Last week, Richard Cranium of the All-Spin Zone published an important piece called “Talking to the Reptile.” Building upon a post by Mark Sumner, Cranium argues that if Democrats want to win, they need to stop the high-minded rationalization and start talking to “the reptile in each of us, addressing our basic human needs.”
Cranium suggests that the environment is an issue that speaks to the brain stem, at least when it is framed not in terms of loggers and owls, but in terms of safe drinking water and pollution:
During a week in which a cyanide leak killed a thousand fish in Philly, only to be followed by the disgorging of 55,000 gallons of raw sewage into the city’s waters, Cranium’s advice seems smarter than ever. Democrats need to make an issue — a national issue — out of this, and they need to do it now.
The rational response to this is to argue that Philadelphia is a Democratic city run by a Democratic mayor; that Pennsylvania is run by a Democratic governor; and that such issues can’t possibly be used against the Republican party.
But that’s thinking with the head, not the reptilian brain. Americans know that the Bush administration has gutted the nation’s environmental laws. Now that we’re waking up to find feces-covered, three-headed fish in our waters, Democrats need to point out that this is what happens when Republicans control the White House, the Senate, and the House, and embark upon a systematic effort to pollute the environment.
It’s everywhere you look, whether your eyes are set upon Philly, New Orleans, or Iraq. Beyond that, environmental threats to our safety strike the same chord of fear in the medulla as the threat of terrorism.
The basic message is that Republicans are making our world unsafe for our children. It’s true, it’s scary, and it’s a winner.
10 Comments on "The Clean Party"
Shakespeare's Sister:
I certainly agree with your assessment…but there’s still a part of me that blanches at the thought of more campaign fearmongering, even if it is rooted in a truth that should scare us. All I can see is a campaign where our choices are:
If your biggest fear is terrorism, vote Republican!
If your biggest fear is the environment, vote Democrat!
It makes little difference (as regards my long-suffering, self-indulgent irritation at the political process) that the former is mendacious and the latter has merit. My reptilian brain demurs to its better-equipped, logical counterpart to work out for whom to vote, and I really wish (against all evidence that such wish will ever come true) that more brains did the same.
Matt:
You’re right, Shakes, and the world would be a better place if we could avoid the fearmongering altogether. But it’s a similar situation to the one politicians face with attack ads: they can take the high road, but it’s likely to lead to a loss.
Perhaps the most powerful way this can be used is to create a new frame. “Clean vs. dirty” seems pretty powerful to me, since it touches not only upon the environment, but also upon the culture of corruption. Plus, it’s got a nice slogan built into it: “It’s time for a clean slate!”
Sally Swift:
If I had time (and didn’t want the spam police after me) I’d add this comment to every one of the ten days worth of posts I just caught up on: Welcome the Hell Back, Matt! Your unique voice was sorely missed and has reemerged with its trademark offbeat straight talk in full bloom.
Your hiatus gave me the idea (permission?) to take small ones myself (a few days here, a few days there). And while I’m old enough to be your… aunt?… babysitter?… it’s nice to know I have a few more things to learn. And seriously smart people to teach me.
Write on, Dude.
Matt:
Thanks, Sally. You are way too kind.
I approve of breaks; it’s the only way to avoid burnout. Seven-month breaks are a little excessive, but if you’ve gotta get stuff done, even that turns out to be acceptable.
I’ve always thought that the Nonist’s pamphlet on Blog Depression contained a lot of good, though deflating, advice on the subject.
Thanks again for your comment — I appreciate it very much.
Eli:
I like my shitfish “Whiz wit”.
You know what’s a good reptilian-brain issue, at least selectively? Minimum wage.
Matt:
Just make sure you order that shitfish in English, Eli, and we won’t have any problems.
Minimum wage should be a reptilian issue, but for some reason it never turns out to be one.
Fear trumps money?
litbrit:
The thing is, the Rethugs have perfected the art of framing arguments in simple, slogan-ish ways so that everyone–not just educated, intellectual, capable-of-seeing-many-sides-of-an-issue people, but everyone–can seize onto the idea like a rat on a meat truck.
The shorter and more glib or alliterative, the better: Cut and run. Compassionate Conservative. When they stand up, we’ll stand down. And so on, ad infinitum.
Therefore, appealing to the simplistic, urge-driven, slogan-appreciating reptilian brain, only doing so with progressive messages, strikes me as a great way (perhaps the only way), to drive the message home to those target markets and counterract the success of BushCo’s own Madison Avenue approach.
Rod:
Maybe this is why “It’s the economy, stupid” worked?
Sadly, I don’t think “It’s the environment, stupid” will have the same effect, even though it should.
And nor, also sadly, will an appeal to our better nature on the issue of the minimum wage.
The reptilian sloganeering has to appeal to our most basic self interest, and the plight of the ozone layer or our less well remunerated brothers and sisters will not do that, unless something quite remarkable happens one night while we’re all sleeping and we all wake up feeling like we just took ecstacy.
So maybe “It’s the primal fear, stupid” might do the trick. Let’s go meta.
Matt:
@litbrit: exactly.
@rod: not the ozone layer — that’s like the owl/logging debate. too abstract and complicated.
shit in your drinking water. cyanide in your morning coffee. that’s the way to go. the fear factor comes from feeling unsafe in your own home because of Republican policies.
Rod:
I can hear the Dave Matthews Band in my mind. I don’t know if I could vote for something that involved the Dave Matthews Band.
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