This happens throughout the media, education, everywhere. Liberals set the rules of the discussion by choosing deceitful framing. That and other antics happen in this community constantly, too. While some of us know to look for it, the uninitiated won't unless we consistently point it out. I thought this article damn well put, at least as a starting point for awareness. It's something I think non-Liberals need to keep in mind at all times.
Emphasis is mine, partially for the patience impaired who want to skip to the meat. Too many obviously don't bother to read even the OP let alone the links before sounding off.
The War of Words — Why We’re Losing"
He who defines the rules controls the game. And we’re letting them define the rules.
Jobs. Health care. Economic justice. Working families. Income redistribution. Fairness.
Words mean things. Very specific things. We on the Right tend to forget that.
By following the lead from the Left, we abdicate our arguments without even knowing it. By using their terms, and in so doing, tacitly allowing their outrageous assertions to stand unchallenged, we surrender ground – one step, one phrase, one election at a time.""We are told the main issue on Americans’ minds in these perilous economic times, is ‘Jobs’. The main problem is putting people back to work, dontcha know.
‘Creating more jobs’. And of course, this is a classic example of the cart before the horse. It’s a tried-and-true ploy of the Collectivist to frame the problem as that which affects ‘the masses’ alongside the solution, which involves the central government. (The people need jobs! We’ve got to create more jobs!) As if…in a free republic the purpose of government is to provide each citizen with a job. As if…a job is merely this mystical anomaly that suddenly appears by fiat of a benevolent and elegant president.
As if…the very economic policies of the new administration aren’t doing everything they can to retard the growth of the economy and hence hamper and defeat the expansion of the work force. As if…it’s not the stifling regulation, punitive taxation, and restriction of movement on business that prevents business from hiring new employees.""But we on the Right surrender the argument every time we lead our point with, 'Jobs'. A job is a result of a need of a business to run effectively. A business needs people to carry out various functions.
And…contrary to popular Leftist thinking…the purpose of a business is NOT providing people with jobs. The purpose of a business is to create profit for its owners and shareholders by providing goods and/or services.
Job creation is a happy ancillary effect of a business as it grows.""Too often, Leftist redistribution thieves, Race Merchant poverty pimps, Envoys-of-Envy class warriors, and their toadies — the mainstream media — paint Business as the bad guy. Sometimes their paint strokes are subtle…sometimes not. Corporations, big and small, and those who head them are depicted as nothing more than greedy, selfish, bastards out to ‘screw the little guy’. And we let them get away with this. We allow these ‘shades of lie’ to live in our national lexicon. And we do so by passively accepting…adopting…and eventually embracing their twisted phraseology. They distort our beloved English language…and we wave the white flag, content that anyone even talks to us, happy to be invited to the table."
"Before we can restore our nation to its original intent,
we need to take back the argument. And that will take backbone – from all of us. Don’t let them frame the argument. Stand up for what you know is right!"
"They use innuendo and generalization as their major tools. I say kick them square in their syntax! Make them define their terms. (They are loath to do it.) Make them get specific; and if they won’t, dig your heels in and refuse to let the argument proceed until they do so."
"You on the Left are like the misguided farmer on the road with a broken-down horse. You’re kicking him to get up…while you bash him in the head with a hammer.""And by the way, fellow Righties — to frame the argument over free-market vs. government controlled health care by calling it simply ‘Health Care’ is a losing gambit. [...] But…I hear it repeatedly from the Right…. 'We stand in opposition to Health Care. We oppose Health Care. We’ve got to stop Health Care from moving forward.' Yes, most of us on the Right know what you mean…but
stop and think a minute how that sounds to the uninitiated. 'You oppose health care? You heartless morons!'
"It seems like a tedious, never-ending task…but make the Lefties do it; make them define and refine their terms. It’s obnoxious, but play dumb, as if you truly don’t know what they’re talking about. It’ll drive them nuts…but it will force them out of the clouds"
"It is my firm belief that if we bring the Left out of the generalized fog of euphemism, innuendo and non-specificity, and force them to clearly illuminate their positions…the voters will reject them."Lying to themselves and others is a necessity for the Modern Liberal. Another common tactic I especially see here is for the Liberal to ask questions but provide no answers, thereby steering the conversation and putting others on the defensive. That even saves them the trouble of deceit. Why on earth this would be acceptable is beyond me. They
chose to come here to conservatism. It was to change minds or possibly learn, or to harass. If it's the former they should provide their argument and be open to answering questions as necessary. When we tolerate any of this behavior, big or small, in and out of the community they gain the upper hand. Please pass this article around so more non-Liberals can start looking for and calling them on it.
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cranky