This page contains a zipped memorandum from GOP propoganda minister Frank Luntz teaching Republicans the very kind of double-speak I was referring to in my [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/republican-double-speak/6365/1 thread[/url]:
And here’s a commentary on the contents of that memorandum:
An excerpt:
[b]Luntz teases,
I love how the guy says “educate” rather than “brainwash”. It’s so deliciously ironic. Doesn’t the guy see how Soviet/Orwellian Ministry of Truth-ish this is?
Great find! A trip through Orwell’s Ministry of Information… Fellow Republicans, you are the language police! Wonder how much they payed Luntz for this?
APPENDIX: THE 14 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.
NEVER SAY: Government INSTEAD SAY: Washington
NEVER SAY: Privatization/Private Accounts INSTEAD SAY: Personal Account
NEVER SAY: Tax Reform INSTEAD SAY: Tax Simplification
NEVER SAY: Inheritance/Estate Tax INSTEAD SAY:The Death Tax
NEVER SAY: A Global Economyl/Globalization/Capitalism INSTEAD SAY:Free Market Economy
More Americans are afraid of the principle of globalization than even privatization. The reason? Globalization represents something big, something distant and something foreign. It’s the same reason why Americans like their local govemtnent but dislike
Washington - the closer you are, the more control you have. So instead of talking about the principles of globalization, instead emphasize "the value and benefits of a free market economy. "Similarly, capitalism reminds people of harsh economic competition that yields losers as well as winners. Conversely, the free market economy provides opportunity to all and allows everyone to succeed.
NEVER SAY: Outsourcing INSTEAD SAY: Taxation, Regulation, Litigation, Innovation, Education
When you use the words of your opposition, you are basically accepting their definition and therefore their conclusion. We should NEVER use the word outsourcing, because we will then be asked to defend or end the practice of allowing companies to ship American jobs overseas. Rather, we should talk about the “root cause” why any company would not want to hire "the best workers in the world " And the answer: “over-taxation, overregulation, too much litigation, and not enough innovation or quality education.” if it rhymes, it will be remembered.
NEVER SAY: Undocumented Workers INSTEAD SAY: Illegal Aliens
NEVER SAY: Foreign Trade INSTEAD SAY: International Trade
NEVER SAY: Drilling for oil INSTEAD SAY: Exploring for energy
NEVER SAY. Tort Reform INSTEAD SAY. Lawsuit Abuse Reform
NEVER SAY: Trial Lawyer INSTEAD SAY: Personal Injury Law
NEVER SAY: Corporate Transparency INSTEAD SAY: Corporate Accountability
NEVER SAY: School Choice INSTEAD SAY: Parental Choice/Equal Opportunity in Education
NEVER SAY: Healthcare “Choice” INSTEAD SAY:“The Right to Choose”
My my my my! Look what we have here!
Once again the Dems have failed to come up with any new ideas.
Looks like the Dems are doing the exact same thing as the GOP. I wonder how many of you Dem supporters will post about this?
[url=http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200505/green]The Democrats returned from Virginia not with an exit strategy for Iraq or a national-security blueprint or an economic policy but with a book - Don’t Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate, by George Lakoff, a linguist at the University of California at Berkeley. Lakoff’s seductive thesis is that how you frame an idea largely determines the response to it. George Miller, a California congressman and an enthusiastic disciple, gave a copy to each member of the caucus, and the notion that “messaging” lies at the heart of the Democrats’ woes has had growing currency in the party ever since.
In essence, messaging … is simply the process of selecting words that impart to voters whatever sentiment the author is pushing. One famous example is the Republican effort to recast the “estate tax” - with its implied application to landed aristocrats only - as the much more menacing (and less discriminating!) “death tax.” Lakoff offers no new policy ideas. Instead he suggests that the Democrats reposition the ones they already have, and spruce up some unpopular terminology while they’re at it. He advocates referring to “trial lawyers” as “public-protection attorneys,” replacing “taxes” with “membership fees,” and generally couching the entire Democratic message in palatable - even deceptive - language in order to simplify large ideas and disguise them behind innocent but powerful-sounding phrases.[/url]
Should we retitle this thread to read “Political Doublespeak”?
Or, would that be fair?
I’m not sure I understand your point Tigerman.
What is happening here is that the Democrats are simply realizing that they have to sink to the level of the Republicans, and hire pollsters to test which weasel words are the most deceptive in order to manipulate people.
I guess the Republicans could crow about how far they are ahead on this dubious honor.
In any event, I find it amusing that the Republican lie strategy was leaked and is readily available on the internet. Its quite an informative read.
In any event, Lakoff has been saying this for several years, I was reading him before the last election, and apparently both you and Atantic magazine are finally catching up. Here are some more Lakoff articles (last one is a video).
berkeley.edu/news/media/rele … koff.shtml
berkeley.edu/news/media/rele … koff.shtml
homepage.mac.com/geriwc/iMovieTheater8.html
For that matter, Orwell was saying this decades ago…
In any event, I guess this comes second nature to you, and that’s why you suggested re-titling the thread. Actually the thread is about the Republican expose boner, and their state of the art propaganda… I mean, “education”.
It is definitely a very revealing article, but I think the guy forgot a few GOP standards, which I will now post so they can be included in the next memo:
What’s not to understand?
Odd that you would say that, since below you say that Lakoff has been saying this for years. I assume Lakoff is a Democrat?
Right. No, I think my point is quite clear, even if you missed it. Acting amazed that politicians of any stripe might engage in doublespeak or in redefining meanings shouldn’t be a shock to anyone.
However, here we have a thread titled “Republican Doublespeak”… as if Republicans are the first and only political party ever to engage in this sort of thing… 
What I find rather amusing is a) the fact that some of you think this is some sort of big news and b) your predictable reaction to learning that your own political party engages in exactly the same sort of behavior. What does mofangongren like to say? Oh yeah… “denial ain’t just a river in Egypt!”
Its not a matter of catching up. Like I said, that this type of behavior has been going on among political parties really isn’t news, is it?
Right, so why the big surprise now when anyone does it?
WTF does that mean? I suggested re-titling the thread because it looks like both major political parties are (and have been) engaged in “doublespeak”.
Is it such a shock to you? Or, are you only interested in exposing this behavior when committed by Republicans? That would make you what? Yes, a hypocrite. 
Not any more. Now its about the GOP’s efforts and the Dem’s efforts to do the same thing.
Welcome to reality!
To some folks, eh? 
Ok Tigerman, I understand now. If you don’t like the title of the thread, start your own thread. Except, in this case, we beat you to the punch. Thus demonstrating classic Republican poor loser behavior. In addition to their, attempt to hijack the agenda with deceptive words behavior…
The fundamental issue of the thread is that we now see in graphic detail the scheming manipulations of the Republican party.
MSNBC had this guy Luntz on their shows as an “independent pollster”! So along those lines I’m sure Lakoff is independent too. So’s the pope…
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Seems to me that the graphic details the scheming manipulations of the Demopcratic party are perfectly relevant to this thread. I mean, it always helps to have something for comparison and contrast, no?
