Blog

The Choices When Framing: Your Values or Theirs? (1)

Stephen Cataldo's picture
Stephen Cataldo
Mon 2017-03-27

What's the best way to frame political arguments? Some argue that we should tell stories that express our own values strongly — preferably with many voices repeating and reinforcing the same story; this is the approach in George Lakoff's Don't Think of an Elephant. At the opposite end of the spectrum, we hear advice as in Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind (and Moral Foundations Theory) to spend more time listening to conservative opposition and coming to understand their values — more empathy, more compassion.

Techniques: 
language and frame

Wave Goodbye to Orwell: Framing Lessons from The Onion

Stephen Cataldo
Wed 2017-03-15
A recent Onion article describes Paul Ryan giving earnest and realistic advice to low-income workers, in line with the policies he is promoting and in tune with his values. This style of describing an opponent’s policies and values truthfully, avoiding their Orwellian misdirection without adding your own mockery or snark, is worth exploring as a framing technique.
a series on framing: practical approaches and examples.
Techniques: 
language and frame

Draft: Pressure and Escape Valve

admin
Tue 2017-02-28

The Trump administration is battered. Most blows self-inflicted, a good bit more from the left. It is reeling. It doesn't no where to go.

This means that all that pressure is just leading to a wounded presidency. Perhaps it will lead to President Pence.

Definition: Cognitive Politics

admin
Sun 2017-02-26

Cognitive politics is the effect of psychological factors on partisan identity. This is in contrast to economic, social or religious reasons. For example, someone could be a social-conservative, fiscal-liberal, or cognitive-conservative. It is a subset of the broader field of “political psychology,” but specifically related to partisan identity.

Framing Reviews: Marketing vs. Truth

Stephen Cataldo
Fri 2017-02-24

First in a series on disentangling messaging challenges on the left: Can we use framing and marketing techniques without losing connection to the truth?

"come up with at least one story for every data point."
--Tim Wise

There is a long-running struggle among Democrats: do we want politicians to stick to the truth or start marketing?

Techniques: 
language and frame

Good strategies to apply:

admin
Sun 2017-02-05

1 - Don't focus on him. Know who you are focusing on.
2 - Remember this is a regime and he's not acting alone. Aim your messengers to drive a wedge between his collaborators and their supporters. Call on conservatives who believe in the Constitution to stand up today. Don't judge them by who they voted for last time, but by what they do today.

Thanksgiving After Trump

Stephen Cataldo
Tue 2016-11-22

Do you live in a liberal enclave, and are heading home to see relatives who supported Trump? Feeling furious while reading advice not to shame people?

Own Actions; Focus Judgements

admin
Thu 2016-11-17

11/16/2016 Draft; big changes likely, suggestions welcome

Trying to figure out why so much of some demographics voted for a racist president, there is a fight between two ideologies. One side believes in acceptance: this is largely the fault of liberals for calling other people rednecks and looking down on them; we should respect everyone. The other side keeps saying things about bringing guns to knife fights, calling out racists, naming names and fighting back hard against the people we don't like.