Post Tagged with: "framing"

A great post by spocko over at FDL got me thinking about Thanksgiving … … and the inevitable comments from my conservative Uncle. What’s he going to bring up this year? I’ll lay odds that somewhere between the turkey and dressing and the pumpkin pie my Uncle is going to […]

In the recent debate over increasing the debt ceiling, the White House has coined a new term to describe the GOP’s position: maximalist. What the White House means is that the GOP wants 100% of what they want and doesn’t want to give anything in return. For example, the GOP […]

Today, I’d like to re-post some pieces from a wonderful article written by Chris Weigant. NOTE: The following is excerpted from “Friday Talking Points [155] — Class Warfare Indeed” by Chris Weigant. Intro Before I even begin here, I’d like to address what my critics will respond with, when they […]

I heard a very interesting discussion of our health care system this evening on NPR. On the show, health care reform was framed like so: the government plays either the role of financier or the role of insurer. In the role of financier, the government helps subsidize health care in […]

In the midst of what has been called the “worst economic crisis in our nation since the Great Depression,” it’s time to take a deep breath and step back from all the party blame. Both sides are so busy blaming the other that the real underlying cause is being ignored. […]

Whichever Democrat wins the nomination should make a pitch to become America’s next CEO. A CEO that is: A leader Fiscally responsible Capable of working with the best and brightest Willing to push for major change The CEO positioning is currently up for grabs because Republicans seem to have abandoned […]

As John McCain picks up the “lack of experience” story to attack Barack Obama, I thought I’d revisit this topic, revisit the argument, and think about ways to re-frame this issue. When Hillary Clinton says that she has more experience, she typically is not just referring to her experience in […]

The “free market” is one of the most powerful frames conservatives use to advance their agenda. How many times have you heard the phrase “leave it to the market” or “let the market do its work”? This argument has been applied to everything from the breakup of AT&T to social security to just about every argument conservatives have about fighting “big government”.

The reason this argument is so effective is that most people can clearly see how the “free market” has brought many good things into their lives. The idea of a “win, win” situation is understood from daily transactions. When markets function properly, people often benefit.

The issue is that certain conditions are necessary to maintain this functioning “free market”. The Rockridge Institute has one of the best summations I’ve seen of the underlying assumptions of a “free market”.

While it’s heartening to see that someone is listening out there, it’s a little disheartening to see that it’s President Bush’s speech writers. This past week Bush made a speech in which he accused Congress of “acting like a teenager with a new credit card.” Does anyone else see any […]

I heard an account executive once use the phrase “Don’t fight the alligator in the water” to describe how he would change a sales conversation with customers to play to his strengths. The idea is to get the alligator out of the water and onto your turf where you at least stand a fighting chance. This is a very simple concept yet very difficult to execute because the temptation is to want to fight anywhere, to want to argue head to head.