Republicans own the words “freedom” and “liberty,” and their ability to take control over those and other terms reveals how successful the GOP is at “framing” political issues, the New York Times reported this weekend.
“[T]he right has been more successful than the left at framing issues related to abortion, health care, labor unions and the concept of government itself, among other issues, with carefully contrived catchphrases,” the Times’ Julie Bosman reported this weekend, citing University of California, Berkeley, professor George Lakoff.
Examples of some of these cleverly crafted phrases, which have supposedly swayed public opinion in the GOP’s favor, include “tax relief,” “pro-life, “The Democrat Party” and “death panels”, the report added.
“In President George W. Bush’s second inaugural address … [he] used ‘freedom,’ ‘free’ or ‘liberty’ 49 times in 20 minutes,” Bosman wrote.
Lakoff is then quoted as saying, “The right has taken over the words ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty.'”
Absent from the Times report, however, is any mention of the fact that the other side of the aisle plays word games, too.
When talking about gun control, Democratic lawmakers prefer to use the term “gun safety.” Instead of saying “government spending,” Democrats prefer “investment.” When assailing abortion opponents, the left uses the term “anti-choice.” Democratic operatives also enjoy the nebulous and entirely ambiguous term “fair share.”
Bosman’s article on the GOP’s supposed word mastery continued, and included a comment from a second academic who alleged Republicans have a long track record of preying on voters with clever phrases and captured words.
“Deborah Tannen, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, recalled the 1986 speech in which President Ronald Reagan framed perceptions of ‘government’ to great effect,” the article stated.
The 40th president famously said during that address that, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.
Tannen told the Times, “People tend to trace the demonization of government to Reagan. That’s kind of iconic, how he was using it. He set the government up as the enemy.”
Bosman’s coverage of the GOP’s supposed penchant for playing at semantics comes as part of a larger article on alleged efforts by Kansas Republicans to sway public opinion in the state by conspicuously referring to public schools as “government schools.”
“[O]nly recently — and mostly in reliably conservative Kansas — has the term [government schools] been used regularly and clearly as a political wedge,” she wrote. “Education advocates in Kansas said they had heard it in conversations with state legislators (though few use it in public statements), in discussions about public schools on Facebook and on some conservative news sites.”
“The use of the term ‘government schools’ is part of a broad education agenda that includes restraining costs. The far-right and libertarian wings of the Republican Party are pushing the state to loosen its laws to allow more charter schools,” she added. “They oppose programs that offer free or reduced-price breakfasts and lunches, believing that schools have become part of the ‘nanny state’ — another politically charged term — and are usurping the role of parents.”
Citing “experts,” she wrote that the Kansas school issue “would not be the first time that conservatives have used semantics to sway public opinion.”
