“Don’t think of an elephant!” by George Lakoff was published in 2004. The book, subtitled “Know Your Values and Frame the Debate,” said the Republicans, by defining the terms, have an crushing advantage in debates with Democrats. For example, when I write “illegal aliens” I’m already caving in to bigotry and anti-immigrant fervor. I could say “exploited foreign workers” each time, and if I and enough other people used that term, we would redefine the debate. Why do we say “partial birth abortion” instead of “late term abortion” when the latter term is more accurate? The Republicans have defined that debate.
I thought of Lakoff’s book today during President Obama’s press conference. He kept talking about the deficit. I think we have a revenue crisis. We don’t have enough money coming in. If you lose your job and can’t pay your mortgage, you don’t have a deficit problem--you don’t have a pay check.
The revenue crisis results from less money flowing in from the income tax and other taxes, but it is also a result of Bush era tax cuts that have not been repealed, and, in fact, were extended in December.
We follow the talk about deficits with talk about where to cut. The EPA? Energy development? OSHA? The Republicans have already won this debate. It is a sad state of affairs.
Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin
Mr. Darwin was born on Feb. 12, 1809. In a country where biology teachers in many schools are reluctant to tell students that evolution is fundamental to modern biology, and people willfully believe that humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time, the celebration was muted. I’m making a note on my calendar for next year. I’m throwing a party.
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