Friday Talking Points [Vol. 6]

Welcome to the sixth installment of the weekly suggestions for Democrats who are likely to appear on this weekend's chat shows. Previous installments can be seen at the new Talking Points archive on my site.

Before we get to the talking points themselves, attention must be paid to the worst and the best Democrats from last week. For balance, we initiate the "Most Impressive Democrat of the Week" (otherwise known as the "Golden Backbone Award") -- although I honestly can't promise I will be handing this award out every week. The rule shall be: if no Democrat impresses me, then no award for that week shall be given.

 

Senator Chris Dodd wins the inaugural MIDOTW award for showing how Democrats are supposed to behave. He has tossed down the gauntlet on the wiretapping bill working its way through the Senate, and will put a "hold" on any bill which comes out of committee that provides amnesty for telecommunications companies which have broken wiretapping laws in the past by cooperating with Big Brother and just meekly handing over data without a warrant to compel them.

Well done Senator Dodd! The first ever Golden Backbone is yours in a landslide!

[Congratulate Dodd on his Senate contact page to let him know you appreciate his efforts.]

 

Sigh.

There were quite a few contenders for this prize this week. The first was the few Democrats in the House who voted with Bush on the SCHIP veto override vote. Finishing out the week was Senate Majority Doormat... oh, sorry, "Leader" Harry Reid, who (in response to Chris Dodd's "hold" threat) was rumored to be thinking about ignoring Dodd's hold and bringing the bill to the floor anyway. While such backstabbing behavior would almost guarantee a win for MDDOTW, it has not happened yet, and I haven't even seen a solid quote from Reid on the issue yet. So if rumors prove to be true, there will be a MDDOTW award in Reid's future, but for now I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

In between these two was yet another example of Democrats taking perfectly good political leverage against the White House and just throwing it away unused. Senator Charles Schumer, who sits on the Judiciary Committee announced before the hearing had even begun that President Bush's nominee for Attorney General Mukasey was a shoo-in to be approved by the Senate. Aiding and abetting in this display of jellyfishitude was Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, who also publicly agreed that Mukasey would likely have no trouble being confirmed. Both these statements earn a tie for the shame and infamy of this week's MDDOTW award.

You don't start a political showdown by telling the other side they've already won! How many times do I have to say this? If you signal: "It doesn't matter what your answers are in your hearing, you're golden," then the nominee hears: "Don't even bother answering our questions, just demur and obfuscate to your heart's content."

Sigh.

[Contact Schumer on his Senate contact page and Leahy via his email ([e-mail]) to let them know what you think of their actions.]

OK, with that out of the way, onward to this week's list.

 

Democratic Talking Points

Volume 6 (10/19/07)

 

   Lame duck

Bush walked right into this one. He got the "kiss of death" question during this week's press conference: "Are you still relevant?" The reason this is the kiss of death in Washington is that if the question is even asked, you're already toast.

Democrats should pick up on this, and keep using it until Inaugural Day 2009. "Well, our lame duck president," "Bush is a lame duck and should realize it and join with congressional Democrats to get some things done before he leaves office," "Is Bush a lame duck? Well, if it quacks like a duck...."

 

   Playing politics

Republicans are already on the attack with this one, and it needs to be forcefully met with a counterattack. "Bush is playing politics with children's health," "Republicans say they want bipartisanship, but when we try to work with them we find all they really want to do is play politics," "Republicans can play politics by obstructing Democrats, but they will pay the price at the polls next year as a direct result."

 

   Show me the language

The House's inability to override Bush's veto on the SCHIP bill is going to be a big subject of conversation this week. To counter Republican spin and lies, challenge interviewers or Republicans on their talking points. "$83,000 a year? That's ridiculous. Please show me the language where this bill says that." "This bill insures illegal immigrants? Show me the language in this bill which approves that."

Republicans, all the way up to President Bush, have been basically lying about what the bill actually does, and they need to be called on these distortions of reality -- strongly. "Show me the language!"

 

   "After all, you can just go to an emergency room."

[This item is a repeat from a previous Friday Talking Points column.]

"To show you how oblivious Bush is to the health care crisis in this country, let me read you what he said recently: 'No one goes without health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room.' The ignorance and indifference this shows is just stunning. I guess Jim Hightower was right when he said 'George Bush was born on third base thinking he had hit a triple.' "

Seriously, that quote from Bush should be tattooed on the brain of every Democrat who appears this weekend. That quote should be repeated so often we all get sick of hearing it. Over and over and over again. It shows the massive gap between how Bush sees health insurance, and how normal Americans do.

 

   Smearing children, or throwing mud at children, or even the politics of personal destruction

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell needs to be ferociously attacked this weekend. A staffer of his sent a few emails out smearing the Democrats' spokeschild for SCHIP as being too rich to deserve health insurance. The only problem is, they got all their facts wrong. They quickly sent out emails disavowing the attack, but the damage had already been done. McConnell was quoted publicly saying his office had nothing to do with the smear job, but later it was proven that the emails did indeed come from his office.

This one's so easy, the text just writes itself. All quotes need to be delivered in high dudgeon mode: "Republicans can't argue their position on SCHIP because it is indefensible, so instead they did what they always do -- attack the messenger. Only in this case, the messenger was a 12 year old boy. This shows once again that Republicans have no new ideas except their tired old politics of personal destruction. Senator McConnell should be ashamed of himself."

 

   Culture of death

Susan Orr is President Bush's new appointee to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs, who oversees family planning issues. The problem is, she's a rabid anti-women's-health-rights ideologue straight from Family Research Council. Here's a quote from her: "It's not about choice. It's not about health care. It's about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death."

Again, this one write itself. "President Bush has shown once again that he is more interested in making points with the extreme right wing of his party than with health care. His appointee to distribute public health funds for education on family planning has been quoted saying contraceptives somehow contribute to the 'culture of death' (whatever that is). Bush needs to reconsider this appointment and name someone who is not a proven ideologue and who actually cares about women's reproductive health.

 

   World War III

Not content with the hyperbole he used to build up to the Iraq war ("the smoking gun may come in the form of a mushroom cloud"), Bush outdid himself during his press conference, by stating that America may need to attack Iran in order to prevent World War III. This is terrifying on many levels, and needs to be spotlighted by any Democrat who wants to stop Bush's march to war against Iran (before he leaves office).

"You know, I'm just like any other American, I get awfully nervous when the President of the United States talks casually about 'World War III' in any context. Attacking Iran may well start World War III, but Bush seems to somehow think that if we don't attack Iran it will start a world war. The president needs to study some history before making rash statements like this in public."

 

[Thanks to CWCunningham, our resident cartoonist, for coming up with the snazzy graphics. The column's still a work in progress, but it's getting there slowly....]

 

Chris Weigant blogs at: ChrisWeigant.com

 

Comments

[TommyMcCarthy]

To the moderators:

I put up a comment in response to this article and another a couple of days ago....both appear on my "profile" as having been posted; neither appear in the comments section...both articles reflect "comments pending"..sorry to take up your time w/ this...if I knew another way to reach hufpo I would have used it
Whether my comments appear is not all that important..just wondered if there might be a systemic glitch you are unaware of...i.e. trying to help...regards.......tm

[RumiSouth]

No. 7: "The president thinks that if we don't attack Iran, it will cause a war. He thinks war is peace."

http://www.osborneink.com

[dzho]

Re: #4. Put a face on that emergency room visitor:
5/9/07
Edith Rodriquez. Went to emergency room. Got no care. Died.

[Chris Weigant - Huffpost Blogger]

dzho -

Excellent, excellent suggestion. Putting a name, a face, and a human story on a big complicated political issue is a bedrock tactic on how to correctly frame issues. And you are right -- this is EXACTLY the right person to be spotlighted as the image of Bush's attitude towards health care.

Like I said, just an absolutely excellent suggestion. Well done!

-CW

[OhgReaTone]

Mitch McConnell has let the dogs loose. The dog fight is on and McConnell sits in his office and denies any wrongdoing. The attack on the Frost boy by the likes of Rush Limbaugh remind me of Michael Vick and his dog fights. McConnell is Vick and Limbaugh is the prize pit bull. They have lost their moral compass.
Ohg.
http://thefireside.wordpress.com/2007/10/20/rush-limbaugh-the-need-for-acceptance/

[Chris Weigant - Huffpost Blogger]

OhgReaTone -

I'm amazed the Mitch McConnell aide story hasn't gotten more traction. Here are Republicans behaving like thugs, getting caught red-handed, then McConnell lies about it publicly the next day. And from the mainstream media?

(...crickets chirping...)

-CW

[mhnicholson]

Excellent topic selection. Let's strengthen the conceptual metaphors and conversational flow.

#1, 2, and 5 are great as is.

#3 Once this gets to the sound bite news it will comes out as "controversy over illegal immigrants health care" because saying "show me" means that we are expected to politely await an answer --- Close the question with "It does no such thing." When a continuation is needed, try "lying about the bill does nothing to change how important it is for [positive detail]" -- There is nothing polite about letting a vicious lie go unlabeled.

#4 It is time to recall the French. GWB just asked the people of America to "let them eat cake" --- "The waiting lines at the emergency rooms are horrid, and anyone opposing the SCHIP legislation is removed from reality of the working people who cannot get vital care in a timely fashion for their children. He may just as well suggest to "let them eat cake." This proven framing of a wealthy elite ignoring the scarcities of everyone else couldn't be more appropriate.

#6 You cannot defeat a frame by negating it. Do not repeat their distracting catch phrases. You parenthetical "Whatever that is" leaves the reader thinking about the republican point, not yours, and lets them control the agenda.

Instead, reframe the issue like this "President Bush has shown once again that he is more interested in making points with the extreme right wing of his party than with health care. His appointee to distribute public health funds for education has put imposing controversial religious doctrine over doing the job of protecting the public health."

[Chris Weigant - Huffpost Blogger]

mhnicholson -

I like your suggestion for #3. #4 is excellent too -- M. Antoinette probably never even said the phrase, but everyone still knows it today. "Al Gore said he invented the internet" etc. etc. You are indeed right -- this is a proven winner.

#6 I have to disagree with you, though. I'm not trying to negate the frame, I'm trying to defeat the nominee by holding her framing up to the harsh light of mainstream public opinion. To call birth control a "culture of death" is so far out of the mainstream that she defeats herself with her own badly-chosen framing. Follow the link and read the article about her -- this isn't the only stupid thing she's ever publicly said. You are probably right on one point though -- "whatever that is" is a little over the top.

But thanks for your very astute and intelligent commentary. I'm not the only one who can play the "Talking Points" game, everyone should give it a shot!

-CW

[flanardiente]

I'm trying to imagine taking a time machine from, say, 1975 to now, crushed by the weight of disbelief. What could I say to people when I got back, about what the next thirty years holds for America. Well--the Soviet Union's not there anymore--it kind of just went away--and China's this big capitalist country, but they still pretend to be Commies--Arabs blew up those new buildings in New York City, so we're fighting wars all over the Middle East--and losing--while the President-- No, you wouldn't believe that. What? The Democrats? I don't think there are any. Stepford Democrats, maybe, in Congress, to preserve the image of a working republic while giving the President anything he wants to fight more wars-- His name? Call him President Strangebush--no, he's a Republican, kind of--I don't thiknk there are any Republicans left either--it's all bullies and butt-boys, a conservative police state if you can picture that, though a lot more Klan than Barry-- Oh. And whatever you do, DON'T light up that cigarette up there.

[Chris Weigant - Huffpost Blogger]

flanardiente -

Don't forget to tell them Ronald Reagan will be president in 5 years... you'll get a big laugh out of that one!!

Or, if you want to help them, tell them to buy Microsoft at 7 and a half...

Heh heh.

-CW

[RobertPaul]

Nice job Chris.

I thought another good example of the hypocrisy of the far right was the sliming of the Frost kid which the Rethugs got a pass on. Yet, when the Congressman (Name?) called Bush out on his willingness to fund the war but not the Schip everybody said "His language was too harsh!"

Seems like it's way past time for a little harsh language in Congress. He may not have been very diplomatic, but when I saw the clip, my first thought was "Right ON!"

[Rescisco]

All excellent. I think World War III should be the number one talking point of the week. The carelessness of the remark combined with the utter ignorance of his analysis leads to the inescapable conclusion that the U.S. is without wise counsel at home (to paraphrase Cicero). Absent that, we have no business playing in a dangerous world. We cannot end the error in Iraq or escape a new nightmare with a president who does not begin to fathom the implications of his own words and actions.

[TommyMcCarthy]

Good stuff as always from Mr. Weigant. I'm 100% with "Rescisco" (above) on this. Occasionally I have to pinch myself to see if I'm DREAMING all this. Can members of the administration and the punditocracy REALLY be calmly and openly advocating the invasion of YET ANOTHER middle east nation in the midst of the ongoing fiasco in IRAQ??!! (As we said on the playgroung "You and WHAT army?") And WHY aren't the opposition and the citizenry in an uproar at the mere suggestion?

The President's recent recklessness with language on this WW3 business serves as a great reminder that the most dangerous terrorists on the planet will continue to be employed in the executive branch for another year yet. Knocking down this war w/ Iran idea should remain front and center at ALL times.....

[UpperWest]

This is a great idea. The Dems on the talk shows are so lame that they need this stuff drummed into their heads.

I would just add, that it's time to use the "L" word as much as possible. McConnell lied. Everyone who said "$83,000" lied.

[Dap]

Dear Chris,

I'm with ya on the Senator Dodd thing. I also really like the graphics kudos to Mr. Cunningham.

Can seem to come up with any smartass comments for the talking points new name this week.

As is usual your Friday night talking points is outstanding and on the mark. Agape.

[mommadona]

Excellent.

Onward!