Aren’t We Sick and Tired of Worn-Out Words and Phrases?
Democrats may be learning some new lessons.
With Governor Tim Walz now on the Democratic ticket (VP Haris’s selection for vice president), Democrats may finally stop using words to describe Republicans that just don’t resonate. Extremist. Far right. Threat to democracy. Fascist. In fact, most people don’t even know what these words and phrases mean (like Joe Biden frequently using the word “hyperbole”).
In a recent poll, respondents were asked who would better protect the United States against a “threat to democracy,” Joseph Biden or Donald Trump? Trump was the winner. Why? Because the phrase is hopelessly vague to most people. In fact, some poll respondents explained, after taking the survey, that they were thinking about threats to the U.S. from foreign enemies, not the Democrats’ intended meaning that Trump undermines the integrity of our legal system and elections.
Tim Walz is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the use of political language. This guy understands the communication technique known as framing. The tool involves development of an effective angle of approach to an issue or a topic. It answers the question: “through what prism should I look at this issue? When deployed properly, it can be tremendously effective.
The most frequently cited example of a brilliant new frame was a shift in language proposed by the well-known Republican strategist Frank Luntz. Republicans were interested in reducing the estate tax paid by wealthy Americans when they pass along their assets to their families, upon their death. Luntz recommended that the tax be referred to as the “death tax” instead of estate tax. This new phrase shifted the focus from a vague concept that applies to wealthy people, to an outcry — from people of all economic backgrounds: “wait; I’m being taxed just because I die?” It didn’t matter that the tax would never apply to most people. The Republicans used this frame to get everyone riled up about it. This new frame was the basis for building momentum to push reluctant Republican Members of Congress to vote for a bill that would have otherwise been seen as controversial. With the new approach, these Members didn’t have to worry about being tagged as friends of the wealthy, because they could simply say: “people don’t want to be taxed just because they die.”
Let’s fast forward to the here and now. Calling Donald Trump a fascist or threat to democracy was clearly not moving the needle. Walz simply referred to Trump and his new running mate as “weird.” This word went viral, immediately got under Trump’s skin, and was expanded to include the concept that the Republicans’ ideas are also weird. The word is easily understandable and used by everyday Americans in their daily lives. They don’t have a drink at the bar bantering with friends about fascism.
No doubt, people started to think about the strangeness and oddity of Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, who went on a tirade saying that “childless cat ladies” are harming our country. The word weird — in and of itself — immediately put people in a new frame of mind. They became more likely to think that Republicans are unacceptable. The old angle of approach employed by Democratic politicians required people to see through their Washington-centric frame of mind, i.e., that Trump is dangerous, an extremist, a fascist or a threat to democracy. It wasn’t working.
If you’re a Democrat, you’re likely excited about the prospect of Tim Walz injecting some fresh linguistic approaches to the campaign. New frames will allow the Democrats to more easily and effectively draw stark contrasts between them and the Republicans, making it easier for people to decide that the un-weird should be running the country.
Richard Quadrino is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. The views expressed are his own.
