Debate Debate
Last Saturday Salon ran this piece about the work of George Lakoff, a cognitive scientist at the University of California at Berkeley. He has some very interesting things to say about how liberals and conservatives frame any debate in terms that appeal to their respective constituencies. The Republicans have done a good job, he says, in framing John Kerry as a "flip-flopper," and thereby keeping him on the defensive.
He says the liberals need to do some reframing of their own. Instead of saying Bush lied about the Iraq war, Kerry should talk about "a betrayal of trust."
Well, I'm in faovr of anything that works. But one thing that has always bothered me about liberals is their mister-nice-guy attitude. While the conservatives fling lying vile epithet after lying vile epithet at liberals, forcing them to go on the defensive, Democrats don't like playing that game. It's beneath them. They'd rather be right and lose than win by playing dirty. The Republicans have absolutely no such compunctions.
So my suggestion is that the Democrats reframe the debate by saying, as often as possible, "George W. Bush is a LIAR!".
Okay, maybe Kerry shouldn't say that directly - he can say Bush misled Congress, his allies, and the American people to get approval for the war. Kerry can call him a "great misleader." Because Bush never actually, technically, lied - saying things like "we have solid evidence that Saddam has WMDs." But the technicality of the lie didn't do Bill Clinton much good. It's a lie.
But all the rest of the Democratic Party should not hesitate to call him a Liar at every opportunity. Around these parts, there are a couple of very popular bumper sitckers - "BUSH LIED - PEOPLE DIED!" and "NO ONE DIED WHEN CLINTON LIED."
Every time Bush or Cheney or Rice or Rumsfeld opens their mouth, let there be a chorus of "Liar!" Let a partisan body of Democratic Congresspeople make loud rumblings about impeachment proceedings against Bush - and whoever else - for lying to congress.
Sometimes the end does justify the means.
7:09:51 PM 
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