THE DAILY BLADE: A Foreign Language
Slate’s media critic Jack Shafer reports on scholarly research about media bias by two University of Chicago economics professors, Matthew Gentzkow and Jesse M. Shapiro that analyzes Congressional floor speeches to link specific phrases to Republicans or Democrats based on frequency of use:
Prior to reading this paper I would have associated "reform" with Democraticspeak, but Republicans have so completely co-opted the word that it doesn't appear on the Dems' list in any form. Republicans must talk incessantly about "immigration reform," "health liability reform," "UN reform," "class action reform," and "social security reform."
As you might suspect, the Democrats own the word "cuts" in all its variations: "budget cuts," "Medicaid cuts," "bill cuts," "spending cuts," "cut food stamps," "cut student loans," "cut Social Security," "cut health care," and so on. They even own "tax cuts," which I assume is because Republicans avoid the phrase and use "tax relief" instead. Democrats have so locked up the word, I'd find an alternative if I were a headline writer, and I'd think twice about using it outside of quotations if I wrote straight news.
An entire chunk of Canada speaks something that passes for French (so The Stiletto’s Parisian-born father tells her; she doesn’t understand a word they’re saying, either), but those malcontented misfits are isolated in Québec so the rest of the country can pretty much ignore them. We’re not so lucky here in the US, because there’s a lot more commingling between Americans who speak Red State and those who speak Blue State.
So here is a helpful cheat sheet based on the 300 key words and phrases identified by the two professors – plus pundit talking points The Stiletto hears repeated incessantly on TV.
The Stiletto recommends that a Red Stater print and laminate this handy-dandy chart and keep it in his or her wallet to refer to when touring Boston, New York City, San Francisco or other Blue State bastions. With enough practice, a Red Stater will be able to utter these phrases without stumbling over - or choking on - them.
The Stiletto would have invited Blue Staters to carry this chart around as well, but she’s noticed that whenever they travel to Red States (Phoenix and Scottsdale are crawling with them this time of year) they make no effort to ingratiate themselves with the locals. Instead, they prefer to look down on their
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How To Speak |
How To Speak |
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Adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells |
Stem cells |
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Class action; medical liability; tort reform |
Ka-ching!; ka-ching!; ka-ching! |
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Death tax |
Estate tax; tax breaks; tax cuts for the wealthy |
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Felons |
Disenfranchised voters |
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Illegal aliens; illegal immigrants |
Immigrants; migrants; economic refugees |
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Partial birth abortion |
Choice |
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Personal savings accounts; social security reform |
Cut social security; privatization plan |
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Private property rights |
Wildlife refuge |
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Unborn baby; unborn child |
Clump of cells (until labor is imminent); fetus (once labor begins) |
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War on terror |
Bring our troops home; cost of the war; |
Projection TV
In Freudian psychology, "projection" is defined as a defense mechanism in which someone attributes his own unacceptable or repulsive thoughts or feelings to another. The clearest example of this The Stiletto can give without lapsing into "id," "superego" and other Freudian gibberish is every time a Dem or lib predicts an intolerant "backlash" of one sort or another from Republicans or conservatives that never materializes.
For instance, during the Foley sex scandal, Republicans let the chips fall where they may without stoking anti-gay antipathy. Dems and libs, on the other hand, played on people’s fears of promiscuous, predatory and pedophiliac homosexuals victimizing America’s young boys. In leveraging outrage over Foley’s behavior for political advantage, they were projecting their own deepest, darkest feelings about homosexuals onto voters.
In another example, Fortune Magazine reports that, "When MTV Networks launched Logo, a cable TV channel for gay and lesbian viewers, in 2005, "people expected a backlash" and MTV staffers traveled to Tulsa to train customer service reps how to handle complaints. Aside from a handful of negative e-mails sent to an advertiser, the backlash "never happened."
According to Fortune, "The channel will soon reach nearly 25 million homes, and MTV Networks … has made distribution deals for Logo with every major cable operator. Logo also has more than 80 advertisers, including such major brands as American Express, Intel, Kodak, Lexus, Pepsi and Sears."
When will Dems and libs learn not to stereotype Republicans and conservatives as ignorant homophobic racist warmongers?
A Real "Fire Sale"
Shoppers at the Dillards at South at Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, OH, paid no mind to the thick black smoke from an electrical fire that started near a women’s dressing room in the department store – and firefighters had to block the doors to keep more shoppers from entering until they had put the fire out.
In case you didn’t know, Dillards happens to have a fabulous shoe department, so The Stiletto understands completely why the threat of smoke inhalation was not enough to deter bargain hunters from scoping out that perfect pair of black patent leather high-heeled pumps for the whirl of holiday parties coming up.
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