AmericanValues101.Org • Political Blog

I’m constantly impressed with how well and thoroughly Republicans own the discourse. They’ve had help by linguistic’s expert, Frank I. Luntz, who writes yearly briefing books distributed to the Republican Party which tells each member how to speak (and lie). It’s a cohesive approach that reinforces their language, because they are all using it. After a time, the media picks up a phrase here and there, and then suddenly people on the streets are using terms like death tax to describe the millionaire estate tax that applies only to the richest American with estates valued at $2,000,000 or more! There’s no tax on death (unless you count all the money Americans are funneling to Iraq). Death tax is one of the many phrases coined by Frank Luntz who has spent his career helping Republicans lie to America.

We can see the effects of Mr. Luntz’s tutelage in a recent “book review” on Al Gore’s new book, “The Assault on Reason” posted by the “American” Thinker. The entire “review” is a carefully constructed text designed to redefine (”frame”) Al Gore as an irrelevant relic of the political scene who is more comparable to vapid media fodder like Paris Hilton, or better still a “European socialist,” which would make him unAmerican and undemocratic.

Following the teachings of Frank Luntz, Republicans rarely attack the message and instead attack the messenger, referred to as an ad hominem argument. This is how Republicans initially responded to scientific reports about global warming, by attacking the scientists (while at the same time paying for opposing views from disreputable members of the scientific community). When it became harder to attack the scientists and find other “experts” willing to sell opposing views, Republicans chose to either ignore scientific reports or artfully misquote them.

Even Frank Luntz has distanced himself from the relentless Republican refusal to acknowledge the scientific facts about global warming. He so thoroughly framed the issue of climate change, that even in this “American” Thinker book “review,” Alleva and Geer, the two “reviewers” call global warming Gore propaganda. Sure — Gore has single-handedly made global warming the issue of our time.

What’s also interesting is how Alleva and Geer point out that America is “not a democracy, but a republic” without defining or fully understanding what they’re saying. It’s true that Republicans are working hard to destroy the concept altogether. But it would be nice if they acknowledged that even our republic (res publica or a “public thing”) is still a form of democracy, albeit an indirect democracy, but only with respect to how the United States elects its presidents and vice-presidents. Our republic is still a public thing and we do in fact directly vote for all the representatives and senators in Congress. In the entire history of America, except possibly between 2001 and 2007, Congress was in fact the third branch of our federal government. So, to be fair, Americans have both a direct and indirect democracy and the republic is actually a community of states with their own governments, some state autonomy, and state political leaders all of whom are directly chosen by the citizens of those states. Still with me?

That Alleva and Geer choose to construct “democracy” in such narrow and incorrect terms is very telling. Republicans have been eroding democratic values for the last six years. They are doing very well in these endeavors. Maybe that’s why they so adamantly refuse to spend a second discussing any of the actual concerns in Gore’s new book. These Republicans have no trouble pursuing a “politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism, and blind faith . . . to create an environment dangerously hostile to reason.”

And because we construct reason through speech, we can generously acknowledge Frank Luntz’s contribution to the downfall of democracy, especially if we acknowledge that a government of, by and for the people requires that the people be honestly and thoroughly informed. Have we reached a point of no return in being able to see beyond Republican framing? It’s hard to say. Certainly, some of us see through Luntz’s Orwellian frames. But not enough of us, and sadly too many Republicans have gone beyond merely using Luntz’s terms — they actually believe them. So is there an assault to reason? You bet your freedom!

Frank Luntz has created a monster not even he can control. Once again, it’s up to the villagers.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 21st, 2007 at 11:14 pm and is filed under Al Gore. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.