Why Republicans should watch their language - By Frank Luntz

[DonViejo]

Frank Luntz, a pollster, is the author of “Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business From Ordinary to Extraordinary.”

This coming week, House Republicans will gather in Williamsburg, Va., to discuss what went wrong in 2012. I’ve attended more than a dozen such congressional retreats since 1993, and I can already imagine how the conversations will go. Someone will undoubtedly come to the microphone to declare that what the GOP needs is a better brand, missing the essential point that candidates and political parties are about reputation, trust and ideas. You can’t sell them like soap or detergent.

But what you say in defense of those ideas matters, and what people hear matters even more.

Congressional Republicans are currently defined as nothing more than opponents of the president and friends of the powerful. This isn’t my opinion — it’s America’s opinion. My polling firm asked voters nationwide on election night to identify who or what the GOP was fighting for. Twice as many said “the wealthy” and “big business” than “hardworking taxpayers” or “small business.”

Their image is even worse today. The congressional Republicans’ message during the “fiscal cliff” debate last month was confused and chaotic. The debt-ceiling vote next month and the budget debate after that promise more of the same — unless House and Senate Republicans stop bickering and start coordinating and talking differently.

-snip-

read more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-republicans-should-watch-their-language/2013/01/11/0f6f41fa-56ce-11e2-bf3e-76c0a789346f_story.html

[Proud Liberal Dem]

1. It isn't just messaging that's the problem IMHO

It's their ideology that's toxic to most people and no amount of good "messaging" will be able to paper over it.

[Jamaal510]

15. GOP strategy on how to broaden their base:

"If at first you don't sell a turd sandwich, wrap it up in prettier-looking wrapping paper next time."

[Proud Liberal Dem]

16. They are obviously bound and determined

to not learn ANYTHING from the past 4 years and seem doomed to repeating the same behavior for the next 4. Here's what I think we should call for: Republicans get to present all of their *ideas* in all of their glory and Democrats present all of theirs in all of their glory and we'll have a REAL debate in this country and an up-or-down vote in Congress on absolutely everything and the American public will decide whose ideas are best. Let the Republicans propose all of their worst ideas: Social Security and Medicare benefit cuts, repealing Obamacare, defunding Planned Parenthood, etc. and hold an up-or-down vote on ALL OF THEM and let the chips fall where they may. Same for Democrats and all of their ideas. If people want them, then they'll pass and President Obama will sign them into law. If people do NOT want them, they won't pass and become law. End of story. But enough of this stupid obstructionism that's preventing anybody from debating things let alone holding an up-or-down vote on possible ways to address them. It should NEVER be enough for Republicans to simply stamp their feet and say "no" and then go on talk shows and get angry about the Democrats not proposing THEIR (Republicans) *solutions* to problems.

[liberal N proud]

2. They are more than opponents of the President, they are Obstructionist!

The language is too kind to their actions. What they have been doing is nothing short of treason holding the people hostage because of their racism.

[Confusious]

3. You can slap a little mayo on a shit sandwich

It's still a shit sandwich.

[politicaljunkie41910]

10. Enter Frank Lutz. It's his job to provide the mayo in the form of confused rhetoric so that it

takes the minions awhile to realize that they're eating a shit sandwich and if they're really lucky, some won't realize it until much later when someone points out that sandwich you ate earlier, it was a shit sandwich.

[cleveramerican]

4. they have been running the same campaign since 1980

there has been zero evolution of their standard lines which have worked well for them for decades.
But the times they are a changin'

[dballance]

5. Okay when you still want to screw women in 2012 You are not relevant.

When your major platform is denying women birth control you are a freaking Neanderthal. People are starting to wake up to your stupidity. Seriously you want to deny women birth control? Or actually IVF so they can conceive?

[Wounded Bear]

6. This from the king word smith of the 20th Century....

He's one of the people who sold the American people on the shit sandwich that is the Republican platform.

The Repbubs have been in "marketing" mode for decades. They need to improve their product, not their message.

[CBHagman]

7. I hope you write a letter to the editor with that line...

...i.e., "They need to improve their product, not their message." Pithy and pointed.

[lunatica]

8. Every single comment thus far hits the nail on the head n/t

[Cha]

9. A bunch of greedy whiney hypocritical dumbshits getting together.. to find

out why they're such greedy whiney hypocritical dumbshits.

[Mz Pip]

11. If it walks like a duck

Quacks like a duck and lays eggs like a duck, it's a duck.

Repeatedly calling it a magic unicorn doesn't change that fact.

There's only so much Luntz can to to pretty up the package and people have pretty much been able to see through the attempts at warm fuzzy rhetoric and see the GOP for the farce it really is.

[Sunlei]

12. Free rebranding for all Republicans

[link:|

[ROBROX]

13. 50 million GOP

All these little dog heads do not know anything except what their masters tell them. The good news is that this breed is dieing off since people are becoming intelligent enough to NOT listen to the GOP talk which is perfect for zombies and morons.. The GOP just has to grow more zombies or morons......

[garthranzz]

14. It's rhetoric

What I find reprehensible is not the use of rhetoric per se, but the perversion of it to mask the truth or an agenda. Too many examples from Luntz. But here's one: don't call for smaller government, call for more efficient government. That's code - dog whistle talk. Size is relative: what defines "big government"? And why is size necessarily bad? So government can be "big" - provide a safety net and social programs - and still be efficient. Big defense spending is not big, according to Luntz, but it is efficient - because we need to spend a lot of money on defense (tautology).

We need to be teaching rhetoric in schools, so people can spot the frauds before they steal elections, wreck the economy and drag us into illegal wars for private and corporate greed.

[DebJ]

17. "be more empathetic" yeah, like that could happen........