The administration’s decision to adopt the Right’s “Obamacare” frame for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been incomprehensible for a long time. But now it is becoming mortally dangerous.(1) And not just for Obama and the Democrats—for all the sick people who suddenly can get care now via the ACA, care the Right wants to […]
Framing Climate Change Action Now
There is evidence that a number of American citizens know we have a climate change problem. But many of them experience it as something we can’t fix technically, socially or politically. So they ignore it to keep going day by day. Among the already convinced, that’s where the issue is stuck. But we also have […]
Re Syria: Say “We Can Do Better than Bombs!”
Right now our country and the world are in an uproar over President Obama’s plan to bomb Syria. Whatever his real, behind the scenes reasons may be, we the people must deal with the issue in the way it is being framed for the public. Because Congress decides next week whether or not to authorize […]
Say: “’True’ Public Safety Means Prevention!”
New reports suggest that some desperate Republicans are trying out “public safety” and “crime” as their 2013-4 state-level election frame.(1) Colorado and California are already seeing conservative moves to retake their state legislatures and governorships by accusing Democrats of being “soft on crime,” and putting “public safety” at risk. However, nationally crime rates have actually […]
Guns, Nukes, Dollars, and the One Big Family Frame
Starting in 2005 and then again in 2008 and 2011, I wrote some web essays about the “one big family” frame in American politics.(1) These days it seems that the idea of our being one big family working together to create a better future is stone dead. Yet the enduring power of this part of […]
Tell the Media Again: Say “Safety,” not “Control!”
Mayors Against Illegal Guns has recently reported that 100% of Americans want universal background checks for gun buyers. They say that even gun owners and hunters, grass roots NRA members, agree on this. Of course the national NRA leadership is against it. So right now it’s NRA head Wayne LaPierre vs We the People of […]
Say: Cut Military ‘Corporations’ Instead
Right now all eyes are on the “fiscal cliff” debate. So far, the focus seems limited to domestic spending cuts and taxes. Many Americans feel that military spending ought to be cut instead. Unfortunately, the way we shape our demand for that shift often fails to be heard. Why? There are many reasons for our […]
Counter-frame the Economy! Three Ways to Avoid Their Words
Although everyone’s focused on the election now, by the end of next week America will plunge into yet another harrowing contest over the future of our nation. Already some are frantically working behind the scenes to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.” (1) Economic metaphors will again be a very big part of the action. Given the […]
How to “Speak American” When You GOTV
Recent rash remarks and extreme ideas from the Romney/Ryan team have altered the political landscape. Before all that, polls had shown there were few undecided voters left. Now that’s not such a sure thing. There’s a new spotlight on character, on our shared ideals of American public morality, and on what kind of future we […]
Counter-frame It! How to Stop Using Their Words
Democrats, liberals, progressives, and radicals unite in frustration with the Right’s ability to capture the public mind with a few carefully selected words or phrases. As we all know, those words echo and re-echo through their top-to-bottom messaging machine. Their sound bites go from wordsmiths like Frank Luntz, to think tanks, to media outlets, to […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- …
- 10
- Next Page »