Talking to Republicans - Reframing the MAGA Message

by Bev Thomas

After grieving over the election results, it's time to regroup and try to figure out new tactics and strategies for dealing with the challenges ahead. We know that "failure is Impossible" and that we "must persist" in order to save our democracy. But if you're like me, the last thing you want to do is engage with folks who enabled the current GOP regime to win the election. So I decided to explore smarter minds for guidelines that might help us move ahead and win back some of our voting citizens.

Among the many political philosophers and strategies, I found some comprehensive ideas about ways to overcome MAGA messaging from Dr. George Lakoff and Rachael Bitecofer. It's of course helpful to read Heather Cox Richardson, Robert Hubbell, Jessica Craven, etc., but Lakoff and Bitecofer have articulated some specific tactics we could develop and employ to make headway against MAGA lies. These are not necessarily easy ways to message, but we can become trained and skilled.

First, both political scientists encourage all of us to really understand the MAGA mindset and the tools and mechanisms the GOP uses. On the surface, many of these are obvious, but it still takes determination and skill to be a good manipulator of human brains. We have seen these mechanisms in action on Fox TV, at GOP rallies, and among members of Congress. Some of these mechanisms as described by Lakoff and Bitecofer include:

1. Using repetition of ideas and words and keeping messages simple and straightforward, basically many tenets of marketing and sales which are clear and obvious. An example is "Make America Great Again" or "Win, win, win."
2. Employing branding and framing to describe enemies, the opposition, or competition. A sad example is of Hillary Clinton being called a "liar" or "Crooked Hillary." These names have stuck firmly in the minds of thousands of voters.
3. Using language and grammar to instill negative associations with certain concepts such as "Radical Islam Terrorists"...making all of Islam seem inherently full of terrorism. The MAGA leader calls this "truthful hyperbole."
4. Lakoff skillfully describes the numerous unconscious metaphors MAGA uses to manipulate the brains of voters toward the desired direction. These metaphors are a little more complex to ferret out, but it's important to know that this mechanism is used often. Some examples Lakoff describes include: "Make America Safe Again," "A Country is a Person," and "Naming is Identifying." (as in naming enemies to defeat). Lakoff says these metaphors are a form of mind control, and the media should call them out when being used to tell Big Lies. These mechanisms are used often in advertising, but they are more dangerous when MAGA uses them to achieve an authoritarian government.

Second, there are approaches and strategies most of us can utilize to combat the above MAGA efforts, but they are not what we instinctively do or say when angered, disappointed, and depressed by the sad state of our fragile and threatened republic. So here are some digestible steps we can take, recommended by Lakoff and Bitecofer:

A. Don't repeat false MAGA claims and come back with facts to rebut; use positive truthful re-framing and facts to support positive truths; repeat positive messages; use only the term GOP administration" when speaking about the current leader and government and never use the new president's surname. The more we highlight or mention HIM, the more we help him achieve recognition.

B. Avoid shouting matches, nasty exchanges, and attacking language; try to be positive, show empathy, and a good sense of humor. Bill Clinton was popular because of his amazing empathy...focus on values first, facts to serve those values second.

C. Focus on values and what you believe...not data and facts; say what you believe about how public resources and government help our citizens and how they have historically made life better and ensured freedom for all. Don't defend the government, but discuss the positives about good government...how it has protected our citizens, supports people in need and in disasters; how government protects our privacy and private enterprise. Acquire a list of agencies and infrastructure support as examples.

D. De-emphasize identify politics...ouch!! Discuss women's, racial, and gender issues under human and freedom issues. Consider poverty among white Appalachia and the Rust Belt. Remember, Ruth Bader Ginsberg always said reproductive rights should really fall under the Equal Protection Clause in the Constitution, not privacy; so it helps to put positive sensitive issues under broader, more widely acceptable categories.

E. Bitecofer recommends using more counteroffensive tactics rather than always being on the defense. We know too well how often Republicans have managed to put Democrats on the defense with misinformation, distortion, and lies. The most horrific of the many examples of Dems on the defense involves reproductive rights. The Right has co-opted us in the language of "pro life" for years. A more recent example is how Republicans backed Glenn Youngkin's poor public education vision, and attacked Democrats for "critical race theory." Bitecofer says Dems must get tougher, and use counter attacks with simple, loud messages. For example, when Republicans criticize the economy under Dems, we should avoid an academic response with data, and counter with the disastrous Reaganomics which destroyed the middle class. She provides significant depth on the numerous ways to use counteroffensive tactics in her book noted below.

F. Dr. Timothy Snyder***also advises more in-person engagement to counteract the divisiveness so essential to MAGA and autocracies. As uncomfortable as it might feel, he suggests those who want to combat tyranny must get out in their communities, be socially active, talk and engage with unfamiliar people (perhaps Republicans), and make new acquaintances and friends outside their comfort zone. Such activities work against the "we" and "they" mindset so key to fascism.



Most of these thoughts about changing and refining Democratic messaging require focused and coordinated efforts by us individually as well as by the larger progressive coalitions. We need to start doing something differently if we have a hope of regaining many of the voters who have left the Democratic party. We know that Democrats are patriots who constantly work to make life better for American citizens, but we have to learn new ways of fighting back against the insidious, dangerous threat to our democratic principles posed by the Fascist, MAGA movement. A good first step might be to start reading and learning about the new mechanisms described above. Maybe a second step will be to develop training and/or focus groups so we can implement a few of them in our own spheres of life. The reading sources behind this discussion are:

Dr. George Lakoff's book, "Don't Think of an Elephant," and his website, www.theframelab.org

Rachael Bitcofer's book, "Hit 'Em Where it Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game."

***Dr. Timothy Snyder's book, "On Tyranny."