Gary J Carter
2008-09-05 15:43:29 UTC
Palin's Speech Tactic: Substitute Cultural Symbols for Actual Policies
By Robert Kuttner, AlterNet. Posted September 4, 2008.
In this strategy, every Democratic misstep is inflated into a cultural
parable, while gaping holes in the Republican story are neatly
sidestepped.
So now we understand what John McCain's handlers were up to: Intensify
the culture wars, and once again use cultural symbols as substitutes
for policies. In particular, use Hockey Mom Sarah Palin to change the
subject from why regular Americans are hurting in the pocketbook to
why Palin is a more regular American than Barack Obama. Will the
Democrats change it back? Whether they do will decide the election.
Last night, we learned once again how Republicans keep managing to
turn seemingly weak candidates and weaker economic circumstances into
instruments of political victory: They are superb at creating master
narratives that make Democrats, liberals, and "the media" into the
cultural enemies of ordinary people.
Those who view this as an overly narrow and outmoded Rovian tactic of
throwing raw (moose) meat at the conservative base miss the point. The
strategy of energizing the base is leveraged into using cultural
symbols to reach out to everyone else who is frustrated with how
little they get back from the economy and the government--not just
hard core right-to-life women in Missouri and Oklahoma, but downwardly
mobile white men in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In this strategy, every little Democratic misstep is inflated into a
cultural parable, while gaping holes in the Republican story are
neatly sidestepped. The master narrative of Obama as an unqualified
elitist will be reinforced again and again this fall, as it was last
night with Palin lines like these: "I guess a small-town mayor is sort
of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual
responsibilities." "I might add that in small towns, we don't quite
know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people
when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling
to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. We
prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and
another way in San Francisco." (If you think that Palin came up with
these zingers herself, I have a bridge-to-nowhere to sell you.)
Republicans consistently play this kind of hardball. And, as effective
as the Democratic convention was, it did not quite have as consistent
a master narrative. Only at peak moments did the Democrats rise the
necessary shaming of McCain, as in John Kerry's superbly indignant
speech, Biden's talk of the kitchen-table frustrations of regular
Americans, and a few of Obama's better lines.
If the Republican master strategists can use Sarah Palin as
Everywoman, just as they successfully used George W. Bush as the
aw-shucks champion of regular people, they could turn the trick with a
trained monkey.
Will they succeed yet again? That depends on two factors.
One is whether Sarah Palin's faux-feminist machismo, Alaska style, is
just a little too weird for the lower-48. Can she and her handlers
succeed in using purely symbolic appeals to camouflage her actual
record and the plain contradictions in her story? Only time will tell.
As Tim Egan, who has covered Alaska for the Times, has observed, she
may be the only vice presidential candidate since Teddy Roosevelt who
"knows how to field dress a moose," in Fred Thompson's memorable words
(note to SNL, how about a moose in a party dress), but how many other
Americans have actually dressed a moose-or care?
In defending Palin, Republican spokesmen (emphasis on men) charmingly
discovered a new word-"sexist." Rightwingers who have long urged a
traditional division of labor in the family found it sexist that some
bloggers and talking heads were wondering why a "traditional values"
mother of a newborn special needs baby and a pregnant 17-year old
would abruptly jump into national politics. One Republican mouthpiece
indignantly asked an NPR interviewer why she wasn't criticizing Barack
Obama for leaving his daughters at home. Rudy Giuliani, of all people,
asked: "How dare they question whether Sarah Palin has enough time to
spend with her children and be vice president. How dare they do that?
When do they ever ask a man that question?"
But isn't the family-values story that moms are supposed to stay home
(and that high school girls are supposed to be abstinent?) They
question is whether the broad, non-base public notices the plain
hypocrisy. Somehow, it's hard to imagine Hillary voters being
impressed.
The more important factor, of course, is economic. For nearly a week,
the Palin drama has diverted attention from the real issue in the
campaign-the weak economy and its effect on regular Americans. This
was the Republican gamble. McCain's handlers were willing to take the
messy Palin details in exchange for the distraction. Indeed, the rich
details served to amplify the distraction.
It's understandable that McCain and Palin want to change the subject,
for they have so little to offer voters. Bloggers and talking heads
have taken the bait. And it's legitimate that they should expose the
holes in Palin's story. But the responsibility for changing the
subject back to pocketbook issues belongs to the Democrats.
This morning in my emailbox, was a point by point rebuttal of Palin's
speech, sent by Obama economic spokesman Jason Furman, in mind-numbing
detail. (Palin as mayor increased the Wasilla sales tax from 2.0 to
2.5 percent, etc., etc.)
This will endear the Obama campaign to liberal policy wonks
everywhere, but it is no substitute for a master narrative. Unless
Obama and Biden use every opportunity to hammer home how the right has
played working Americans for suckers, culture will trump economics yet
again.
Robert Kuttner is the author of Obama's Challenge: America's Economic
Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency, just released by
Chelsea Green. He is the co-founder and co-editor of The American
Prospect magazine, as well as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the
think tank Demos.
By Robert Kuttner, AlterNet. Posted September 4, 2008.
In this strategy, every Democratic misstep is inflated into a cultural
parable, while gaping holes in the Republican story are neatly
sidestepped.
So now we understand what John McCain's handlers were up to: Intensify
the culture wars, and once again use cultural symbols as substitutes
for policies. In particular, use Hockey Mom Sarah Palin to change the
subject from why regular Americans are hurting in the pocketbook to
why Palin is a more regular American than Barack Obama. Will the
Democrats change it back? Whether they do will decide the election.
Last night, we learned once again how Republicans keep managing to
turn seemingly weak candidates and weaker economic circumstances into
instruments of political victory: They are superb at creating master
narratives that make Democrats, liberals, and "the media" into the
cultural enemies of ordinary people.
Those who view this as an overly narrow and outmoded Rovian tactic of
throwing raw (moose) meat at the conservative base miss the point. The
strategy of energizing the base is leveraged into using cultural
symbols to reach out to everyone else who is frustrated with how
little they get back from the economy and the government--not just
hard core right-to-life women in Missouri and Oklahoma, but downwardly
mobile white men in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In this strategy, every little Democratic misstep is inflated into a
cultural parable, while gaping holes in the Republican story are
neatly sidestepped. The master narrative of Obama as an unqualified
elitist will be reinforced again and again this fall, as it was last
night with Palin lines like these: "I guess a small-town mayor is sort
of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual
responsibilities." "I might add that in small towns, we don't quite
know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people
when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling
to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. We
prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and
another way in San Francisco." (If you think that Palin came up with
these zingers herself, I have a bridge-to-nowhere to sell you.)
Republicans consistently play this kind of hardball. And, as effective
as the Democratic convention was, it did not quite have as consistent
a master narrative. Only at peak moments did the Democrats rise the
necessary shaming of McCain, as in John Kerry's superbly indignant
speech, Biden's talk of the kitchen-table frustrations of regular
Americans, and a few of Obama's better lines.
If the Republican master strategists can use Sarah Palin as
Everywoman, just as they successfully used George W. Bush as the
aw-shucks champion of regular people, they could turn the trick with a
trained monkey.
Will they succeed yet again? That depends on two factors.
One is whether Sarah Palin's faux-feminist machismo, Alaska style, is
just a little too weird for the lower-48. Can she and her handlers
succeed in using purely symbolic appeals to camouflage her actual
record and the plain contradictions in her story? Only time will tell.
As Tim Egan, who has covered Alaska for the Times, has observed, she
may be the only vice presidential candidate since Teddy Roosevelt who
"knows how to field dress a moose," in Fred Thompson's memorable words
(note to SNL, how about a moose in a party dress), but how many other
Americans have actually dressed a moose-or care?
In defending Palin, Republican spokesmen (emphasis on men) charmingly
discovered a new word-"sexist." Rightwingers who have long urged a
traditional division of labor in the family found it sexist that some
bloggers and talking heads were wondering why a "traditional values"
mother of a newborn special needs baby and a pregnant 17-year old
would abruptly jump into national politics. One Republican mouthpiece
indignantly asked an NPR interviewer why she wasn't criticizing Barack
Obama for leaving his daughters at home. Rudy Giuliani, of all people,
asked: "How dare they question whether Sarah Palin has enough time to
spend with her children and be vice president. How dare they do that?
When do they ever ask a man that question?"
But isn't the family-values story that moms are supposed to stay home
(and that high school girls are supposed to be abstinent?) They
question is whether the broad, non-base public notices the plain
hypocrisy. Somehow, it's hard to imagine Hillary voters being
impressed.
The more important factor, of course, is economic. For nearly a week,
the Palin drama has diverted attention from the real issue in the
campaign-the weak economy and its effect on regular Americans. This
was the Republican gamble. McCain's handlers were willing to take the
messy Palin details in exchange for the distraction. Indeed, the rich
details served to amplify the distraction.
It's understandable that McCain and Palin want to change the subject,
for they have so little to offer voters. Bloggers and talking heads
have taken the bait. And it's legitimate that they should expose the
holes in Palin's story. But the responsibility for changing the
subject back to pocketbook issues belongs to the Democrats.
This morning in my emailbox, was a point by point rebuttal of Palin's
speech, sent by Obama economic spokesman Jason Furman, in mind-numbing
detail. (Palin as mayor increased the Wasilla sales tax from 2.0 to
2.5 percent, etc., etc.)
This will endear the Obama campaign to liberal policy wonks
everywhere, but it is no substitute for a master narrative. Unless
Obama and Biden use every opportunity to hammer home how the right has
played working Americans for suckers, culture will trump economics yet
again.
Robert Kuttner is the author of Obama's Challenge: America's Economic
Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency, just released by
Chelsea Green. He is the co-founder and co-editor of The American
Prospect magazine, as well as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the
think tank Demos.