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Super Tuesday

Wed, 2008-02-06 00:56 — Nick Lewis

"Leaked" exit polls suggest Obama will have a very good night. Not quite celebrating yet, as the last 8 years have conditioned me to expect heartbreak everytime I feel a glimmer of hope in the political arena. Who knows, though: maybe the exit polls are right, and there might be a glimmer of hope for the USA. Or, perhaps the democrats will do what they've always done, and shoot themselves in the foot by nominating HRC. Lord knows the Dems do nothing better than sabotage theirselves. THey are perhaps the only party in the world that could lose even THIS presidential election.

The Glorious Era of Augustus Dean Begins

Tue, 2005-02-15 00:00 — Nick Lewis
Perhaps that title was a bit too grandiose. Nevertheless, its good to know that the Dr. is now where he needs to be. On a sidenote, you should go put your two cents into what you want the future of the Democratic party to be; who knows... I actually have a weird feeling that they'll be listening.

Dean Will Be Next DNC Chair

Mon, 2005-02-07 22:51 — Nick Lewis

The Associated Press reports:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tim Roemer, the only remaining opponent of Howard Dean in the race to be chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Monday he's bowing out of the race -- but he offered a warning to Democrats. Dean, the former presidential candidate and governor of Vermont, is expected to win the DNC chairmanship at the election Feb. 12.

Praise Allah! The Democrats have a true leader!

James Carville: "This is supposed to be a rigged deal."

Sat, 2005-02-05 22:38 — Nick Lewis

James Carville recently whined to the New Republic about the openness of this month's race for DNC chairmanship::

I think it's pathetic. It's so indicative of the Democratic Party. Now we're just playing into every stereotype: We're weak, disorganized, flopping around.... Somebody should have fixed this damn thing in November. I wish someone would have taken charge and three or four people would have gotten together in a smoke-filled room.... They're not running for president! They are running for party chair. This is supposed to be a rigged deal. You think the Republicans would do it this way?

(Hat tip to Micah L. Sifry at Personal Democracy Forum)

Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Mon, 2005-01-10 22:02 — Nick Lewis

By Frances Moore Lappé

Beyond Lakoff’s strict father vs. nurturant parent, a strong community manifesto

George Lakoff’s new best-seller Don’t Think of an Elephant has been heralded as the “bible” for battered progressives searching for direction in the post-election doldrums. Lakoff himself has become the Left’s answer to Frank Luntz, the focus-group genius behind the branding of Bush’s “death tax,” “Clear Skies” and “Healthy Forests” initiatives.

“Frames,” according to Lakoff, are the key to understanding how political ideas are received. Human beings don’t absorb information as raw material; we sift input through frames of meaning carried in the language we use.

Lakoff’s central idea is that conservatives see the world through a “strict father” frame emphasizing discipline, self-reliance, forceful defense, while progressives see the world through a “nurturant parent” frame—supportive, nourishing, emphasizing mutual responsibility. Lakoff claims that thirty-five to 40 percent of Americans fall into each camp, although most are some sort of mix.

The Right, Lakoff points out, is extremely good at selling their policies in clear, easy to understand “strict father” frames. Progressives, on the other hand, too often seem to offer laundry lists of issues lacking any overarching moral framework.

So, it’s easy to see why progressives are rallying around Lakoff’s call to arms. Since polls show majorities actually agree with the progressive agenda on many key issues, including corporate power, the environment and abortion, focusing on “framing” issues in ways that Americans can understand them seems like the answer they’ve been praying for. Certainly, much of Lakoff’s advice about communicating progressive ideas is powerfully insightful and right on target.

But two big dangers loom.

Catch the Red Bat: How Democrats Will Win

Mon, 2004-12-06 22:33 — Nick Lewis
Tonight, I wandered through many progressive news outlits, blogs, and campaign websites looking for answers on how we can win... and I have a confession: I'm on the verge of losing my mind. Over here, I read another de-construction of Lakoff's "nurturing" theme, and over there I read another call to "brand" our political cause; however, I'll be frank about my opinion: Lakoff, Brand Democrat, and all other efforts to repackage our message will lose. Now, my reader might be wondering, "what evidence do you have to say that?" Good question reader, let me explain:

George Lakoff has given us a much needed gift. During the fall of late 2003, he introduced many of us to the concept of cognitive frames; he educated us on how Republican think tanks had used framing to capture the congress in 94, and eventually the White House in 00' and 04'. However, there are two pink elephants in regards to Lakoff's theory:

  1. While he cracked the code to the Republican "strict father" frame, his "nurturant family" frame lacks vitality and substance. For a cognitive linguist, one would have expected a better word for our frame than "nurture" -- a positivelty pink word that evokes images of lactating nipples, infants, and pregnant women. Don't misread that criticism, I'm simply saying that an overtly femine frame is disagreeable considering we need male votes as well as female votes.
  2. The strict father frame developed by Republican think tanks took decades to pull off. They started with Reagan (about two years before I was born), and now, 24 years later, it is giving the Republicans their full returns. First off, we don't have 24 years to allow our seeds to grow in the public mind. Second off, the idea of crafting unified messages arose in an era of TV-age politics. Our success, if it is ever possible, is not going to come through televised sound bytes. We need to be thinking ahead of the Republicans: let them have there talk radio, and fox news. Let's get to work on using the next generation of communcation tools (hey guess what: we're using the prototypes of those tools right now)

Now in regards to "branding democrats". For Christ's sake: first off, 'Democrat' is a brand that is associated with losing. Second off, lets stop look at voters as consumers, or demographs. There is no lower form of looking at human beings than as mere demographs of religion, sex, race, age, and income. Perhaps we might begin by respecting our voters as being something more than empty consumer vessals; mere brains that deserve a good washing by method of incessent televised advertising. So, I have a frame, its simple, its too the point, and it will work.

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