BAILOUT: I DON’T THINK THAT WORD MEANS WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS

[defrog]

Anybody who (1) follows politics and (2) pays attention knows that it is a curious mix of art, science and fiction. And FactCheck.org has built up a pretty good archive of examples of just how this works – i.e. the tendency of politicians to either play loose with the facts or, if necessary, make them up to get a point across, and fool as many voters as possible to win the next election.

One of the tactics in the politician’s toolbox is “loaded language” – i.e. words carefully selected to provoke an emotional response to an issue regardless of whether it’s an appropriate word for that issue. The idea is to get you to react rather than think.

At the moment, the loaded word du jour for the US mid-terms is “bailout”. And as FactCheck amply demonstrates, it’s no longer being applied strictly to stimulus packages, and it’s not just Republicans using it incorrectly.

It’s interesting reading – at least for old political cynics like me.

Trust no one,

This is dF

Comments

[nebris.livejournal.com]

Joe Bageant's Anonymous Political Consultant said here (http://www.joebageant.com/joe/2008/10/not-new-ideas-b.html); “The mastery of the political right over the past thirty years has been primarily to better understand the irrational factors in politics. Conservatives have always understood that when it comes to politics, people rarely act in their rational self-interest but instead on emotion, fears and the perception of their interests.” from Mass Democracy Has Failed (http://nebris.livejournal.com/3400144.html)