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What the Mom AND Pop Party Needs 2.23.07
Dear MP Network,
Thank goodness, the country has been moved beyond strict daddies vs.
nurturant parents, never a politically smart set of category names, given
the old 'mommy party' smear. Tough, smart, but caring mom Pelosi, paired
with tough but common sense pop Reid, and tough, blunt-speaking veteran pop
Webb have sent a message that is stronger than thousands of words or
cleverly designed cartoon visuals. The new Democratic image projected by
Pelosi-Reid-Webb is the 'Mom AND Pop' team. This is a winning combination.
But it will need support from the rest of us to do the whole job, especially
when it comes to congressional debate about Iraq and Iran.
Right now, a great many matters of life and death hang on how the public
perceives the Democratic Party -- next steps re Iraq, constraining the
President's behavior re Iran, as well as vital domestic health and safety
issues. We progressives (or liberals if you like, as the word may be coming
back into fashion) need to make sure we shape our messages and arguments
using images and metaphors from both sides of the family tree--mom AND pop.
We can practice when we talk about the Dems' new tactic re Iraq right now:
shifting congressional debate from being about funding to being about how
and what our troops are doing there. This shift is smart, tough, bipartisan,
and deeply respectful of troops who have been treated like mere imperial
cannon fodder, nothing but slave soldiers, by a bunch of frat boys in D.C.
who have never seen battle in their lives and are playing with America's
sons and daughters as if they were just video game targets.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will now try
to pull the focus back to war funding instead, simply because it is
dangerous territory for the Democrats at this point. Let's not fall into his trap.
Mom AND Pop know where they are going, step by step.
Let's give them a boost; let's use both Mom AND Pop language ourselves.
Susan C. Strong, Ph.D.
Founder and Executive Director
The Metaphor Project --- Resources for Mainstream American Framing
www.metaphorproject.org
metaphorproject@earthlink.net
What the Mom AND Pop Party Needs 2.23.07
Dear MP Network,
Thank goodness, the country has been moved beyond strict daddies vs.
nurturant parents, never a politically smart set of category names, given
the old 'mommy party' smear. Tough, smart, but caring mom Pelosi, paired
with tough but common sense pop Reid, and tough, blunt-speaking veteran pop
Webb have sent a message that is stronger than thousands of words or
cleverly designed cartoon visuals. The new Democratic image projected by
Pelosi-Reid-Webb is the 'Mom AND Pop' team. This is a winning combination.
But it will need support from the rest of us to do the whole job, especially
when it comes to congressional debate about Iraq and Iran.
Right now, a great many matters of life and death hang on how the public
perceives the Democratic Party -- next steps re Iraq, constraining the
President's behavior re Iran, as well as vital domestic health and safety
issues. We progressives (or liberals if you like, as the word may be coming
back into fashion) need to make sure we shape our messages and arguments
using images and metaphors from both sides of the family tree--mom AND pop.
We can practice when we talk about the Dems' new tactic re Iraq right now:
shifting congressional debate from being about funding to being about how
and what our troops are doing there. This shift is smart, tough, bipartisan,
and deeply respectful of troops who have been treated like mere imperial
cannon fodder, nothing but slave soldiers, by a bunch of frat boys in D.C.
who have never seen battle in their lives and are playing with America's
sons and daughters as if they were just video game targets.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will now try
to pull the focus back to war funding instead, simply because it is
dangerous territory for the Democrats at this point. Let's not fall into his trap.
Mom AND Pop know where they are going, step by step.
Let's give them a boost; let's use both Mom AND Pop language ourselves.
Susan C. Strong, Ph.D.
Founder and Executive Director
The Metaphor Project --- Resources for Mainstream American Framing
www.metaphorproject.org
metaphorproject@earthlink.net