CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
May 6, 2009 – 10:06 p.m.
Luntz Shapes GOP Messages on Health Care
By Drew Armstrong, CQ Staff
Republican message guru Frank Luntz is back — this time to help Republicans try to win the war of words as they battle Democrats on overhauling health care.
Speaking at a closed-door session with House Republicans on Wednesday, Luntz said the GOP needs to get away from “markets” and focus on “patients.” And while Republicans might not be able to get their own ideas enacted, he went on, they could at least stop Democrats from achieving the political victory created by a successful revision of the health care system.
For example, he said, the GOP should throw private health insurance companies under the bus.
“For 10 years we were carrying the water of the insurance companies because they were backing us on health care,” he said. “Well, they’re not anymore. They’ve sold out, so now you can go right back at them, because the American people blame the insurance companies more than almost anybody else for why health care is such a mess in this country right now. So you don’t have to be nice to them at all.”
A detailed account of the presentation was given to Congressional Quarterly by multiple people who attended the session.
Luntz, the author of the book “Words That Work,” about the political effect of specific phrases and words, offered Republicans a detailed presentation on what language to use when talking about health care and how to attack Democratic proposals, along with a long list of “don’ts.”
Republicans will get little chance to present their own vision, Luntz warned, but they will have plenty of opportunities to stand in opposition to Democrats.
“You’re not going to get what you want, but you can kill what they’re trying to do,” he said.
Republicans need to start defining specific words on favorable terms in order to win, he said, specifically pointing out President Obama’s promises of a high-quality health care system. And they need to make sure that voters think “quality” means getting the health care they want whenever they want it.
“Don’t let them define it. If you define it this way, they can’t do well,” he said of Democrats. “They can’t provide that treatment. They can’t provide that health care.”
From ‘Private’ to ‘Patients’
Much of Luntz’s presentation was an attempt to correct the way Republicans talk with voters about health care. He urged them to stop using economic terminology like “free market” and “private” and to talk instead about “doctors,” “nurses” and “patients.”
“If you use the phrase ‘private health insurance market competition,’ you deserve to be down to 160 seats in the House, because nobody understands that language,” Luntz said.
He also had advice for choosing the photos in mailers sent to constituents: “Get pictures of seniors that look like they make apple pie every day forever, and the children who look so angelic that it just makes you feel compassionate, which I know is sometimes tough for people in this room,” he said.
And he called on Republicans, when describing the consequences of the Democratic proposals, to use language that would scare voters.
“What’s the word that people are afraid of?” Luntz said. “‘Deny.’
“The idea that a doctor or a hospital would deny care that they need is what frightens them the most about a Washington takeover,” he said.
Luntz came to the presentation with polling data, all done in the last few months, to back him up.
“Each of these words has been carefully chosen. This is not random, this is not gut. I could care less about matching the words to the policies, I have no investment in the words — except that these are the words that the American people want,” he said.
Luntz, who helped craft Republican messages through the 1990s, was a fixture in Washington GOP circles until 2005, when he left for Hollywood after an alleged falling-out with House Republican leader John A. Boehner of Ohio.
He returned to Capitol Hill Wednesday, at the invitation of the House Republican Conference, to try to focus the message on health care.
Gathered in a meeting room of the Cannon House Office Building, lawmakers and aides applauded as Luntz was introduced. “Welcome home!” shouted one attendee.
“We’ve reached out to Frank,” said House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence , R-Ind. “I would say, enthusiastically, Frank is back.”
Republicans who attended the meeting said they were glad to have him back. “We look to him for how do we express the things that we believe in ways that are effective,” said Darrell Issa , R-Calif.
“He told us to stop talking like a bunch of wonks and politicians and start talking like people,” said Michael C. Burgess , R‑Texas, who has become a prominent voice on health care issues.
Recommending a Change in ‘Tone’
At times, Luntz badgered the members, castigating them for their failures of political acumen — and for the ringtones on their cell phones.
At one point, he was clearly angry over leaks to the media earlier in the day that described parts of his presentation. When an audience member asked if Luntz would e-mail the slides he was using, he fired back, “I will forward you the PowerPoint so that way I can then read it in some newspaper two days from now. What the hell?”
And as Luntz urged members to focus on healthy lifestyles and wellness, Louie Gohmert , R-Texas, piped up: “I don’t want to live that kind of life.”
“You don’t want to live that kind of life?” Luntz asked.
“Yeah, you’re eating your BBQ. Clearly you don’t want to live that kind of life,” he went on, to some laughter.
“Hey, ribs are a food group,” an unidentified member called out, to which Luntz responded: “His ribs could actually get up and walk out of the office.”
When a cell phone belonging to F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. , R-Wis., started ringing, Luntz told a young aide that Sensenbrenner needed to change the ringtone. “That’s gonna be your job, when Sensenbrenner comes back in here,” Luntz said to the aide, though Sensenbrenner had not actually left the room — and let Luntz know it.
“You need to get him a telephone ring for the 21st century,” Luntz continued, “Like ‘Play that funky music, white boy.’ Something much more interesting.”
Comments
After all of the damage that the Republican backed policies have caused ALL areas of America. Who in their right mind would Want to listen to these people? Only those that hate America as much as they do that is who. The Republican Party only cares about their own Party not about what is best for America and the people. This they have shown numerous times. They are the true terrorists within America. They have tried to destroy this country and any policies that tries to correct the damage they have caused or that would benefit the average AMERICAN they hate. You do not have to believe me just check the history books since the NIXON years. Educated voters are the ones that the Republican Party hates and fears the most. Like always the true guiding force behind the Republicans is as always FEAR. FEAR of being seen for what they truly are enemies of AMERICA.
See what is deemed, defended and supported as "quality" health care in Tennessee and Virginia where Profit Care comes ahead of Patient Care. www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=62
The party of "no" now wants to engage in health care after ignoring it for 8 years??!! They have no credibility on this most important domestic issue which is why talking about "doctors" and "patients" sounds like a new language for them and why the American public repeatedly trust Dems more on fixing health care.
What I want to know is.... What are the other new gems we can expect from Mr. Death Tax in the near future? 'Deny' is practically prehistoric ('Harry & Louise') and is already being dredged up daily on CNN by the so-called "Conservatives for Patients' Rights." (Normally, I'm a big fan of irony.) Also --- exactly *how* did the Republicans fall out with their bosom buddies in health insurance? There won't be any crocodile tears shed over that breakup here in the real world. We've all paid dearly for that match made in hell.... but what will the ultimate fallout be if that truly is the case? I'd also love to hear how the rift between Luntz and Boehner came about. I'll bet that was rich.
What was the ringtone on Sensenbrenner's phone--"Dixie"?
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