"They" are taking something from you and giving it to "somebody else" [View all]

[gulliver]

The idea that someone is taking something from you and giving it to someone else is a big play in the Republican handbook. It's one of the keystone techniques in the Republican "sales pitch." Since it is a technique and not an argument, the information payload need not bear any resemblance to reality. It has a gut-level appeal that bypasses real thinking. "Government is taking my hard earned money and giving it to welfare cheats." Simple syntax, simple idea, sonorous, easy to remember, emotionally charged with anger, miniscule grain of truth...it is a beautifully constructed little mental virus. You can even skip the grain of truth and it will work on a lot of people.

So Romney can say Obama wants high-priced gas and to destroy Social Security, and Republicans in general can deny global warming with impunity—as long as they get the chord structure of the jingle right. It is very easy to push people's minds into gut-level mode and then just basically tell them anything you want to tell them. It's a shame, because normally, if the Republicans were not willfully lying to try to retake power, gut-level thinking can be a good, healthy thing.

In a sense, Dems need to take a page from the Republican playbook and fight fire with fire. I definitely don't mean we need to start lying, because I fervently believe the Republicans are going to get severely gigged for it in November. What I mean is that we should not forget that it is primarily the Republicans and the people who are funding them who are taking something from Americans and giving it to someone else. We can and should sometimes use the gut-level technique Republicans use except with the truth as an information payload instead of lies.

For example, if we are talking about global warming, we can talk about how Republicans and their backers are denying something that is taking the "good climate" away from some people's land and giving it to others. Republicans and their backers are standing by and even blocking action. They delay while climate change happens before their eyes, creating a devastating and permanent form of wealth redistribution.

When it comes to jobs, Dems can talk about how Republicans and their backers twist the true meaning of capitalism in order to "justify" taking away American jobs to give to other countries. Republicans parrot capitalism in the same way the Devil quotes the Bible.

When it comes to energy, we can talk about how Republicans and their energy corporation backers are selling more and more of the world's oil to other countries. We are paying more for gas because other people are using the jobs that Republicans and their backers took from Americans to buy up gas.

We can even talk specifically about the truth itself. We can talk about how the level of lies Republicans are currently using in their politics deprives Americans of their traditional sense of honor and even their ability to trust their own gut. We can talk about how a climate of trust is important, and how people should not have to be vigilant against boldface lies. Lies ruin golf, basketball games and countries.

Finally, we can even talk about the government bugaboo that Republican politicians so much want us to fear and hate. Far from taking things away from Americans, that government is actually the vital check-and-balance needed to prevent Republicans and their backers from taking away jobs, oil, and Social Security and giving the proceeds to themselves and to foreign countries.