12 traps that keep [s]Progressives[/s] Liberals from winning

[MODU]

The 13th trap is constantly labelling themselves "Progressive."  Anyway, I thought this was pretty interesting.  It takes a while to read it all, but I think it is worth discussing.

"12 Traps That Keep Progressives From Winning"

Richard Wirthlin, chief strategist for former president Ronald Reagan, made a discovery in 1980 that profoundly changed American politics. As a pollster, he was taught that people vote for candidates on the basis of the candidates' positions on issues. But his initial polls for Reagan revealed something fascinating: Voters who didn't agree with Reagan on the issues still wanted to vote for him.

Mystified, Wirthlin studied the matter further. He discovered just what made people want to vote for Reagan. Reagan talked about values rather than issues. Communicating values mattered more than specific policy positions. Reagan connected with people; he communicated well. Reagan also appeared authentic -- he seemed to believe what he said. And because he talked about his values, connected with people and appeared authentic, they felt they could trust him. For these four reasons -- values, connection, authenticity and trust -- voters identified with Reagan; they felt he was one of them. It was not because all of his values matched theirs exactly. It was not because he was from their socioeconomic class or subculture. It was because they believed in the integrity of his connection with them as well as the connection between his worldview and his actions.

Whatever we may think of Reagan, this has been a winning formula for conservatives for the past quarter century. Progressives need to learn from it. Politics is about values; it is about communication; it is about voters trusting a candidate to do what is right; it is about believing in, and identifying with, a candidate's worldview. And it is about symbolism. Issues are secondary -- not irrelevant or unimportant, but secondary. A position on issues should follow from one's values, and the choice of issues and policies should symbolize those values.

(Cont...)

[adam]

I know an easy way to keep them from winning....let them talk.

[MasterJedi]

I know an easy way to keep them from winning....let them talk.

Haha, pretty much true.

[MaC]

An interesting article.  I think number 8 rings true especially.  However this article should never have been written-somebody might actually use this info

[Alcon]

I may be in a crappy mood tonight (no painkillers and an 102 degree temperature can do that), but half of this article annoys me and half of it is spot-on.

1. Progressives don't have something as general as religion to rely on, but I think the current liberal message - healthcare, no Iraq War, etc. - is pretty universal.  They could be clearer, yes, but the Republicans suffer from this same deal.  They just have Christianity to cover it better.

2. Last time I checked, didn't the Re-Elect the GOP campaign outline feature issues like English as a national language and stuff like that?  Both parties are guilty, and this is just a semi-subtle way of saying that "Bush is right, despite the polls," too.  Clever Alternet.

3. I don't see the Democrats as having especially more problems with authenticity/identity(?)/connection(?) as the GOP.  Values, maybe, but "value voters" are always going to be more conservative, because "values" is for many people a euphemism for religion.

4. Isn't this just a complex way of saying "Democrats rely too much on rationality, and too little on everything else?"  I'm surprised this article came this close to saying "the electorate is stupid."  But, I agree; the Democrats, sadly, need to do this some to appeal to the voting public.

5. Seems to say the same as #4 to me.  Fair enough.

6. Cleverly phrased, but flawed.  Obviously, social security isn't a value, but "no one should be without healthcare" is.  I don't see the Democrats as doing all that badly, considering they have to run on economics instead of social issues.

7. Oftentimes true.

8. Very true, although both parties are guilty of this.

9. True.

10. Both parties are guilty of this.

11. Very true.

12. Yes, but the GOP is much more guilty of this.

[Beet]

I thought this was a brilliant article. So this is why this Lakoff guy is became a name in political pundit circles. The "12 Traps" of course are just explication of Lakoff's single central point in different manifestations, however conservatives are just as guilty of falling into many of the individual traps.

1. Progressives don't have something as general as religion to rely on, but I think the current liberal message - healthcare, no Iraq War, etc. - is pretty universal.  They could be clearer, yes, but the Republicans suffer from this same deal.  They just have Christianity to cover it better.

The liberal message as "healthcare, no Iraq War"... that's precisely Lakoff's point. Both of those are issues, not values. Even after reading Lakoff's article, under a point called the "Issue Trap" you still go back to issues.

I would posit Progress, Tolerance and Morality as the central liberal values.

Lakoff's point is that issues emerge from values. And he's perfectly right. If I accept morality, for example, then I don't think that 46 million Americans without basic health insurance is a moral policy, or that sending our troops to occupy Iraq is a moral thing to do.

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I agree with you here.

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Which in itself is the problem. It is absurd to say that an atheist or agnostic cannot be a moral person, or cannot have values. Would atheists riot over some Danish cartoon that makes fun of them? Or fly planes into buildings? Or oppose the HPV vaccine because some Book (or pontiff) said so? No. So when did values become the exclusive realm of the religious?

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Sad, but true. When you have 40% of the electorate thinking 9/11 was an inside job and another 40% of the electorate thinking Saddam Hussein was personally involved in 9/11, that leaves only...err... 20% of the electorate left. (Assuming of course, that a significant percentage of people do not think the government conspired with Saddam Hussein to carry out 9/11)

I would add that #4 and #8 are contradictory. First he claims that [they] are not rational; then he claims that [they] are not stupid. It really can't be had both ways.

7. This is more complicated. Neither true nor untrue. However, no one should shut up for the sake of being "centrist".

8. See comments on #4.

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[Beet]

An interesting article.  I think number 8 rings true especially.  However this article should never have been written-somebody might actually use this info

But wouldn't it be a service to the American people if it was right and liberals did use it? Wouldn't it be providing our nation with better political communication than previously existed?

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

Their embrace of political correctness is the big problem. The left's inability to bash in some skulls and crack down on the illegal immigants/minority activists is the bigger problem.

[Alcon]

Their embrace of political correctness is the big problem. The left's inability to bash in some skulls and crack down on the illegal immigants/minority activists is the bigger problem.

I do not think you are being honest here.  I think that's what you want from the party.  The truth is, most voters only insult political correctness when it bugs them.  I know a lot of people who love racial jokes, but get huffy about fat jokes because they are overrated, or whatever.  The truth is, political correctness is such a non-issue outside of punditland that no election hinges on it.  And certainly that's not the Democrats' problem.

Besides, immigration policy and political correctness are only related tangentially.  You can call any empathy political correctness if you like.  The Democrats shouldn't be cracking down on activists.  What in the world?  That's free speech.  Politically correct as it may be, I'll die to defend that.