Romney uses bully pulpit to wring concessions from Democrats

[Ian David]

Romney uses bully pulpit to wring concessions from Democrats

By Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press Writer | October 28, 2005

BOSTON --For Republican governors in Massachusetts, legislative victories are few and far between.

So when Gov. Mitt Romney saw a chance to use public sentiment to wring concessions out of the Democrat-led House and Senate on a major drunken driving bill, he jumped.

He surrounded himself with the families of victims of drunken drivers and portrayed legislative leaders as either out of touch or playing to the wishes of lawyers who defend drunken drivers.

Democratic leaders obliged him by playing into his hands.

First they watered down key sections of the bill. Then, when they needed a compromise between House and Senate versions of the bill, they appointed a committee made up largely of lawmakers who as lawyers had also represented drunken driving defendants.

They then handed Romney even more ammunition when several key lawmakers jetted off for a vacation to Spain and Portugal even before the bill won final passage.

Democratic leaders say their actions were driven in part by legitimate constitutional concerns.

But -- unfairly or not -- those same actions let Romney rally public sentiment and push for an even tougher version of the bill.

"I was disappointed that people who represent drunk drivers watered down a drunk-driving bill," Romney said after the Legislature sent the bill to his desk.

Romney also appeared at press conferences flanked by the family of 13-year-old Melanie Powell who was struck and killed by a repeat drunken driver in 2003. The bill was dubbed "Melanie's Bill."

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/10/28/romney_uses_bully_pulpit_to_wring_concessions_from_democrats/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News

[0rganism]

1. I hope the state Dems are taking notes

This is textbook material on how to personalize an issue. Republicans have done this exceptionally well, whether on ballot referendums, legislative issues, or candidate races. People RESPOND to PR which showcases individuals as disadvantaged protaganists.

On the progressive side, I would hazard a guess that Cindy Sheehan's protests in Crawford have done more to turn opinions about the Iraq war in the last 3 months than a million variously-distributed protestors have done in two years. Why? Because she's a "media personality" the audience can identify with, a grieving mother who's lost her son, and they can't help but put themselves in her position to feel her sorrow, even if only for a short time.

Notice how the fascists initially resorted to ad-hominems to discredit her, too. That's another advantage to personalizing issues: suddenly, they're smearing another human instead of talking about what a great success the Iraq war is. Now the GOP has some smart people in charge, so it didn't take long for them to field their own pro-war personalities to prop up this catastrophe. But the message is already transmitted, and now the Iraq war polls 10-points lower than it did in August despite the much-hyped constitution vote.