Month: May 2005
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George Lakoff: False prophet (part II)
Here’s TNR’s Noam Scheiber adding to the long list of what’s wrong with using George Lakoff as a message guru. The simple fact is that he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about: Yet, by and large, once he strayed from the broader point about the role of values, Lakoff’s advice in these situations was
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McCrery’s ridiculous Social Security jargon
I’ll see your mumbo, and raise you a jumbo! Rep. Jim McCrery is challenging the White House in the race to see who can use the most engineered language possible on Social Security: One of the sharpest exchanges came when Representative Jim McCrery complained about the Democrats’ repeated use of the term “privatization” to describe
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Democrats put tactics over strategy… again
Via Rush & Molloy, Bill Clinton characteristically focuses on “tactics” as the way to defeat Republicans: “The guy [Max Cleland] left half his body in Vietnam,” he said. “They’re in the business to beat us. When they come out after you, it is a contact sport. “Get better tactics. Don’t wuss around. And quit saying,
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Media Research Center: Relativist hacks
Media Matters points out another ridiculous study by the so-called watchdogs at the Media Research Center: Since Election Day, network reporters branded politicians or groups as “conservative” 395 times, compared to 59 “liberal” labels, a greater than six-to-one disparity… MRC analysts used the Nexis database to examine each use of “liberal” and “conservative” on ABC,
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Mary Matalin’s MTP hackery
Brian Montopoli of CJR Daily dissects some especially ridiculous spin from Mary Matalin on Meet the Press, and does a nice job drawing out its larger implications: After Russert brought up Pat Robertson’s claim that the federal judiciary is a greater threat than “a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings,” he showed a MoveOn.org
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Tomorrow’s anti-Hillary agitprop today
I just received a fundraising solicitation from the RNC with this quote from Hillary Clinton on the envelope, at the top of the letter, and in the body of the letter: “We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.” It’s presented with no context in the first two cases.
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Washington Monthly highlights
The latest issue of the Washington Monthly has a creative set of policy recommendations for governors planning to run for the White House. Well worth a read. It also has a decent article on the declining political fortunes of Governor Schwarzanegger, who is discovering that trying to go it alone in the two-party system isn’t
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John Lott: Please seek help
Via Kieran Healy at Crooked Timber, I see that the indefatigable Tim Lambert has caught John Lott posting yet another fraudulent review of his own work under a pseudonym. According to Lambert, Lott has now posted eighteen anonymous five-star reviews of his own books. Unbelievable and sad.
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What is Jeff Greenfield talking about? (Clinton haircut edition)
In a Washington Monthly review of The Survivor by John F. Harris, Jeff Greenfield dredges up some Clinton-era propaganda: Reading The Survivor is to be reminded of the sheer chaos that at times seemed to swamp the White House, from the superficial (sloppy dress,”boxers or briefs?,” chronic tardiness, all-night pizza pig-outs) to the problematic (a
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What is Tom McMahon talking about? (Nuclear option edition)
Tom McMahon, the executive director of the DNC, just sent out an anti-nuclear option email to supporters that includes this passage: [Republicans are] trying to seize absolute control over all three branches of government — and they will do anything to get what they want. In one move they will try to simultaneously crush all