Why He Won: And How To Revive Progressive Values
“…a lot of progressives hear conservatives talk and do not understand them because they do not have the conservatives’ frames. They assume conservatives are stupid.
They are not stupid. They are winning because they are smart.”
George Lakoff, ‘Don’t Think of an Elephant’
As someone who has considered myself a progressive as long as politics have mattered to me (since I was seven), I am just as insulted as anyone to witness the rise to power of the current Commander in Chief of the United States.
Where I differ from many of my progressive colleagues is in my refusal to harp endlessly about his every move. My refusal to name him in writing. My attempt to give him as little coverage as possible, as opposed to “putting him on blast” for all of his heinous actions, politically and personally.
I have yet to find the sweet spot between alerting the base to necessary (re)actions and giving him just what he wants, more controversy, more press. This article and building the infographic is a part of figuring that out (visual learner, what can I say).
I initially read Lakoff during the reign of George W. Bush and decided that now would be a good time for a refresher. Let me tell you, it is uncanny. Frustratingly so. Had the Democratic Party leadership taken Lakoff’s advising seriously and acted upon it, I strongly believe the U.S. would not be in the boat it is in today.
This recent exhaustive article, in the wake of the 2016 Presidential election, explains the theories of “Don’t Think of and Elephant,” originally written in 2004, as applied to the contemporary situation:
“The Clinton campaign consistently violated the lesson of Don’t Think of an Elephant! They used negative campaigning, assuming they could turn Trump’s most outrageous words against him. They kept running ads showing Trump forcefully expressing views that liberals found outrageous. Trump supporters liked him for forcefully saying things that liberals found outrageous. They were ads paid for by the Clinton campaign that raised Trump’s profile with his potential supporters!”
Lakoff goes on to articulate, “…demographic data leaves out what is most important in elections and in political polling generally: Values! One’s sense of right and wrong. That omission was crucial in this election.”
I know I don’t have the answer as to how to best move forward as a whole. What I do know is that doing the Commander’s propaganda work for him is not something I care to engage in. Progressives need to care more deeply about strategy. Real, long term strategy (see point 9 below). The conservatives did, they recognized their differences, united, went to work, and won. Progressives can do the same but it is going to take some serious reexamination from Democratic Party leadership of how we view ourselves, how we are viewed, how we choose to talk about the opposition, and each other.
I would highly suggest picking up any of Lakoff’s political works as a solid start. And for goodness sake, pause before you post. Ask yourself: Is this something that is useful to the progressive cause or is this just adding fuel to his raging inferno of carefully executed media manipulation?
The infographic in full can be downloaded here:
