Three books that explain why Democrats are LOSERS!

[Walt Starr]

don't think of an elephant!
---George Lakoff

This is THE Progressive Politics Primer. Any Progressive Activist who has not read this book is pissing in the wind. You will not be able to formulate effective frames after reading this book, but you WILL understand why we get the crap beat out of us election after election.

Moral Politics
How Liberals and Conservatives Think
---George Lakoff

This is Progressive Politics 101. Any Progressive Activist that hopes to make gains in electoral politics should read and understand this book thoroughly. While effective frame development will still not be a strong capability after reading this book, you WILL recognize effective frames from both the right and the left and will be capable of developing a few that will work. Be careful, after reading this book you are but a novice. There is a think tank that works to develop progressive frames and a single activist will be incapable of doing this. It is possible that online think tanks can begin formulating effective frames, but those should be fed to an already established think tank for analysis.

The Art of War
---Sun Tzu

Democrats approach politics as engagement in gentlemanly discourse. BULL! Politics is war and strategies must be developed to fight it as a war. Read this book and you will understand how we are effectively destroyed election after election on a strategic level. Pay attention to Chapter XIII while coupling that information with Lakoff's work and you will understand why progressive blogs such as DU can be effective weapons for our enemy to use against us, and how we can turn that around effectively without the enemy even knowing we did it. (This thread is not the place to go into how and why this occurs. Skinner an approach me privately for an explanation of this statement.) Read and understand this book in light of the revelations from Lakoff's work and you will see the analogy for the Democratic approach to politics over the past decade can be likened to storming the beach of Normandy while armed with a picnic basket.

This book will be a must for frame deployment over the next four years. Realize, the Republicans have been doing this effectively. They've got a forty year head start on us. We have four years to turn that around. The first major battle occurs in 2006. LET'S GET THOSE GOP BASTARDS!

[Walt Starr]

1. Seeing this drop off page 1 in this forum explains a lot.

:eyes:

[Donkeyboy75]

2. Sorry, buddy.

Here's some attention for you. :hi:

[Walt Starr]

3. If "don't think of an elephant" does not become a best seller

We will lose additional seats in Congress come 2006.

Bank on it.

[asthmaticeog]

4. Maybe if you'd titled the thread

"Three books that explain why Democrats lose elections," more people would have bitten. "...why Dems are LOSERS" could be read in a personal way, and much of this crowd is already down enough as it is.

[Walt Starr]

5. Provocative subject lines generally get more hits

Ah well, I tried to get people to read it.

I've done incredibly thoughful subject lines and posts that have dropped off into oblivion more times than I care to admit.

[Teaser]

6. An even better title

Hot Sex Sluts.

Guarantee you'd get a lot of readers.

[Walt Starr]

7. Yup, but then some moderator would move it to the lounge

:evilgrin:

[lapislzi]

8. You mean we have to WORK for it?

Our beacon of moral superiority will not simply shine forth like shook foil? We have to DO something? Worse, we have to admit we've been fucking up for 40 years?

That's asking a lot.

This is America, man. Home of the drive-thru and land of the microwave. You're not offerring anything instant. Your plan involves patience, work, then more patience and more work. There is no quick fix for this problem. It took us 40 years to sink to this level. If we don't take the long view (as you sensibly suggest), we are never moving out of this corner. Shaking off our collective ADD is the first step.

[calimary]

9. But seriously, folks...

These ARE good books for ANYBODY who wants to turn our party around. George Lakoff is Required Reading for all of us. "Don't Think of an Elephant" should be Priority One reading for every Democrat in existence.

[Walt Starr]

10. If "Don't Think of an Elephant does not become a best seller, we will lose

The most efeective grass roots campaign that could be started is for a grass roots movement to be started to purchase copies of this book and send them to our elected Democratic Officials and the leadership within the DNC.

Howard Dean wrote the Introduction to this current edition. This is why I support Howard Dean for head of the DNC.

[Donna Zen]

11. Order two

...and give one away. That is what I did. Also, ask your librarian to get the books, even if you already have them.

The Democratic spokespeople don't seem to be able to wrap their minds around the linguistics of the situation. Over and over again during the campaign, I found myself turning off the tv because the Democrats walked into verbal traps, ignored the framing thus letting lies become unchallenged truth, and missing the ball park wall, because they lost the opportunity to use the language to their benefit.

As Laurie Anderson says: language is a virus.

[Walt Starr]

12. I intend to order ten

and send them to the Democratic Leadership in the house, Senate, and the DNC.

[pmbryant]

13. You've sold me

Those books are at the top of my political reading list now. Alas, it may be a couple months before I have the heart to read books about politics again.

But I will.

Thanks,
Peter

[Walt Starr]

14. Start with "Don't think of an elephant"

And pick it up ASAP. Beleive me, your appetie will be whetted and you wil want more. You will feel better because you will udnerstand the disconnect at a cvisceral level and will be able to push for a new Progressive Revolution in America.

[leesa]

15. WE aren't losers, we have no media. WE are in the right but the media

is owned by the corporate neocons. If you can't get your message out, no matter how correct, we end up with what we have.

[Walt Starr]

16. and you only read subject lines without reading posts.

:hi:

Gotcha, gotta read the post. We lost, ergo, we are losers. We can be winners and Lakoff explains teh language change necessarry while Sun Tzu explains the strategic gols we need to establish.

[LisaLynne]

17. Just finished "Elephant" ...

and am moving on to "Moral Politics". Instead of talking about changing our message, we need to change how we talk about it, so the message gets through. Our advantage, as Lakoff points out, is that we don't have to use language to hide our message, because we've got a rational, compassionate message. We do need how to communicate it, though. I'm just amazed by him. He's really opened my eyes.

[Walt Starr]

18. I got the DVD that goes along with "elephant"

Plan on watching it this weekend.

[CBHagman]

22. What? There's a DVD?

With the same title?

[Walt Starr]

28. Different Title,

How Democrats and Progressives Can Win: Solutions from George Lakoff

It was designed to accompany elephant.

[Walt Starr]

19. kick

:kick:

[LightTheMatch]

20. Is this how Howard Dean developed the

"Republicans can't manage money" line?

[Larkspur]

21. I ordered Lakoff's book and DVD from BuzzFlash and

Thomas Frank's book from Amazon. I plan on getting my Political Lunch Club at work and my Dem Town Committee to read the both books and watch the Lakoff DVD.

[Eurobabe]

23. sh!t walt, I was bitching about this over the summer!

I had a couple of threads up about Lakoff, but they always got ignored.

why do people always read this kind of book AFTER they lose?

Think PREEMPTION people. The other side does (but for the wrong reasons!) -Crozet

[MoonRiver]

24. What a bunch of crap!

Walt, the only book you need to read on this subject is the Diebold Manual for Successful Electioneering. :hi:

[Walt Starr]

25. Take accoutability for our loss

I have seen no evidence whatsoever of a stolen election. blaming the loss on a bugaboo, Osama bin Laden, or Saddam Hu8ssein will make no difference.

Stand up and take responsibiliyt. We had no clue how to frame the debate. Because of this, we lost a squeaker of an election to a pretender Regressive.

Progressives are better than this shit. We are the only group of people moving this nation FORWARD!

[bacchant]

32. Strategy is worthless if the game is fixed, we lose because they cheat.n/t

[Lone Pawn]

26. Thanks for posting this.

DTOAE is the best book I've read in the last year. I've already loaned it to half a dozen people, and each of them agree with me. I've just started Moral Politics, and read Sun Tzu a long while back. I agree with you entirely.

If you haven't read Don't Think of an Elephant, GET OFF DU NOW. THIS IS MORE VALUABLE! Don't post until you've read it. Hell, don't do ANYTHING until you've read it.

[mulsh]

27. if you can't buy the books

you might want to check out Lakoff's Rockridge Institute web site. lots of interesting ideas. here's a link:

http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/

[Walt Starr]

29. Yep, and a pretty good translation of "The Art of War" is available

online right here:

http://www.kimsoft.com/polwar.htm

[baltodemvet]

30. OMG: Reading Assignment

Will it be on the test?

Just kidding. Good suggestions.

[For PaisAn]

31. Just bought 2 of his books and his DVD

Thanks for stressing how critical this is for us. If we don't turn this around we're finished and Lakoff has the blueprint for success.

The Art of War will be my next purchase.

[Jade Fox]

33. Appealing to Authority???? I'm shocked, shocked.........

Yes, those are good books.