My New Frame (rant)

[Squeech]

I haven't read his book, but there's been a lot of discussion, here and elsewhere in the blogosphere of Lakoff's idea of frames. Part of the idea is what a frame actually is, and what it does for you-- it seems to be a kind of slogan that also prescribes a viewpoint which clarifies (simplifies) difficult issues.

The most valuable caveat I've seen so far is Kevin "Calpundit" Drum, who has a background that includes some work in marketing but is otherwise a good sensible guy, and he points out that in order for the frame to work it has to be credible-- it has to validate itself through the same old rules of evidence. I was reminded of a PR campaign that my home state of Massachusetts undertook, a generation ago now when the tech boom was just getting started, they attempted to disseminate the slogan "Make it in Massachusetts" on bumper stickers and such. It was supposed to invoke the benefits of the new industry and its opening of new market niches. Well, what happened was, because Massachusetts had a reputation for political corruption, the new slogan was interpreted through the old frame, and instead of touting the new businesses, it was cynically assumed to refer to the old boy network. So then Michael Dukakis, showing his tone-deafness to rhetoric, promulgated a new slogan, "The Spirit of Massachusetts is the Spirit of America," which nobody ever believed.

What I like in a frame is demonstrated in the Reagan-era quip, "The Administration believes that life begins at conception-- and ends at birth." I like the one-two punch, showing first how they value dogma over science, and then the contempt they hold for actual people. (It seems to me that the most reliable indicator of political affiliation is sense of humor: Republicans tend to be humor-impaired, and really resent being the butt of jokes.)

But I can't find anything to laugh at in the second term of Emperor C-Plus Augustus and his Perpetual War Profiteering Party, so the frame that explains it all for me is not funny, it's just the brutal truth: Republicans are the party that will get you killed. It's already begun, of course, once you remember who was actually in charge on 9/11, and they're certainly not correcting their mistakes there, plus if you're in a certain age group with certain skills they want to ship your ass to Iraq as geopolitical cannon fodder. But there's also their cavalier attitude to the FDA (too bad about mad cows, not to mention Vioxx), tort reform (which as currently proposed doesn't do anything to discourage frivolous lawsuits, but caps penalties on the clearly guilty), the environment (who cares what's in your drinking water), OSHA, health care, social security, etc. They care about you only as long as you're earning and spending money, pumping up GDP. As soon as you presume to ask for the rewards of your productive years, they'd rather see you curl up and die.

Not that I expect that to fly. Not only is it too gloomy, but the fundamentalist frame is impervious to argument, stating as it does that once you're a believer, the received wisdom of the Supply Side Jesus is all you'll ever need to know.

[DS1]

1. If GDP stands for God Damn Pockets, I'd say you were spot on

I'm not convinced they care so much about America's GDP, so long as there's an economy to spend their wealth in after the rest of us are well and truly fleeced.

[Squeech]

2. We're looking for a few good frames

I just remembered this one, a bumper sticker I've always admired:

"Labor: the people who gave you the weekend"

[Gold Metal Flake]

3. Vote Republican, if you want to die!

I still can not believe that the party leadership and the frontrunning candidates did not hammer the * admin's dismantling of our anti-terror systems prior to 9-11.