We suppose that after seizing power yet again , in the lazy arc of the pendulum swing , there is the fervent hope that the party that abandoned pride , self respect , country , and any semblance of sanity , will find the happiness they so ruthlessly seek in the pursuit of absolute power .

Drum: "..and see if the noise machine plays along"

Our problems most always can be traced to: the truth not penetrating through the noise machine.

One start to fixing this, is for all of us to join media reform movements such as www.freepress.net

We have the news from the NYT today "Wall St. Helped To Mask Debts Shaking Europe", detailing how Goldman Sachs, et. al. have helped worsen the Greek crisis and undermined the Euro. Resentment against Wall St. is about to spike once again.

Is this latest piece of wisdom from Frank Luntz really all that intelligent? Filibustering a financial reform bill looks like suicide to me.

As Al Davis used to say, "just win, baby."

And they will. Because in a contest of ideas pitting complexity against bumper stickers, the latter will prevail. We don't like to burlesque reality for various reasons and it's killing us.

Off topic, but there I am at the gym that has a bank of teeves and I am treated to the spectacle of the esteemed journalist Tucker Carlson complaining that liberal arts programs at colleges turn students into "liberals" and what can be done about this? Avoid college? . WTF is wrong with those people? Threatened that an education might open someones eyes to other points of view . I hope someone has a clip of that world class asshole.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/secretmoney/outside_groups/committee_for_truth_in_politic/

Interesting! This guy is suing to prevent the election commision from finding out where is money is coming from.

Not to be nitpicky, but Democrats have a 19-vote majority in the Senate.

"if they can successfully pull off the con "

What I tell you three times is true:

Republicans lie. They are using the tactics of the communists, "One lie told often enough becomes truth." (thanks Vlad Lenin) There is one standard lie for every issue for example:

The stimulus did work, they say it did not, when in fact the stimulus did work and prevented another Republican created Great Depression.

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Republicans lie. They are using the tactics of the communists, "One lie told often enough becomes truth." (thanks Vlad Lenin) There is one standard lie for every issue for example:

The stimulus did work, they say it did not, when in fact the stimulus did work and prevented another Republican created Great Depression.
-----------

Republicans lie. They are using the tactics of the communists, "One lie told often enough becomes truth." (thanks Vlad Lenin) There is one standard lie for every issue for example:

The stimulus did work, they say it did not, when in fact the stimulus did work and prevented another Republican created Great Depression.

"Senate Republicans will likely to try to block a vote on reform."
The Lieberdems don't want to take this vote either. Hell, not only are Ben Nelson and Blanche Lincoln going to filibuster, I bet the Senators from NY and some other Wall Street Senators like Dodd help them stifle reform.

The value in this episode is that it pulls back the curtain on how right wing rheotoric works and why it is successful.

Frank Luntz polls to find out what people's underlying beliefs are -- government bad, Wall Street worse, teenagers have it too easy, too many illegals coming across the border, whatever.

Then Luntz tells Republicans how they can win the public to their side by designing messages that reinforce these underlying beliefs, prejudices, whatever.

Sure, it makes no sense that Republicans would try to argue against an anti-bank but pro-consumer bill that Wall Street hates by saying it does the opposite -- that it actually is another Wall Street bailout. It is a lie, but it is a plausible lie because it reinforces things the public already believes. You'd never be able to get away with something like this when the three networks controlled the news that people saw. But if you own your own media apparatus in FOX, Rush, the WSJ editorial page then anything is possible. And if it works, why wouldn't people like Luntz and Rove keep lying until people call them on it to such an extent that polls show the public catching and Republicans paying a price for it.

Democrats and liberals are still arguing on the merits of stuff. They haven't quite comprehended how opinions are really formed. This is what linguist and cognitive scientist George Lakoff tries to get at with the idea of the the unconscious mind and how it is unlocked using "narratives" or "frames" or "metaphors." It is what Walter Lippmann was getting at when he said that people do not see first and then define, they define first and then see.

The only way to defeat a Frank Luntz Republican is out out-Luntz the Luntzisms. Pronounce the Republicans as more fascist than a Fascist; more socialist than a Socialist; more anti-christian than the Anti-Christ. Then---blame Luntz on the Republicans, and the Republicans on Luntz.

It wouldn't work anywhere else in the world.