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| THE TROGLODYTE NARRATIVE IN AN EARLIER AND MORE CIVIL AGE |
WHAT BECOMES OF EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY WHEN THE WEST WING
" CANNOT BE HANDCUFFED BY DATA " ?
THE WHITE HOUSE ...
CLIMATE COMMUNICATION PLAYBOOK
"From: christopherlehane@sbcglobal.net To: john.podesta@gmail.com
" CANNOT BE HANDCUFFED BY DATA " ?
A leaked memo shows Climate Progress guru John Podesta hired PR firm Fabiani & Lehane LLC to morph
CLIMATE COMMUNICATION PLAYBOOK
into a ' troglodyte narrative ' with the 'Dialectic' aim of denouncing whoever criticizes Obama's agenda as a 'social misanthrope'
"From: christopherlehane@sbcglobal.net To: john.podesta@gmail.com
Date: 2014-01-28 14:37 Subject: Follow-up [EMPHASIS ADDED IN REDBOLD]
John --
Really nice seeing you last week... .
Per your request, attached is a memorandum outlining a possible unifying approach for the Administration when it comes to climate...
the specific material requested(a range of so-called "frames"...written so as one could just cut and paste... to provide some strategic thinking on the politics of climate ...
Per your request, attached is a memorandum outlining a possible unifying approach for the Administration when it comes to climate...
the specific material requested(a range of so-called "frames"...written so as one could just cut and paste... to provide some strategic thinking on the politics of climate ...
We hope this is helpful and stand ready to support whatever you may need... Break a leg (or a hand, as the case may be) tonight.
Best, Christopher Lehane
Fabiani & Lehane LLC
CLIMATE: A UNIFYING THEORY TO THE CASE
OVERVIEW
Thank you for asking us to share some ideas for a holistic approach to climate. Per your direction, the goal is to unify policy, politics, and communications ...
The unifying theory is best expressed by this basic principle: If the effort to change public opinion on climate change is animated by the same one-off policies and practices that are employed to change public opinion on most other policy issues, then defeat is inevitable...
To achieve victory, we must treat climate change as... a true political social movement to create change... Fully leveraging ... Biblical superstorms, extreme droughts, and historic wildfires...
The unifying theory is best expressed by this basic principle: If the effort to change public opinion on climate change is animated by the same one-off policies and practices that are employed to change public opinion on most other policy issues, then defeat is inevitable...
To achieve victory, we must treat climate change as... a true political social movement to create change... Fully leveraging ... Biblical superstorms, extreme droughts, and historic wildfires...
2. Right v. Wrong (Climate as political social change)...
one cannot be handcuffed by data on a fundamental moral issue of this kind..the magic will not be in the precision of specific words the Administration chooses to use ...
The concept must be big; it must be simple; and it must 'lean in' to where the public is inclined to go ... The Big Idea would be the communications prism, the emotional touchstone, and the policy hub for all climate-related policies...
× Dialectic. At the end of the day... one needs to have an organizing platform that defines ... the opposition as morally responsible for an issue that threatens the health and welfare of the American people. TR had the plutocrats. FDR fought Fascism. LBJ took on poverty. And Reagan had the Soviets...
× Anti-Basic Science... The power of this approach is that it ... fits into what we call the Troglodyte Narrative (anti-women; anti-Latino; anti-gun safety; anti-common sense fiscal policy; and anti-science) that is raising basic trust issues for the Republican Party ...
one cannot be handcuffed by data on a fundamental moral issue of this kind..the magic will not be in the precision of specific words the Administration chooses to use ...
The concept must be big; it must be simple; and it must 'lean in' to where the public is inclined to go ... The Big Idea would be the communications prism, the emotional touchstone, and the policy hub for all climate-related policies...
× Dialectic. At the end of the day... one needs to have an organizing platform that defines ... the opposition as morally responsible for an issue that threatens the health and welfare of the American people. TR had the plutocrats. FDR fought Fascism. LBJ took on poverty. And Reagan had the Soviets...
× Anti-Basic Science... The power of this approach is that it ... fits into what we call the Troglodyte Narrative (anti-women; anti-Latino; anti-gun safety; anti-common sense fiscal policy; and anti-science) that is raising basic trust issues for the Republican Party ...
× Frame climate as... You either are a member of our society or you are a social misanthrope (i.e., litterer, smoker around a pregnant women, etc.).
× Justice... This frame would also fit... the Administration’s focus on equality/opportunity, and could encompass both domestic issues and international issues (rising seas wiping out millions of poor people in Southeast Asia, droughts leading to famine in Africa; rising temperatures creating plagues in Latin America)...
× Anti-Tobacco... We realize that this is likely a bridge too far, but we felt obligated to present it in the range of options...
The Winning Principles
- ending royalties to the most profitable companies in the world and sending the money back to the public as a tax break
- solar panels along our public roads that would reduce energy costs for all Americans
- barring or limiting utilities from charging fees to consumers who put solar panels on their domiciles
- improved drinking water standards
- significantly enhanced liabilities for companies that pollute water or pollute lands with pipeline/rail leaks
- asthma protections; establishment of a significant liability health and safety protocol related to fracking
- banning political contributions from entities that receive federal funding, permits or tax benefits related to public lands
- stronger consumes protection on gas prices to protect against refiners and distributors manipulating the supply lines
- protecting consumers from hot gas
× Briefing on the Big Idea to each and every Department/Agency. And then require that they... be held accountable and responsible.
× Weekly meeting with each agency’s point person and the White House point person.
× White House point person coordinates all activity with the White House communications office.
× Establishment of an extreme weather SWAT team..."
READ THE WHOLE THING HERE:
( HIT 'ATTACHMENT ' TAG ON LINKED PAGE TO VIEW FULL TEXT )
Lehane's opinion of half the electorate may be traced to Montesquieu's Persian Letters :
Lehane's opinion of half the electorate may be traced to Montesquieu's Persian Letters :
In Arabia there were a few people named Troglodytes ... so wicked and brutish that they were strangers to the principles of justice and equity.
