Progressive Movement

In my “Cheney as Don Quixote” post, I advanced the theory that Cheney’s reality is so far removed from actual reality that he has become like Don Quixote, with a following of true believers buying into his fantasy world.

Well, there is a part two to this saga. In a political sense, having people buy into your vision is one thing, but that does not bring the winning run home. You also have to destroy the credibility of your political opponents. When the chips are down, the neoconservatives unleash the pit bull Cheney to viciously attack anyone who dares to disagree with Bush’s foreign policy.

Given Cheney’s role as the neoconservative cult leader, no one is more suited for the role. Because he is so adamant about the righteousness of our actions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Abu Graib, Guantanamo Bay, the (un)Patriot Act, military tribunals, executive power, torture, rejecting diplomacy, and the whole lot of things thrown under the ‘war on terror ‘tent, he has street cred.

Seriously. You may think me mad, but a man who shoots his best friend in the face and then blames him for getting in the way does not need Flava Flav to hype him. His reputation stands up by itself. Progressives do not understand this. Cheney, by sticking to his guns (literally), has an aura of seriousness and believability that you cannot get if you constantly modify your message – even if you are trying to match it with reality.

As a result, even though the reality in Iraq should have convinced all but a handful of people that we need a dramatic change in course, (more…)

Messaging, Iraq, Cheney | No Comments »

My last post complained about “Pan’s Labyrinth” not getting Best Foreign Film at the Oscars, much less the Best Film award it deserved.  At least “An Inconvenient Truth” won Best Documentary.  And by nominating the title track to the film for Best Original Song, liberal Hollywood got to run the climate disruption solutions on a big screen behind Melissa Etheridge that you see at the end of “An Inconvenient Truth”.  How convenient.  Very crafty way to preach without being preachy and taking up precious time.  Well done.

So those are my two big positives and negatives about the Oscars.  Feel free to add yours.

Uncategorized | No Comments »

Alright, this is probably way too abstract. I was sitting here fuming over how the Academy of Motion Pictures did not give the Best Foreign Film Oscar to “Pan’s Labyrinth”, even though it was the best overall film of 2006, not the overlong and warmed over plot line of “The Departed”, and I was thinking of how “Pan’s” did an awesome job of blending fantasy with reality so seamlessly that you are not sure where one begins and the other ends.

And then somehow I started thinking about Dick Cheney. Not sure why, but I had been collecting some awesome Cheney quotes and was planning to do a post on his messaging tactics. Lo and behold the two thought processes combined and I decided to use Cheney’s messaging as an example of how to create a political reality out of fantasy.

“Huh?” you are probably asking yourself right now. It is like this. If you keep repeating the same mantra over and over again, and are not apologetic for it, you end up creating a core group of believers. They in turn repeat the mantra, and as the number of people repeating this grows, it becomes a politically acceptable position.

This is my theory regarding Cheney’s ludicrous version of reality. Despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, he still maintains Iraq had something to do with Al Qaeda and 9-11. When he shoots his best friend in the face, he insists it is his friend’s fault. As insurgent attacks in Iraq increase, he claims they are in their ‘last throes’.

Now last week he viciously attacked Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Murtha for helping Al Qaeda by trying to force the Pentagon to only send troops to battle who were appropriately trained, met readiness standards, and had a year between deployments.

“I think if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we will do is validate the al-Qaida strategy”…

This was not the first time he has used this refrain, (more…)

Messaging, Iraq, Cheney | No Comments »

And yet nobody cares.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), heretofore never officially commenting on global warming, released an executive statement this week claiming,

“The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society.”

This is helpful given the prestige of the AAAS, but it received very little attention, and no advocates for combating global warming used it to drive home the point that there are no reputable scientists who disagree that we are dangerously warming the planet.

Usually the messaging on these releases is bad, but in this case it is actually quite good. Check out some of the other statements:

“These events are early warning signs of even more devastating damage to come, some of which will be irreversible.”

Okay, perhaps too alarmist, creating a sense of impending doom, but it makes clear the situation is dire and needs action now. Then they say, (more…)

Messaging, Climate | No Comments »

So we all have heard the Brits announced they are reducing their troop levels in Iraq by 1,600 over the next few weeks, citing progress in the security situation in Southern Iraq.

And what of the Danes? They are leaving too for the same reason. With all these rosy security reports, we must be close to bringing peace to Iraq! VP Cheney seems to agree:

“Well, I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well.”

Unfortunately, the reality is not so rosy. Check out what the inestimable Juan Cole has to say.

From a messaging standpoint though, Cheney and Blair have it right, and there is no way to directly counter this, except to expose the lie with facts. However, you can turn the logic on its head.

Let us assume for the moment that the security situation has improved around Basra and that democracy is on the march there. If the Brits and Danes really want to help us in Iraq, (more…)

Iraq, Pelosi, Cheney, Kennedy | No Comments »

Sometimes our fears are unfounded. Sometimes we overanalyze and draw unfounded conclusions. Sometimes we take things way too seriously.

Sometimes our predictions start to become true. And that is scary.

One of the biggest advantages of being President is controlling, on some level, the media story. Controlling that story helps frame issues the way that you want. For example, we are all familiar with the term ‘wag the dog’. This refers to manufacturing a story for the sake of detracting from a negative news cycle. In a less conspiratorial sense, politicians, corporations, celebrities, etc…often push stories that focus the public’s attention on issues that are favorable to their agenda or image.

You can also indirectly help your agenda by promoting a related issue in the media. This was my primary concern with the Bush Administration’s efforts to link Iran to the civil war in Iraq and to American military deaths. To reiterate my concerns, implicating Iran will fire up American’s thirst for vengeance, whether or not it is true. People by nature are defensive and protective. So even if the public wants out of Iraq, if they are lead to believe Iranians are killing Americans, they will change course and support a war against Iran. This would indirectly benefit Bush’s Iraq policy, because any action against Iran clearly would necessitate adding troops to Iraq and starting a broader Middle East war.

Pundits are the first group of people to unwittingly (well, at least some of them) fall into this trap. Proof of this came on Sunday on Lou Dobbs’ Week in Review. (more…)

Messaging, Iraq, Iran, Murtha | No Comments »

You have got to check this post out.  Usually MyDD does not focus on messaging.  As Matt Stoller once told me, “messaging is for suckers”.  Despite this Chris Bowers has an awesome piece on messaging on 16 Feb.  The gist of it:  when Republicans say stupid, offensive, controversial things - nail them.  Republicans made John Kerry forego another Presidential run because of a botched joke.  And yet when a Republican Representative calls for hanging people who vote against Bush’s disastrous Iraq escalation plan, you hear nothing.

Why oh why can the Democrats not get talking points blasted to them immediately upon such clear views into the soul of conservatives?  And why oh why can they not see this opportunity for what it is even without talking points being blasted to them?  If you attack the Republicans for comments like this, they either eat their own in an effort to distance themselves from the controversy, (more…)

Messaging, Democrats, media | No Comments »

After much wailing and nashing of teeth, votes on the non-binding resolutions on the Iraq war escalation finally happened late this week. The House passed the resolution expressing discontent with the President’s plan 246-182. Unfortunately the Senate resolution, the same as the House’s, fell 4 votes shy of the 60 votes needed to get a formal vote, 56-34.

Many pundits have blasted the Dems for putting forward a toothless resolution. If the Democrats stop there, the criticism will be fair. They must continue with serious actions. Clearly, a reasonable Administration would have seen the resolutions as warnings to stop its disastrous policy of escalation, but Bush is already on record as saying he is going to increase the troop level in Iraq regardless. So the resolutions can really only function as a public display of disapproval.

If we want to stop the war with Iran then Congress must start reducing the funding for the war in Iraq. A reasonable plan would be to create a time table for removal of U.S. forces, say by the end of 2008, and gradually reduce the funding levels during that time in order to force Bush to decrease our troops in Iraq. I imagine the Democrats are too wimpy to do this, unfortunately, despite Pelosi and Reid are claiming they are going to push efforts to force Bush to change course in Iraq.

Messaging

All that being said, I do not think we can then overstate the importance of getting Congress to vote against the escalation. (more…)

Messaging, Iraq | No Comments »