The Message Thing
By JIM WALLIS
SINCE the 2004 election, there has been much soul-searching and hand-wringing,
especially among Democrats, about how to "frame" political messages. The loss to
George W. Bush was painful enough, but the Republicans' post-election claims of
mandate, and their triumphal promises to relegate the Democrats to permanent
minority status, left political liberals in a state of panic.
So the minority party has been searching, some would say desperately, for the
right "narrative": the best story line, metaphors, even magic words to bring
back electoral success. The operative term among Democratic politicians and
strategists has become "framing." How to tell the story has become more
important than the story itself. And that could be a bigger mistake for the
Democrats than the ones they made during the election.
Language is clearly important in politics, but the message remains more
important than the messaging. In the interests of full disclosure, let me note
that I have been talking to the Democrats about both. But I believe that first,
you must get your message straight. What are your best ideas, and what are you
for-as opposed to what you're against in the other party's message? Only when
you answer those questions can you figure out how to present your message to the
American people.
Because the Republicans, with the help of the religious right, have captured the
language of values and religion (narrowly conceived as only abortion and gay
marriage), the Democrats have also been asking how to "take back the faith." But
that means far more than throwing a few Bible verses into policy discussions,
offering candidates some good lines from famous hymns, or teaching them how to
clap at the right times in black churches. Democrats need to focus on the
content of religious convictions and the values that underlie them.
The discussion that shapes our political future should be one about moral
values, but the questions to ask are these: Whose values? Which values? And how
broadly and deeply will our political values be defined? Democrats must offer
new ideas and a fresh agenda, rather than linguistic strategies to sell an old
set of ideologies and interest group demands.
To be specific, I offer five areas in which the Democrats should change their
message and then their messaging.
First, somebody must lead on the issue of poverty, and right now neither party
is doing so. The Democrats assume the poverty issue belongs to them, but with
the exception of John Edwards in his 2004 campaign, they haven't mustered the
gumption to oppose a government that habitually favors the wealthy over everyone
else. Democrats need new policies to offer the 36 million Americans, including
13 million children, who live below the poverty line, as well as the 9.8 million
families one recent study identified as "working hard but falling short."
In fact, the Democrats should draw a line in the sand when it comes to wartime
tax cuts for the wealthy, rising deficits, and the slashing of programs for
low-income families and children. They need proposals that combine to create a
"living family income" for wage-earners, as well as a platform of "fair trade,"
as opposed to just free trade, in the global economy. Such proposals would cause
a break with many of the Democrats' powerful corporate sponsors, but they would
open the way for a truly progressive economic agenda. Many Americans, including
religious voters who see poverty as a compelling issue of conscience, desire
such a platform.
Similarly, a growing number of American Christians speak of the environment as a
religious concern - one of stewardship of God's creation. The National
Association of Evangelicals recently called global warming a faith issue. But
Republicans consistently choose oil and gas interests over a cleaner world. The
Democrats need to call for the reversal of these priorities. They must insist
that private interests should never obstruct our country's path to a cleaner and
more efficient energy future, let alone hold our foreign policy hostage to the
dictates of repressive regimes in the Middle East.
On the issues that Republicans have turned into election-winning "wedges,"
Democrats will win back "values voters" only with fresh ideas. Abortion is one
such case. Democrats need to think past catchphrases, like "a woman's right to
choose," or the alternative, "safe, legal and rare." More than 1 million
abortions are performed every year in this country. The Democrats should set
forth proposals that aim to reduce that number by at least half. Such a campaign
could emphasize adoption reform, health care, and child care; combating teenage
pregnancy and sexual abuse; improving poor and working women's incomes; and
supporting reasonable restrictions on abortion, like parental notification for
minors (with necessary legal protections against parental abuse). Such a program
could help create some much-needed common ground.
As for "family values," the Democrats can become the truly pro-family party
by supporting parents in doing the most important and difficult job in America:
raising children. They need to adopt serious pro-family policies, including some
that defend children against Hollywood sleaze and Internet pornography. That's
an issue that has come to be identified with the religious right. But when I say
in public lectures that being a parent is now a countercultural activity, I've
found that liberal and conservative parents agree. Rather than fighting over gay
marriage, the Democrats must show that it is indeed possible to be "pro-family"
and in favor of gay civil rights at the same time.
Finally, on national security, Democrats should argue that the safety of the
United States depends on the credibility of its international leadership. We can
secure that credibility in Iraq only when we renounce any claim to oil or future
military bases - something Democrats should advocate as the first step toward
bringing other countries to our side. While Republicans have argued that
international institutions are too weak to be relied upon in the age of
terrorism, Democrats should suggest reforming them, creating a real
International Criminal Court with an enforcement body, for example, as well as
an international force capable of intervening in places like Darfur. Stronger
American leadership in reducing global poverty would also go a long way toward
improving the country's image around the world.
Until Democrats are willing to be honest about the need for new social policy
and compelling political vision, they will never get the message right. Find the
vision first, and the language will follow.
Jim Wallis, the editor of Sojourners magazine, is the author of "God's
Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It."