Exclusive: Frank Lunts "Fourteen Words Never to Use" -- Guide to deceiving

[alevensalor]

From the leaked pdf:

http://watchingthewatchers.org/index.php?p=364

APPENDIX: THE FOURTEEN WORDS NEVER TO USE
Sometimes it is not what you say that matters but what you don’t say. Other times a single word or phrase can undermine or destroy the credibility of a paragraph or entire presentation. This memo was originally prepared exclusively for Congressional spouses because they are your eyes and ears, a one-person reality check and truth squad combined. However, by popular demand, I have included and expanded that document because effectively communicating the New American Lexicon requires you to STOP saying words and phrases that undermine your ability to educate the American people.
So from today forward, YOU are the language police. From today forward, these are the words never to say again.
1. NEVER SAY Government
INSTEAD SAY: Washington
The fact is, most Americans appreciate their local government that picks up their trash, cleans their streets, and provides police and transportation services. Washington is the problem. Remind voters again and again about Washington spending, Washington waste, Washington taxation, Washington bureaucracy, Washington rules and Washington regulations. Then remind voters that if Washington created this mess, it is Washington’s responsibility to fix it. “If we expect to succeed, we must look to ourselves and not to Washington to raise our kids, start our businesses and improve our day-to-day lives.” If you must talk about government, use the context defined by President Bush: “Government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives.”

2. NEVER SAY Privatization/Private Accounts
INSTEAD SAY: Personalization/Personal Accounts

...And twelve more ways to deceive ...

~A!

[hansolsen]

1. Not long ago MS?NBC cable news trotted out Luntz as an "objective" and

supposedly neutral pollster and focus group guru. His exploitation of those focus groups scenes was so blatant and so disgusting it was enough to gag a yak.

Eventually even Mathews had to drop Luntz from the Hardball format. Good riddance.

[alevensalor]

3. Go to the Kos link in the post on my site

and look through the pdf a little. He's anything but objective. I'm going to archive the PDF on my site, if you leave a comment on the site saying you want it, I will make it available for you to download.

~A!

[MADem]

11. I used to send them emails

...every time I saw that pudgy fucker on TV without proper attribution. My gripe was not that he was employed by the GOP, but that MSNBC FAILED TO STATE that he was a Republican pollster. The bastards! Truth in advertising, that's not too much to ask!

[alevensalor]

12. From THIS media?

I'm afraid that, from this media, truth in advertising IS too much to ask.

~A!

[sundancekid]

2. I hope you post this in the "Frame the Debate" Forum too -- much needed

THANKS for your diligent post

[alevensalor]

4. Where is the "Frame The Debate" Forum?

I don't see it, but I could be just missing it. I'm a little slow sometimes. :)

~A!

[LiberalUprising]

6. Frame the debate forum

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=252

[alevensalor]

8. I can't, I'm not a donor yet.

~A!

[blondeatlast]

25. Can I post this for you, with an attribution to you?

I'll be happy to do so--framing is important as hell.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. haha. his reasoning is outdated.

Most people are beginning to understand that what goes on in Washington, is happening in their local governments. Cronyism and tendrils that extend from private business to city hall are not exclusive to Washington.

And, btw, Republican style government is trying to do less as far as public service is concerned, so there's less to like.

[alevensalor]

7. Yeah, but

Now we have the weapons they're going to use. If we know what they're doing, we can shut them down, right?

My God, how can anyone vote for these clowns?

~A!

[omega minimo]

9. Education is the answer to both these questions and to Lunkhedtz'

willfully moronic obtuseness.

Frontline showed Luntz manipulating and monitoring a focus group, watching two chartlines converge as the guinea pigs fondled their feedback joysticks and having a little boygasm as the magic buzzword lit up at the climax point of the graph!!! The most manipulative WORD is _________!!!!! Oh joy!

On camera he explained why "death tax" made so much more sense the "estate tax" because "you pay it when you die." It does make much more sense to A Complete Illiterate. He delivered it with a convincing doltishness worthy of a Pauly Shore fan.

"#4. NEVER SAY Inheritance/Estate Tax
INSTEAD SAY: The Death Tax
While a sizable 68% of America thinks the Inheritance/Estate Tax is unfair, fully 78%think that the Death Tax is unfair. And while a narrow majority would repeal the inheritance/estate tax, an overwhelming majority would repeal the death tax. If you want to kill the estate tax, call it a death tax."

Let's fund education, rid schoolboards of the Religious Wrong, develop critical thinking skills and raise children to never lose their Bullshit Detectors.

:smoke:

[alevensalor]

10. Hell YEAH!

Say it loud and proud! We need more homeschoolers on the left, though. Seriously, public education sucks.

~A!

[LeftyMom]

15. I agree, but you might want to get your asbestos underpants on

for you're certain to be flamed for stating that demonstrable truth.

[alevensalor]

16. Most likely

But I don't give a damn. People will call me anti-teacher, anti-student, anti-whatever, but all I am is anti-fantasy.

And fantasy is what the public school system is, because it puts children in situations they will never be in after they leave school, and makes them do things they will never do once they leave school, such as ask permission to go to the bathroom.

If we think about it, just the grouping of the students by age is so different from the way we actually live and work, that should be grounds for abolishing the whole thing out of hand.

See, now my button's all pushed. Don't even get me started on how the schools are creating the perfect low-income factory workers that now won't even be able to get factory jobs.

grrr....

~A!

[LeftyMom]

18. Hey stop it, I don't have my choir robe on yet! :^)

I get it. I went to a "good" public school, which surely appears somewhere in Dante's vision of the underworld. LeftyKid won't, we unschool. :)

[alevensalor]

20. We're going to unschool as well

I just don't trust the gub'ment to do my job as a parent. ;)

~A!

[The Backlash Cometh]

26. That certainly is your perogative. But speak for your own child.

Mine is getting a valuable lesson: Learning how to deal with people of different cultures and different temperaments. She can't run away from them, but instead has learned to keep her eye on the prize despite all the normal distractions.

And thank God they went to public school were early learning disabilities were identified and special programs were developed to overcome them. My only feeling of guilt is knowing that public schools are so tight on money that the wonderful programs that they were exposed to are not available to "normal" students.

[The Backlash Cometh]

24. You obviously haven't been in a public school in quite a while.

My daughter has several different age groups in her classes. Classes are available by level of difficulty. Regular, honor & AP. My son is taking four AP courses at his technical magnet program, which is something I'd like to see a home schooler without any technical background teach their child.

[The Backlash Cometh]

23. You're kidding, right?

It's the private schools which are creating water cooler thinkers. People who learn the conservative points around water cooler conversations. In my kid's public school, the kids have to debate some very heady issues. Prayer in the schools, Gay Marriage. And my daughter has never been told what to think, like they do in private school.

[AuntiBush]

22. Remarkable Stated!

Thanks! Great post read! "Critical Thinking" is what we've lost. No wonder they want to chip-away at College Loans and Grants and have been diluting the airwaves w/anti-university and college crap!

If anyone out here has never taken a college course, take one! If you can't afford to, vist you're local community college! If you don't see a sign hanging on a wall, stop and ask what "critical thinking" is all about.

[omega minimo]

34. Thanks for emphasizing "Critical Thinking" which struck me as I read

the ensuing comments about home vs. public schooling.....

(As fer framing, may I say, AuntiBush that your moniker is semi-brilliant? Pleasetameetcha :hi:)

...... and alevensalor wrote "And fantasy is what the public school system is, because it puts children in situations they will never be in after they leave school, and makes them do things they will never do once they leave school, such as ask permission to go to the bathroom."

If you indoctrinate children to stand in line (lesson #1 and very useful in public life!) and ask permission to relieve their bladders, they are prepared to wait for the privilege of going through a metal detector and bag search at the (post office, concert, airport, government building, public school, take yer pick, etc.) without a whimper or tantrum. (Bogus "election" #2, anyone?)

These are sheeple, willing to suspend disbelief as their sacred civil rights are suspended, willing to believe that authorities (political, police or the two combined) have their best interests at heart DESPITE ALL EVIDENCE to the contrary.

So-- critical thinking training would include liberal arts, music and art to fire those creative synapses, civics classes to understand this system of government, history classes, classes where its okay to ask questions, classes where you don't think at any moment the drug dogs will sweep the classroom, classes where you are not under constant surveillance from cameras and narc teachers/administrators................................

School is not boot camp. And while I respect the motivation of parents who create better options for their own kids, we must never completely abandon public schools that produce the next generation of neighbors and citiizens.

"Critical thinking" means being able to SEE with your own eyes and intuition and trusting your sense that Bush is a nimrod on drugs, Cheney is so evil they can't let him on camera much, Condi is superbly intelligent and living in a twisted fantasy of her own power--------- or teacher is hitting on that girl in the first row and pretending otherwise. It is OWNING your own perceptions and having enough faith left in American myths of freedom-- or faith in something-- to stand up for yourself and for your country. (This awareness must be experienced early in life and internalized-- it is insufficient to learn it later as an intellectual construct).

Off the soapbox, I will thank alevensalor for bringing this up. I too am interested in the framing issues and not yet part of the Framing Group til I'm a donor. It's good to see this raised outside the domain of the people who may already be familiar with all the concepts.

I am not convinced that we fight framing with framing. I prefer answering lies with truth. Or humor.

Cheers then!

:bounce:

[NVMojo]

21. ...but the public also needs to understand that Washington is

hosing local governments so we all get hosed locally now by Washington, especially with the federal budget cuts ...

[BlueInRed]

13. Every elected Dem ought to see this, so they know what they

are up against. There's no reason Democrats can construct the same sort of list for our reps.

[alevensalor]

14. These lists

shouldn't exist. Politics is too much about this "framing the argument" and not enough about serving the American people. It's ridiculous, but politics is about money and power, NOT the people.

Wow, that's a revelation. Wonder if I made that up?

:)

~A!

[BlueInRed]

32. Hey, if that's what it takes to win, I'm all for it

If it helps us win and puts us in a position to do what you say, help the people, then I'm all for it.

These lists are about the process of getting elected, not what we'll do once elected. If it helps get rid of people like Bush, then I will happily adjust my language to do so.

[FreedomAngel82]

17. Maybe someone

can send this out to Dean and he can get this out to people who are running on the democratic side in upcoming elections?

[alevensalor]

19. I sent it to

Democrats.org, but sending it to Dean is a great idea. Thanks!

~A!

[etherealtruth]

27. Lunts' genius has has done more for the repuk's...

...than any other single person. By the manipulative use of rhetoric he has helped convince millions to vote against their own self interest. Who would dream an initiative titled CLEAR SKIES would actually be an initiative loosening emission standards? Genius, I tell you (OK, evil genius).

[alevensalor]

28. Agreed

Between people like him and people like Rove, we don't stand a chance unless we wise up, get our own genius.

~A!

[Catshrink]

31. Who's that professor at Berkeley?

He was quite eloquent about how Dems need to work on framing the debate. Dean needs to hook up with him!

[ClassWarrior]

35. George Lakoff. Dean wrote the intro to his book...

..."Don't Think of an Elephant." So Howard already has the low-down on framing. If you haven't read it, pick up a copy. It's only $10 and it's an easy read.

NGU.

[ClassWarrior]

29. Somebody posted part of this yesterday... and a lot of it was bullshit.

I get the impression Stay-Puft Luntz himself leaked this.

NGU.

[alevensalor]

30. Part of what, the PDF?

I'm not sure of the origins of the document, the PDF was posted on Kos and my team parsed out the fourteen things never to say. I will say that it is in line with other things Luntz has put out for Republican consumption, but I suppose there will always be someone who has to tear down everything and anything without doing their research.

~A!

[ClassWarrior]

33. Excuse me??

You answered my concerns - but did you have to toss in a nasty dig?? That's real Progressive of you.

What I saw yesterday was purported to be an excerpt of the "fourteen things never to say." The way it was posted yesterday gave the impression that the "fourteen things" was the original Luntz document. That's what caused my concern.

I remember thinking yesterday that some of the advice being given in the post was plain wrong, and that either someone must have interpreted Luntz's document poorly, or that Luntz leaked it himself as disinformation. I also remember thinking that there was some good advice there, as well. But it was the bad advice that had me worried.

That being said, what you have posted on your site as the "fourteen things" is different than what I read in yesterday's post. And now that I know what's what, and I have your link to the full and real "fourteen points," I will do "do my research" more thoroughly. Thanks for helping clear it up for me. And please don't condescend to me anymore...

NGU.