Wednesday, June 22, 2005

''Democrats must learn to frame the debate''

Joel Connelly, writing in the Seattle P-I, quotes George Lakoff to bolster his own opinions: "The high point of the Democrats' annual shrimp feed on Capitol Hill used to be a stemwinder speech by Rep. (later Gov.) Mike Lowry forecasting that liberals would eventually win the day because, in Lowry's words, "We're right and they're wrong."

George Lakoff, linguistics professor at the University of California-Berkeley, rejects such reasoning. "The truth will NOT set you free," argues Lakoff, author of the book "Don't Think Like an Elephant: Know Your Values, Frame the Debate." Lakoff is a new star in the Democrats' constellation. He was here last week doing a non-stop series of lectures, meetings and interviews on how the liberal-left can catch up to conservatives in the art of defining public issues.

Here's one listener who didn't entirely buy into his theories. Not only do liberals need help with packaging, but the quality of the product also requires work. Lakoff is, however, provocative and on the mark in assessing why President Bush won re-election last year."

No comments: