Republican party refugees, and non-ass kickers

[DireStrike]

25. I disagree.

Obama delivered a very liberal message, and delivered it well. Not only did he get out important parts of the message with lots of repetition and got them to stick, but he also showed he could be a nuanced thinker and argue every issue until it was illuminated from all angles.

There is no evidence of anything in his rhetoric in his policy, though.

[H2O Man]

30. Respectfully disagree.

Democrats are as capable as republicans in this area. What is important to consider is that despite what the elected democrats in DC say, their actions betray them. Yet their words work well enough that citizens continue to believe them, donate to their campaigns, and vote for them, without properly focusing on their actions.

[scheming daemons]

32. Sadly... we need a liberal version of Frank Luntz

...

[JoeyT]

34. While I agree with your points.

I'd add that we also lack the ability to get our message out.
Just this morning I saw maybe fifteen minutes of Fox "News" and didn't hear a single word that wasn't outright propaganda. Almost none of the basic facts were true, what was true was distorted beyond belief. Clear Channel are also happy to push right wing narratives.

We have to change minds one mind at a time, and we're mostly pretty good at it. The right, on the other hand, can blast propaganda 24/7 over a lot of TV/News and virtually all radio stations with impunity. And if something isn't done about net neutrality, the internet may follow.