If you watched or listened to any of the Democrat National Convention last week, you likely heard some phraseology that sounded great, but weren't really sure what it meant. That is by design. The idea is to use buzz words that pluck emotional chords, but leaving the audience feeling instead of thinking. Both parties do it, but the Democrats have mastered the art.
I offer the following to help you find your way through the rhetorical maze.
Glossary of Terms:
Invest -- To spend taxpayer money. Used in conjuction with things that people universally favor. (Education is a favorite.) Rarely, if ever, comes with any details of how it would be spent. Giving details would defeat the purpose by allowing the audience think.
Working people -- (usually coupled with 'fighting for' or 'working for') Particularly cynical term. Intentionally vague. Specifics would only muddy the waters. Most people believe they work hard, so regardless of the actual context they believe the speaker is speaking of them.
Level the playing field -- A focus-group tested phrase designed to capitalize on the fact that most people tend to be envious of others and believe they had some unfair advantage. To complete the metaphor imagine a field with high spots and low spots. To level it means to take from the high spots to fill in the low spots. Redistribute, if you will. (Being accustomed to working dirt, I find this metaphor quite accurate. Once leveled the soil in the low spots is soft, with no real foundation but what's left of the high spots is firm. The wind and elements blow away the soft soil leaving the low spots low once again. It's a never ending process that eventually results in soil lost forever and the overall level of the field becoming lower and lower.)
Fair share -- undefined in terms of actual numbers so that everyone can mentally insert their own definition. Always means taking more from someone else. In the same cynical vane as working people. Ironically used to demand more from those that are already paying a higher percentage than the listener.
Play by the same rules -- Appeals to the cynical view that the successful must have cheated. Again intentionally vague to allow the listener to apply their favorite pet peave.
Tax Cut -- this one is a bit tricky because it has an actual definition that differs from how the Dems use it. They refer to "giving" tax cuts. This relies on the paradigm that the money for which you worked belongs, by default, to the government and that confiscating less of it is a "gift" to you.
Spending Cut -- Another tricky one. In the real world it would mean spending less tax money on something than the previous period. In the Dem universe it means spending less on something than they intended to spend, even if it's more than in the previous period. (Example: Your family spent $100 on entertainment this month. One of your kids proposed spending $200 next month. You decide to spend $125. You have actually increased your entertainment budget by $25, but in Dem-speak you SLASHED entertainment spending by $75. You jerk!)
The Wealthy -- (as intended to be interpreted) The source of all societal ills in America. They are wealthy because they are greedy, have exploited the weak and cheated the system. The only reason you don't have more is because they have held you down. Also the potential resource to justify all future spending increases.
I'll come back occasionally and add to this glossary, so check back. For now I need to take a break from writing. I've spent the last hour trying to think like a liberal and don't want the resulting shrinkage in my brain to become permanent.
