Lexicon: Spending Words

Some words about spending don't really mean what you think.

It goes beyond the eye-rolling the typical American did when confronted with Bill Clinton's legalistic parsing of the word "is."  When accused of lying to the Grand Jury when he said "There is nothing going on between us," Clinton later defended his statement as truthful saying, "It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is."  He was only continuing the frustrating tradition of lawyers and politicians to make words not mean what most people think they mean.

Two areas of government activity - taxing and spending - create an enormous amount of emotional responses both good and bad.  Today we will talk about words used about spending that don't necessarily mean what you think.

Spending Cuts - doesn't mean you are spending less.

According to National Public Radio, both President Obama and Rep. Paul Ryan have proposed alternative cuts in spending.  According to the news report, Obama " laid out a sweeping vision to cut government deficits by more than $4 trillion in 12 years through tax increases and spending cuts phased in over time."    At the same time, Rep. Paul Ryan, according to NPR proposed a "recent budget blueprint calls for more than $6.2 trillion in spending cuts — many unspecified — over the next decade."  

Neither man proposes a budget where the United States Federal Government spend less money ten years from now than it spends today.  Instead these proposals predict less spending compared to what would occur under the Congressional Budget Office's Baseline Projections.  This projection assumes all current laws stay in place.  So when you "cut" spending in Washington it doesn't mean you are spending less money this year compared to last year - it really means you assume you will spend much more in the future than your plan.

Investing - it sounds better than spending.

When Barack Obama signed the stimulus bill signed the 2009 stimulus bill, he used the word "invest" or  "investment" fifteen times in his speech.  Politicians  shy away from characterizing Government expenditures as "spending."  The word suggests a loss - that the money is spent, gone, with nothing to show for it.  An investment, on the other hand, suggests that we will obtain a return on that money - indeed we will get more money back than we spent.  

QUESTION:  What other words have you heard politicians use instead of the word "spending?"

Use Meaningless Words II: Divisive

Rhetoric: Divisive proposals/policies are bad!

Reality: Big Issues can't be solved without upsetting someone - it means we have real choices

Divisive Defined: A derogatory label attached to an opponent's policies, proposals, or statements implying hostility, disdain, unwillingness to compromise, or callow disregard toward another group of people in an effort to create disunity, disharmony, and dissatisfaction. See also "wedge issues."  

When National Public Radio's Guy Raz asked Ari Shapiro how , Shapiro discussed the crowd's 

Discussing Paul Ryan's impact on Romney campaign events crowds, National Public Radio's Ari Shapiro told Guy Raz, "They really love Paul Ryan. They're passionate about this guy."

"What is it about Paul Ryan that gets them motivated?" Raz asked.

"They like the ideas he puts out," Shapiro said, "They like the budget, his willingness to not just criticize the other side, what the Democrats are doing, but put out proposals that are really controversial, that are, you know, very divisive in some ways, that have drawn a lot of criticism from Democrats. The Republicans I'm talking to see that as a badge of honor, and they think it was a bold decision of Romney to bring Ryan onto the ticket knowing that he's going to take all this incoming fire."

Political campaigns, and elections in particular, are - and should be - about competing policy ideas how to solve the issues of the day.  Some issues, especially important issues, cannot solved with universal consensus.  An election without differing proposed solutions and policies is an election with no meaningful choice at all. 

Still, it is a rhetorical device used across the political spectrum.  In his acceptance speech, Paul Ryan said, "You would think that any president, whatever his party, would make job creation, and nothing else, his first order of economic business.  But this president didn't do that. Instead, we got a long, divisive, all-or-nothing attempt to put the federal government in charge of health care."

Policies or proposals that target, favorably or unfavorably, one group over another are also labeled "divisive."  Two current examples:  

Proposals favoring one economic group over another, particularly in tax policy are labeled "divisive."  “'Congressman Cicilline engages in divisive class warfare where he tries to paint himself as someone who will stand up to the wealthy on behalf of the middle class,, said Doherty Campaign Manager Ian Prior."

Opposition Gay Marriage, particularly opposition, is labeled "divisive."  When Romney expressed support for traditional marriage, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation wrote, "If Gov. Romney truly desires to represent all Americans, Log Cabin Republicans encourages him to avoid divisive social issues and focus on jobs and the economy."

QUESTION:  Do you agree that "divisive" is an overused word in politics today?  What is an example you have seen where it was used correctly?

Use Meaningless Words Part I: Special Interests

Use Meaningless Words Part I: Special Interests
Your Audience will fill in their own meanings

Adept politicians will use a stable of meaningless words that sound good, mean nothing, and allow the audience to fill in the meaning they prefer.  Few words meet this definition better than the pejorative term "special interests." 

The Actual Definition of a Special Interest:  Any interest group to which you do not belong that seeks furtherance of its particular interest through the political process by means of legislation or regulations supporting its goals, tax exemptions, or government funding. 

The Political Definition of a Special Interest: A narrow minded interest group that seeks favorable unjustified preferential regulations, taxes, legislation or funding at the expense of society as a whole.

Both Obama and Romney rail against "special interests" while at the same time supporting tax breaks and other government benefits for specific groups.  

The Obama Campaign

Barack Obama Campaign vows to fight "special interests" and seeks to paint challenger Mitt Romney as in league with these groups.  

June 2011:  "President Obama is asking four supporters to sit down to dinner with him—and one of them could be you. Consider this your invitation from the President:  I've set aside time for four supporters like you to join me for dinner.  Most campaigns fill their dinner guest lists primarily with Washington lobbyists and special interests.  We didn't get here doing that, and we're not going to start now. We're running a different kind of campaign. We don't take money from Washington lobbyists or special-interest PACs—we never have, and we never will."

Jim Messina, June 2012: "“ In 2010, the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case opened the door to a new wave of so-called Super PACs—non-candidate political committees that can receive and spend unlimited money from special interests. For the first time, these committees could accept money from corporations, not just wealthy individuals.”

Jordan Carmon, August 2012: “I wanted to give to President Obama’s campaign because his is a grassroots campaign. President Obama has people coming around him. Mitt Romney has special interests coming around him. There’s a clear choice we have. And if we all do our part, our voices can’t be drowned out. I’m just trying to do my part.” (Quating "Jennifer" a Health Care Worker in New Hampshire.)

And most recently,  Barack Obama donated $5000.00 to his own campaign (for the first time) explaining in an email, "On its own, what I gave won't be enough to surmount the unprecedented fundraising we've seen on the other side, both from our opponent's campaign and from the outside groups and special interests supporting him."

The Romney Campaign

Mitt Romney derides special interests, "Democrats want to use the slowdown as an excuse to do what their special interests are always begging for: higher taxes, bigger government and less trade with other nations."

July 2012 - “Coming off the worst quarter of job creation in two years, and with the worst jobs record of any president in modern history, it’s clear President Obama has failed to live up to his promises. Yet President Obama is listening more to his campaign donors and special interest groups than to his own jobs council. That makes perfect sense for a president more concerned with re-election than getting the economy back on track.” –Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson.

April 2012 - “Less than four years after promising to drive special interests out of Washington, President Obama has done the exact opposite—granting top donors special favors and access to his White House. This is just another example of President Obama’s failed record, which he’ll be desperate to hide from voters this November.” –Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson.