The Democrats’ Keep-It-Simple Strategy
By Robert Ringer - Thursday, October 13, 2011
As the Occupy Wall Street confusniks continue their odorous turf occupations in Washington, New York, Boston, and other cities across the country, angry far-left politicians are becoming emboldened. So much so that they’re planning to fall back on one of their favorite rules of engagement: “Whatever we’ve done wrong, turn it around 180 degrees and blame it on the other side.”
Thus, with straight faces, we have:
Nancy Pelosi saying, “I didn’t hear him [Eric Cantor] say anything when the tea party was out demonstrating, actually spitting on members of Congress right here in the Capitol, and he and his colleagues were putting signs in the windows encouraging them.”
You do remember the spitting, don’t you? I’m talking about the spitting for which no one was interested in collecting a $100,000 reward from Andrew Breitbart just for showing proof that it actually occurred. I guess progressives who were present at that particular tea party event hate capitalism so much that they didn’t want to step forward with the evidence and have to accept all that filthy money.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer saying, “I don’t know whether Mr. Cantor watched any of the town meetings that we had in August of 2009, [but] they were much more confrontational in many respects than these [Occupy Wall Street] demonstrations are.”
Really? Funny, but I was at three of the biggest tea party rallies, and not only did I not see anyone get arrested, but no one even came close to getting out of line. But with a name like Steny, one tends to see the world in a different light — a light that shines glory on 700 anti-capitalist protestors being arrested.
Chuck Schumer, criminal mastermind of the Senate, encouraging fellow felons in Congress and the White House to pound away at Republicans with phrases like “tea party economics,” “tea party double-dip recession,” and “tea party gridlock.” These slogans are predicated on the notion that the tea party has hijacked the Republican Party and is preventing Republicans from working with Democrats to pass another stimulus bill aimed at finishing off what’s left of the U.S. economy.
Will this bodacious projection strategy work? Possibly. Polls show that the highly gullible American public has a much lower opinion of the tea party than it did when tea partiers helped fumigate the halls of Congress in the 2008 mid-term elections — which means Americans are, indeed, being fooled by the Democrats’ lies.
If the Democrats keep their message simple — even if the message has no coherent meaning (You do remember “hope and change,” don’t you?) or is completely false — the masses are prone to buying into it.
That’s why Schumer said he hopes Democrats will use the anti-tea party slogans “at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.” The idea, going all the way back to the Greek and Roman empires, is to speak in unison and keep the message simple.
As we all know, James Carville was a master at this art, pounding home one simple message to his fellow Democrats in 1992: “It’s the economy, stupid.” A lot of Republicans didn’t think it would work, but they were wrong. It worked so well, in fact, that it helped elect a smooth-talking Arkansan with a sexually checkered past to the office of president of the United States.
Republican presidential candidates would do well to stop pounding each other and focus on the enemy’s projection tactics. You can’t assume people will know a lie when they hear one. You have to explain it to them, day in and day out — in simple terms. The enemy is relentless.
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Copyright © 2012 Robert Ringer
ROBERT RINGER is a New York Times #1 bestselling author and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. He has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, The Tonight Show, Today, The Dennis Miller Show, Good Morning America, The Lars Larson Show, ABC Nightline, and The Charlie Rose Show, and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times.
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14 Responses to “The Democrats’ Keep-It-Simple Strategy”
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Keep the it simple stupid:
Translation: The ignorant (sometimes stupid) masses are not sophisticated or interested enough in hearing a well-thought-out, truthful message. Whatever you do, don’t tell them the truth. Because the truth is too painful, and telling a simple-minded voter the painful truth won’t get us reelected.
1) Yes, keep the propaganda simple, appeal to jealously and other base instincts.
2) Console the bewildered masses by telling them that they are victims of the greedy capitalists.
3) Yes, blame the rich over and over and over again, but don’t blame the oligarchy—-i.e. we elite rulers who have enriched ourselves through ill gotten gains—-yes, exclude us, and blame ALL of the other rich people for not paying their “fair share.”
4) Cry out for more taxes without letup—-on and on and on—tax the 1%, tax the 1%, tax the 1%. We are the 99%, we are the 99%. We have the majority! Majority rules!
5) Find a very rich, moralizing shill, like Buffet—-you know, somebody who employs an army of lawyers, accounts and lobbyists to shelter his money offshore where it’ll be safe from the IRS— and yes, use Buffet as a propaganda tool; because the ignorant masses with never catch on to how the game is played.
6) Blame our failures on our opponents—-you know, gridlock, the poor economy, the lack of jobs and everything else that you can think of—-yes, blame the other side.
7) Co-opt any unrest—you know, like the Occupy protesters—because that’s what really advances our demagoguery.
What’s the answer?
The counter move to all of the collectivists’ propaganda in this type of an info-war is to promote the simple truth. Then, after telling the simple truth, reach out and educate, educate and educate some more.
The Occupy movement has been mostly co-opted by the collectivists; however, libertarians, classical liberals and other critical thinkers are having some limited success in helping young revolutionaries see through the specious, political rhetoric.
Sadly, the Occupy movement will weaponized and turned against those who love free-markets and low taxes.
Outreach through truth in education is all that’s left to do for the ignorant protesters. Individuals like Glenn Beck never even attempted any outreach, but, rather, he immediately attacked. GB even attacked students of The Austrian School of Economics who were outreaching to the young—-Just another one of your big, ignorant mistakes Glenn, very big.
WHAT IS THE ANSWER:
1) End The Fed.
2) No More Ponzi Economics.
3) Ron Paul 2012.
4) Ron Paul Revolution.
5) Crony Socialism is not the answer.
6) End The Wars.
7) READ: How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes.
educate youth (and teach them to think). the second word is more important than the first. once bought & paid for, plugged in, the sponges dry – pragmatism, cognitive dissonance / rationalization, other corruptions harden – and the majority of people become un-educable, because psych/emotion stuff overpowers whatever thinking ability, integrity, they may have had. and this process starts with grade school. that observation is borne out in these conversations, repeatedly.
reunion,
True.
And let it be a bridge to a KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid
Ultimately, the goal is—as you have repeatedly illustrated— Keeping it supremely simple: Private property and contracts.
End all centralized government.
“Ultimately, the goal is—as you have repeatedly illustrated— Keeping it supremely simple: Private property and contracts.”
Private property and contracts; What a concept! Thx RS for the reminder.
< We are the 99%, we are the 99%.
i got the conch! I got the conch!
conch-lear implants, is more like it, attenuated to "correct" frequencies ("can you hear the ocean? I can – it's talking to me, telling me everything I need to know…"…ha)…like those killer drones…..
reunion,
Take a look at this: Congressman Jackson Jr. wants Obama to “declare a national emergency” and take control by “extra-constitutional” means.
They’re unveiling their plan for amerika. We all new this was coming:
http://dailycaller.com/2011/10/12/jackson-obama-should-declare-a-national-emergency-add-jobs-with-extra-constitutional-action/
sigh…i was going to cite lincoln (and his crew) – again – as the alpha constitution shredder(s), but jjjr beat me to it, albeit approvingly, of course.
since lincoln, at the least, “extra-constitutional” has been a misnomer. in fact, it has been a complete lie. there is no constitution. it’s last gasp was appomattox.
if these hegemons pull jjjr’s “plan”, maybe a significant fraction will finally get it. or maybe that will merely finally bring the frog’s water temp up the last bit, to full boil, and they will fully be what they’ve long appeared to be: bobbing bits of cooked meat.
i know how i’m betting.
R & RS: the hedge bet is the correct bet at this time in history; defensive, protect family and property to the extent possible and plan for the worst outcome.
BTW R, thanks for the tutorials on Lincoln. To all the Lincoln lovers out there including Mark Levin and Bill O’Reilly, you could learn something from Reunion. As Levin would say…”pay attention, I’m educating you!”
This goes to the heart of RR’s question in the post above: simple propaganda for the simple minded is what the statists count on working.
“2008 mid-term” I think you meant “2010″ although the 2010 is the mid-term of the 2008-2012 election cycle.
Robert,
Good Luck…. The problems with the KISS models, and the “stupidity of the public” models is that the public is neither stupid nor uneducated.
Rather: the Left has deliberately misinformed the public at every level. I know many professionals who would consider my views totally whacky and extreme… but if they knew how many of their “facts” were nothing more than lies they would explode. Especially when they realize their plans for the future are already worthless for one or more of a couple of dozen Megatrends controlled by the Left.
Further: People have a tendency to be delusional and egotistical. Hence they consider their own fantasies to be more important than evidence which contradicts their opinions. These delusions have a very high threshold to overturn.
So… I have hope, but I am am not holding my breath.
< the public is neither stupid nor uneducated.
given the weight of the evidence to the contrary, incumbent upon you to define “stupid” and “uneducated”, as well as how that relates to “delusional” and “egotistical”.
what, if any, reverse statute of limitations is there on being “misinformed”? when do the innocents become co-conspirators?
when does secular idolatry, or demonizing, and capitalization of directions (left, right), and paired wings, as diagnosis and prescription, finally come to be recognized as a projection variation on “if thine right eye offends the, pluck it out”…which is to say, tribal, unthinking, obedient, dogmatic?
among other charms, when do these aspects and attributes get recognized as stupid, uneducated, delusional & egotistical?
When you are dealing with Pinocchio deceivers like Ms. Pelosi and her Congressional cohorts and all their Spin masters you have to come up with a better plan ( or is it a “better, but true, lie”?)
The masses will always respond to a better deal, so give them one. Most of these people are selfish, narcissist, and (should I say it?) DUMB. Saul Alinsky and Marx and Lenin and Stalin and Castro and yes, Hitler as well, knew this as a basic fact of society. The masses want to follow a Pied Piper to Nirvana. So… give them a better Nirvana, a brighter shining star they can latch their dreams onto and follow willingly.
The key here is to study Alinsky’s rules and follow them, but arrive at a different destination. When you’re fighting fire, you don’t use gasoline; you use a fire extinguisher or water to put it out. In the same way, you have to fight the lies that the Democrats are spouting by coming up with a better end game – more for the masses. More freedom, more opportunity, more money, better education, a better outcome for all – a truly possible Nirvana sitting on the hill that all can obtain if they listen and believe.
How? Turn the Democrats and Progressives into the bad guys who discriminate and hold the individual down and won’t let each person achieve and progress as far as he or she wants to go. After all, how long as it been since LBJ’s War on Poverty and its billions with no discernable results? Bring that failure to the forefront and offer a real “out” to something better.
Apply every one of Alinsky’s rules and the rules that dictators and their ilk have been using forever to that positive end – a better life for the individual and respect for everyone’s dream. Turn the nameless masses that the Democrats and Progressives and Leftists don’t care about and only use for their own gains into real live people who always will want more for themselves and their families.
Most people like respect from others and most people want the opportunity to be happier and more successful and give their kids more than they had. That aspect is innately human. The Alinsky types use that slogan for their own ends, but never deliver much to the little person beyond promises to be delivered in a “someday” that never comes. The key to beating them is a better product that actually delivers something tangible, something really useful sooner, even if that tangible benefit is only more self-respect and inclusion in the end game.
You have to beat these guys at their own game by using competitive advantage and basic marketing tools that work every day in the marketplace. You don’t win by going after the messenger; you win by going after those who are getting the wrong message and converting them with a better message and actual countable results, in effect “ a better screwdriver that actually works.