A Rove by any name-the Patriot Act
Last night the House cut the Senate's recommended six month extension of the Patriot Act down to one month. House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) insisted on the shorter period to force the Senate to not procrastinate and deal with the issue in January.
In the many discussions that I've had with people about the Act, I'm amazed that so few people understand its key provisions and this ignorance includes many staffers. I've come to the conclusion that, as crazy as it sounds, the name alone has convinced people that its a good thing.
The Bush adminstration has been world-class in their use of Madison Avenue-like marketing techniques to sell controversial policies to the public. Not for this group the spirited, issues-oriented debate. With names like "The Patriot Act", "No Child Left Behind", "Up or Down Vote", they have shown their marketing mastery by their use of powerful and polarizing names. This trick has always worked for the far right, most effectively for the RIght to Life movement.
Who would ever vote against a Patriot Act? Wouldn't that make the dissenter a non-patriot? What does that make a person who votes against the education bill--someone who would willingly leave a child behind. Even Mcauley Culkin would have to be against that.
I wonder what would have happened if the Patriot Act had been named the "Really-scary-erosion-of-civil-rights" act?
Posted on December 23, 2005
