Frameshop: Swiftboaters are 'Gangs' in a Moral America

I

f we imagine for a moment that politics is theater, would anyone try to perform one play on a stage set for another?  Even worse than that, consider the fate of the lead actor who, midway through a performance of Death of a Salesman, is suddenly whisked away by the stage manager, who then pushes him back onstage in the middle of an adjacent performance of Macbeth,, and then tells him that he has to, nonetheless, finish the final act of the play he had prepared--all while remaining in character.

What a ridiculous situation!  And yet, as I discussed yesterday, this is exactly what happens to Democrats when they are 'swiftboated' by Republicans.  To stop 'swiftboaters' from destroying the candidacies of more and more top notch Americans running for office, Democrats must take the initiative now to make sure that these candidates can set and stay on their own stage--in their own frame.

The key to cracking down on the swiftboaters is to reframe the entire political system in moral terms.  They key is to start describing the swiftboaters as 'gangs.'

But before we do that, a few things need to be in order...

Step 1:  Democrats Must Appoint a 'Stage Manager' to Deal With Swiftboating
Any Democrat who does not recognize and acknowledge that the radical wing of the GOP will use brutal defamatory 'swiftboat' tactics to destroy the reputation of anyone who challenges them, has not yet faced the reality this nation faces. 

As I discussed in yesterday's Frameshop post the dark threat of a 'swiftboat' campaign is that it shifts the focus from the policies in question to the false charges against the politician critiquing those policies.  The only way to avoid the damage of a 'swiftboating' campaign, therefore, is to avoid being drawn into that distraction--to hold the debate by holding the frame.

This means that no Democratic candidate under attack can fight this battle by sheer force of fact or rhetoric.  Every actor needs a director and a stage manager, and the Democrat being attacked by a swiftboat campaign is no different.

So, step one is for Democrats at a national and local level to appoint someone to be the front person--the face of the Democratic response to the 'problem' of radical GOP groups that defame candidates, particularly military veterans. 

Al Gore would be a fantastic person for this job.  Jimmy Carter would be a great as well.   This person would establish a commission with one job from now until 2008:  to pre-empt every swiftboat-style smear campaign by the radical right in this country by leading the nation in a national discussion about the dangers of threatening good Americans away from political participation.

Step 2:  Set the Pre-Emptive Frames:  'Moral Accounting' and 'Gangs'
Why are swiftboat campaigns immoral?  They are not immoral because they question the qualification of a candidate to hold office.  That, like it or not, is what political campaigns are about.

Swiftboaters are immoral because they are organized by gangs that use threats to intimidate and silence Americans, to drive good citizens from the public square back into their homes.  These 'gangs' are not new to American history.  The classic American movie Shane is the story of one family that overcomes the intimidation of a brutal gang to protect his family, his home and his town.

Gangs succeed by disrupting the moral accounting of American life.  When we work hard and play by the rules, we deserve to have our voices heard.  Instead of hard work, gangs use the power and money of others to threaten good people and snatch away opportunity. 

Once appointed, the Democrat Party lead in charge of pre-empting the swiftboat smear campaigns of 2006 and 2008 should work hard to establish this broad frame of the 'Moral Accounting of American Life,' and to define the swiftboat gangs working to destroy this fair American system as a very real threat to the lives of every American.

Moral Accounting and Gangs.

Step 3:  Americans Don't Debate 'Gangs,' We 'Monitor' and 'Crack Down' on Them
Once we are inside the frame of moral accounting as the basis for American life (e.g, hard work, fair play deserves to have its voice heard), then the logical solution is not to debate with threats to that morality, but to prevent them from getting in the door.

Americans do not debate gangs.  We 'monitor' their activities and 'crack down' on them using prevention, vigilance and wherever possible:  the legal system. 

The Democrat in charge of pre-empting the swiftboat attacks from the GOP is not in charge of reacting to attacks, but of 'monitoring activity' and 'mobilizing authorities' to 'crack down' on gangs that are 'taking over areas' and 'intimidating locals.'

When the Democratic Party steps up to deal with the problem of swiftboaters gangs destroying campaigns, they do so not for the sake of candidates, but for the sake of America's families. 

Step 4:  Those Who 'Paid the Price' Deserve Protection
Ultimately, every single political victim of radical GOP swiftboat techniques--whether they are a Democrat like John Murtha or a Republican like John McCain--their efforts to defend themselves will fail unless they make defending the American people from swiftboating a key part of their broader political efforts.

This is not about 'honorable' campaigning---although that is an admirable goal.  The job of monitoring and cracking down on the gangs that are intimidating Americans on the political landscape will not go down easily.  They will put up a fight that is as brutal and as dangerous as any gang in history.  The gangs that tried to dominate the American west had to be put down forcefully by the law.  The gangs that threatened to destroy America's cities during prohibition had to be broken before they released their grip hold on the nation.  The gangs that launch swiftboat campaigns, today, are no different.  They will not go down easily.

But those of us who pay the price--who work hard, play by the rules, care for our families, invest in our future, and believe in the prospects of America--we deserve to be protected from these gangs.  We deserve to listen and to participate in the political process without gangs riding into town, guns firing in the air, dragging out of town any American who expresses his or her views.

Those of us who pay the price--who may disagree, but still listen to each other, pitch in to help a neighbor in need--we deserve to be protected from these gangs.

Those of us who pay the price--who fought when our nation called us to fight, who watched our friends die on the battlefield, and who came back home still believing in America--we deserve to be protected from these gangs.

© 2006 Jeffrey Feldman

Comments

[thefos]

"Swiftboat Gangs" are "hired thugs with bats" just waiting for their orders to take a crippling swing to the knees of any viable skater, oops, I mean candidate who threatens their moment on the medal stand, oops, I mean moment of glory and power.

[thefos]

"Swiftboat Gangs" are "hired thugs with bats" just waiting for their orders to take a crippling swing to the knees of any viable skater, oops, I mean candidate who threatens their moment on the medal stand, oops, I mean moment of glory and power.

[thefos]

Sorry about the duplicate post. It didn't appear to post the first time. Must have been due to technical difficulties on my laptop.

[Pamela]

More good stuff here Jeffrey. One spokesman could be a good start to stop the enabling. See my post here - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1676

[kooz]

You are absolutely correct. The problem is that the stage which some refer to as the Main Stream Media, both print and T.V., is controlled by the gangs and until the stage is wrestled from their grips swiftboaters will continue to get away with their crimes.

[5oclockshadow]

Former Navy Secretary James Webb, today writes powerfully against the Swiftboating of Jack Murtha.

I recently asked Mr. Murtha about James Webb on c-Span, but he didn't have any comment. I'm glad to see that James Webb has a lot to say about Mr. Murtha.

Webb uses the spirit of your frame and transcends it by blasting republican chickenhawks and challeging their commitment to veterans.

It's worth a read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/18/opinion/18webb.html

I hope that James Webb will run for the US senate as a Democrat in Virginia. Frameshop readers may be interested in signing this petition to encourage him to run:
http://www.draftjameswebb.com

[Shauna Smith]

Since Americans love to use "The war on...(terror, drugs, etc.) the phrase "The war on gangs" could be used effectively in this reframe.

[William Neuhauser]

This is conceptually likable proposal, but I think needs to drive down a level. The analogy with standing up to gangs is good, but what specifically can such a watchdog person/group do to "protect" someone? There is little if any legal recourse in politics -- apparently free speech includes the right to tell lies. The media responds to "he said, she said", so automatically creates a false, distracting battle about the wrong issues.

As I think about it, there may be more than meets the eye in the idea of having a surrogate respond. After all the swiftboaters aren't the opponent, but a surrogate of the opponent ... who manages to engage the actual candidate in a distraction, leaving the opponent free to push his/her message in the meanwhile.

I would add that the "gang" metaphor for the attackers is good, and works within my suggestion of the contextual frame of "dividing America". America is divided. This gang is an example of that. One thing I like about the Divided America frame is that it is also a reframing device for the candidate who can say: there they go dividing America again with lies about my record, but let me tell you how I'm uniting Americans with bold policy statement. It allows acknowledging the accusation, but then shifts back onto the candidate's ground. Then the surrogate can come in and deal with the lies and smears of the swiftboater gangs.

[JF]

Ah...good points. Is there any way we can invoke 'unity' and 'division' rather than saying them? I find the phrase 'dividing America' to be, well, not repeatable enough. Edwards uses language like this and while I find the ideas compelling, the words themselves leave me a little cold. This is why I prefer framing to straight communications...

[Bob]

It is true, as you say, that the facts aren't enough to fight swiftboat-type attacks. But is this website not just another echo chamber for us leftys?

Your ideas are fantastic. But It doesnt matter if I feel that way. It only matters if you can get the powerful to feel that way. Any bites lately? I mean, does any US congressperson with any pull or presence or command of media ever use your ideas to fight the right?

[JF]

Thanks for the question.

Rather than thinking about a point-to-point contact as the only form of influence, we should also think of ideas 'spreading' as a very important part of the political process. It may feel like we are playing catch-up and that the Republicans are more organized--for now. But we'll get there.

Traffic on the site, today, was over 10,000. Add that to my conversation on the Thom Hartmann Show this afternoon--that's a very nice spread for the piece.

I'm sure there are staffers on the Hill who read the site--but there are few who have the point-to-point influence you are seeking.

But we'll get there. So, stick around. And tell a few friends...

[thutmosis]

Beautiful!!! But where are the Democrats that will keep these conversations fresh in the public eye? so far only Gore, Murtha, and Feingold. Other DC Dems wait till somebody else tests the waters before opening their mouths.

Gore, Murtha, and Feingold have been great, but there is no follow up or building on their themes by other DC Democrats.

Still why don't DC Democrats do any of this? Now the Republicans are framing the Abramoff Scandal as a need to Reform lobbyists and the DC Dems, like sheep, are coming out with their own Reform proposals. What about the corruption of Republican legislators and of the WH? It will get lost in all the "Reform" mumbo jumbo.

It seems DC Democrats are just interested in maintaining their power and the status quo. They seem to be just a gang of DINOS.

For Progressives aspiring to take over a house of congress or even the presidency and expecting that DC Dems will get their act together and become what they should be-An Aggressive Opposition Party- is a prescription for further disaster at the polls and continued minority status.
What is needed
1)-A netroots effort
2)-Young and aggresive new candidates that want change
3)-Use of Language as a key mechanism to control the fight against Republican Propaganda and to define a candidate's campaign and his vision of service to his future constituents.
This is the most important ingredient for succesful winning. It has worked for Republicans, and will keep Democrats as a minority if it's not learned and applied
4-Replacing the deadwood in DC Dems that are not doing what they were elected to do.