FRAME GUY AGAIN:

The Frame Around Arnold (George Lakoff, October 13, 2003, AlterNet)

By presenting a laundry list of issues, Davis and other democrats fail to present a moral vision -- a coherent identity with a powerful cultural stereotype -- that defines the very identity of the voters they are trying to reach. A list of issues is not a moral vision. Indeed, many Democrats were livid that Arnold did not run on the issues. He didn't need to. His very being activated the strict father model -- the heart of the moral vision of conservative Republicans and the most common response to fear and uncertainty.

In short, Arnold's victory is right in line with other conservative Republican victories. Davis' defeat is right in line with other Democratic defeats. Unless the Democrats realize this, they will not learn the lesson of this election.

And indeed, conservatives are busy trying to keep Democrats from learning this lesson. There is an important frame we haven't mentioned yet: The Right-Wing Power Grab frame. Davis used this at the beginning of his campaign, and Clinton and the Democratic presidential candidates who supported Davis echoed the frame. This frame does accurately characterize many of the facts as we have discussed them. But Davis was unable to communicate this frame effectively and it fell from public sight.

He's right about the Democrats having no moral vision and being the party of the laundy list--that's what happens when all you have left is a coalition of different groups whose only common interest is that they want something from government. On the other point though, when 55-60% of voters want to do something, it makes little sense to attack them as extremists involved in a "Right-Wing Power Grab". They may be Right-wing extremists but few will perceive themselves to be, so you're just alienating them further.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 15, 2003 8:44 AM