Words Matter

I have very mixed feelings about the election. On the one hand we won the presidency and got Trump out of office. On the other hand, we didn’t manage to take control of the Senate, even though the polls showed we were likely to and we lost seats in the House despite pre-election predictions that we would expand our margins.

For Democrats to have a majority in the Senate and the House means that we have to elect members in states and districts that may not be as liberal as we might think they should be. Most people don’t eat, sleep and drink politics and are more concerned with putting food on their tables, a roof over their heads and raising their kids than studying policy alternatives. So the words that are used to describe certain policy proposals can, and have been, misunderstood.

‘Defund the Police‘

For most of us these words don’t literally mean ‘abolish the police’, but rather use some of the money to attack the causes of crime as well as using other tool – mental health professionals or social workers to address certain kinds of problems rather than relying on law enforcement officers to handle every problem. This is something I personally support. But the phrase: ‘Defund the Police’ sounds to many like a plan to eliminate law enforcement and that is very worrisome to many and was effectively used by Republicans in this past election to scare people.

‘Democratic Socialism’

Many on the left wing of the Democratic Party describe themselves as ‘Democratic Socialists’. Now these folks are not socialists in the traditional sense of mandating state ownership of the means of production and abolishing corporations. In general they seem to be advocating for a return to some of the elements of the New Deal – stronger labor unions, more regulations to hold corporations accountable, a fairer distribution of income through tax policy and so forth. I personally support many of their goals. But…once again the word ‘socialism’ is scary to many people who equate it with communism. Republicans used this word very effectively particularly among Hispanic populations in Florida and Texas.

‘Medicare for All’

I support single-payer health care in our country. Most do not, however. Surveys show that most Americans are satisfied with their health insurance and are fearful, based on phrases like ‘Medicare for All’ that a Democratic majority in the House and Senate would take away their right to choose how they get their healthcare. Medicare has its own problems anyway. I think the idea of a ‘public option’ is a good way to get folks to understand that there can be better ways to pay for their healthcare than the private insurance model.

‘Shut Down the Oil and Gas Industry’

Climate change scares the hell out of me. We had a record number of hurricanes and tropical storms this year and unprecedented wildfires in California, Colorado and other states. This past winter, one of the warmest on record, the Great Lakes didn’t freeze over. This year we have had sixteen weather disasters that cost $1 billion or more. We need to act swiftly to prevent things from getting much worse.

But hundreds of thousands Americans work in the oil and gas industry. How can we say ‘Shut Down the Oil and Gas Industry’ without reassuring these folks that they will have other jobs, at least as good? We have to be more nuanced in our speech if we expect to persuade folks to support our party and our programs.

These are just some examples – there are lots more. If we want to build solid, lasting majorities across the country we need to be much more careful about how we frame our policy choices and the words we use. Words do matter.