luntz heroically attempts to spin his own spin

A few weeks ago, top Republican message man, Frank Luntz, allowed a copy of his ’05 newspeak playbook, entitled “A New American Lexicon,” to fall into the hands of the Progressive enemy. Well, now that his words are all over the internet, he’s trying to do his “trust me, it’s really not propaganda” damage control. Here’s a quote from his recent op-ed in the LA Times:

I’ve been a pollster and wordsmith for senators and CEOs for more than a decade, and I have a particular interest in language. What words do people understand? What’s the clear, common-sense way to say what you mean? And how can politicians best educate and express their ideas?

That’s why I wrote a “A New American Lexicon” for my business and political clients. But it soon made its way to the Internet, where it raised a storm among Democrats in Washington and in the blogosphere, who accused me of the worst kind of spin. They say I’m manipulating the debate in an attempt to obscure the true effect of the policies I advocate. Yet this lexicon genuinely seeks to establish a common language for a pro-business, pro-freedom agenda.

The folks at Think Progress, one of the groups most aggressively tearing into the Luntz material, were quick to respond. Here’s a clip:

Luntz asks, “What words do people understand? What’s the clear, common-sense way to say what you mean? And how can politicians best educate and express their ideas?” When it comes to the deficit, Luntz gives his simple answer – exploit a tragedy – in his playbook: “September 11 changed everything. So start with 9/11…. Without the context of 9/11, you will be blamed for the deficit…. The trick then is to contextualize the deficit inside of 9/11.”

I think that pretty much says it all. Luntz, among other things, suggested that his clients (the President included) use 9/11 to further their radical political agendas, and, now that it’s been exposed, he’s trying to spin his own spin… “What I said was pro-freedom. If you don’t like it, you must be anti-freedom. Are you anti-freedom? It sounds like you’re anti-freedom.”

(note: Just as distasteful as his suggestion that Republicans use the 9/11 attacks to deflect charges of economic mismanagement, at least to me, was his suggestion in the playbook that Republicans turn logic on its head and suggest that American jobs are being outsourced to other countries not because that’s where the cheap labor is, but because the Democrats have created an environment in the US that’s inhospitable to business. He suggests that when someone says, “My job went to China,” that Republican politicians respond with something like, “Well, that’s exactly why we need to cut taxes and eliminate regulation.”)

9/11 changed everything. And there’s not a problem that deep, permanent tax cuts can’t fix.

While we’re on the subject of the Republican message machine, a reader by the name of Arun just sent in a great link to a piece that takes us inside the minds of college Republicans. If you get a chance, it’s worth the read.