{"id":5755,"date":"2026-07-29T11:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T11:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5755"},"modified":"2026-07-29T11:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T11:09:09","slug":"opinion-democrats-watch-your-language-please","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5755","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Democrats, watch your language. Please!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s well known that one of Democrats\u2019 chronic weaknesses is their use of language. The cure isn\u2019t a host of new policies. It\u2019s an ancient weapon, which the GOP has wielded for decades: metaphor.<\/p>\n

Read more Drucker: The US could \u2018abolish ICE.\u2019 Then what?<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPro-Life.\u201d \u201cDeath Tax.\u201d \u201cThe Wall.\u201d Republicans use metaphor to turn unpopular policies into perky catchphrases, leaving Democrats bewildered.<\/p>\n

Ever since Athenian democracy, politics has been a war of words, and metaphor its most potent weapon. Metaphor shapes how events are understood, often determining the outcome before the battle has even been fought.<\/p>\n

Aristotle was the first to systematically study the power of metaphor as a rhetorical device. Metaphor\u00e1 means to \u201ctransfer or carry across,\u201d from one word to another. He argued that good metaphors set things \u201cbefore the eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Greek rhetorician Gorgias went further, arguing that speech (\u201clogos\u201d) has physical force, capable of moving the soul (\u201cpsyche\u201d) much like a drug (\u201cpharmakon\u201d) moves the body.<\/p>\n

Persuasive speech was the lifeblood of the Greek city-state, and it could mean the difference between life and death. Decisions on matters such as war, citizenship, exile and capital punishment were made in the assemblies and courts, where citizens heard contending speeches and voted immediately afterwards.<\/p>\n

In the same way Greeks mastered rhetoric, so too must Democrats. Affordability is a winning frame, but it\u2019s important for Democrats to understand why.<\/p>\n

Afford comes from the Old English gefor\u00f0ian, meaning to advance, move forward, carry out a task. Over time it came to mean having enough money to bear an expense.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

But making ends meet is a struggle for most people. This gave rise to a series of metaphors which portray financial strain as a physical burden, felt by weight, pressure, motion and buoyancy.<\/p>\n

To illustrate. Weight: \u201cBills are piling up, weighing us down, getting too heavy to bear. We need to lighten the load.\u201d Motion: \u201cI try to move ahead, but I keep falling behind.\u201d Buoyancy: \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to stay afloat and keep our heads above water; but we\u2019re drowning in expenses \u2013\u2013 they\u2019re pulling us under.\u201d Pressure: \u201cI\u2019m under so much pressure, I feel squeezed from all sides. I\u2019m at the breaking point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Opinion: The housing crisis you\u2019re not hearing about<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no coincidence that successful Democrats have fully embraced affordability and its metaphors. Mayor Mamdani speaks of struggling New Yorkers for whom \u201cthe weight has only grown heavier.\u201d Governor Spanberger describes Virginians who are \u201cfeeling the squeeze of high prices.\u201d Governor Pritzker of Illinois cites working families who are \u201csinking under the weight of overdue bills.\u201d Governor Moore of Maryland assails corporations padding their profits \u201con the backs of hardworking families.\u201d Senate candidate James Talarico adds \u201ctoo many Texans feel like they\u2019re drowning.\u201d<\/p>\n

These aren\u2019t just figures of speech. They put financial hardship \u201cbefore the eyes,\u201d the way Aristotle said the best metaphors could.<\/p>\n

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Like all effective frames, it sets a rhetorical trap for the opposition, forcing it to choose sides. \u201cAre you for affordability or against it?\u201d It makes the alternative unthinkable.<\/p>\n

The speeches write themselves. \u201cWe\u2019re drowning in bills. They\u2019re building grand ballrooms, flying on jumbo jets, commissioning huge monuments. They\u2019ve made billions, while raising prices on all of us. Maybe they can afford it. But we can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what makes affordability a Democratic hill to die on. It\u2019s built on the living metaphors of people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

No one proved the life-or-death power of language better than Winston Churchill, whose words turned around an entire nation to fight what seemed an unwinnable war.<\/p>\n

\u201cBroadly speaking, short words are best, and the old words, when short, are best of all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Yanowitch is a Silicon Valley startup executive and brand strategist who led The Messaging Project, a Democratic communications initiative under House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Democratic Governor Association Chair Tom Vilsack. He is also a former classics student.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Harriette Cole: Would it be foolish to open a big-city lounge in my sleepy new town?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the same way Greeks mastered rhetoric, so too must Democrats. Affordability is a winning frame, but it\u2019s important for Democrats to understand why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nOpinion: Democrats, watch your language. Please! - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5755\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opinion: Democrats, watch your language. 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