If you Google "Frank Luntz" you will find that people who search for Luntz also search for Kellyanne Conway. Sean Hannity, Mike Pence, Newt Gingrich. Karl Rove. And there is a reason for that: of all the amoral goons on the Right who have made a living peddling wingnut poison, none has been more skilled and proficient than Luntz.
Media Matters currently lists 127 entries cataloging Luntz's various crimes against democracy and the English language -- from helping Newt Gingrich weaponize political hate-speech on an industrial scale back the 1990s, to teaching Republicans how to lie about global warming and terrorism, to his sketchy ethical and methodological history. But being known as one of the GOP's most proficient poison-peddlers can limit one's career options, which is why Luntz has always been very careful about curating his own resume.
From Media Matters in 2007 (emphasis added):
PBS to use "noted pollster" Luntz for presidential forum, despite GOP ties and reported reprimandsAccording to an April 4 press release, Republican pollster Frank Luntz will participate in the Public Broadcasting Service's coverage of the June 28 Democratic presidential forum, which will be televised live and moderated by PBS host Tavis Smiley: "Immediate public feedback on the performance of the candidates will be conducted by noted pollster Frank Luntz, who will also appear on 'Tavis Smiley' on PBS the following evening to discuss his findings." Fellow pollsters have criticized Luntz, a longtime Republican strategist, for mischaracterizing the results of his research, as Media Matters for America has noted. The PBS press release does not mention Luntz's Republican ties, repeating a pattern in the media identified by Media Matters...
Which is why no one has any business being surprised that today's New York Times bio of Frank Luntz, professional poison-peddler, is
Frank Luntz is a CBS News and Fox News analyst.
And what does Frank Luntz, professional poison-peddler, have to say in the pages of the New York Times today? (For the moment we will leave aside the question of why Frank Luntz, professional poison-peddler, in the in the pages of the New York Times at all.)
We he is just diddly-darned appalled by all the poison he sees abroad in the land! From Both Sides!
How to Begin the HealingBy FRANK LUNTZ NOV. 7, 2016
Oh the fucking irony...
...The greatest country in the history of civilization has become dangerously uncivilized.
We’re living through the “Thelma and Louise” election, and it doesn’t work out in the end. For months, both candidates have been headed toward the electoral cliff of division and discord — fueled by an electorate seething with resentment and revenge. The focus groups I’ve conducted across America during this election are the loudest, angriest and rudest I’ve seen in my career.
Here’s the problem: Once you inject hyper-anger into civil society, it is almost impossible to undo. During their three grueling debates, as millions of Americans looked on in disgust, both presidential candidates refused to seek even a modicum of common ground, choosing smears over solutions every time.
The solution?
The solution, according to Frank Luntz, professional poison-peddler, is for the winner to skip right on over any incredibly inconvenient questions like "Which party has spent the last 30 years deliberately dumping poison into our political groundwater?" and get on with a nice little speech full of apologies and humility and promises to personally heal the country.
From the winner, what we need is less of a victory speech and more of a personal apology and a clarion call — for unity, empathy and understanding.
You know that just might work, provided the winner's speech was preceded with a short video of Frank Luntz, professional poison-peddler, being pelted with rotten eggs and dog shit by the long, long line of victims of the hateful, racist policies he has so ably championed since he first teamed up with Newt Gingrich to teach the GOP how to turn bile and paranoia into gold.
Next up today, David Brooks, because holy shit...
5 comments:
This is, of course, Frank Luntz' way of saying he expects Hillary to win.
Also, a continuation of the general right wing policy for Democrats: if you do exactly what the Republicans want you won't need to fight!
Not too long ago, in some countries, Frank Luntz would be dragged out in an alley and shot for his seditious mischief. Lucky for Frank times have changed.
She should spike the ball right in these ba$tards faces and begin the draining of the D.C. Swamp, but of course she can't. What's the over/under on when the impeachment hearings begin? 90 days?
And, of course, Trumpelstiltskins has already started what will surely be a whole chain of rigged election lawsuits starting with NV and the election isn't even over yet.
Somehow I don't think Luntz/Brooks/et al. are addressing Jason Chaffetz for when he wins re-election by a comfortable margin today. Instead, like 2008, the demand is squarely at the Presidential winner (aka. Hillary Clinton) being the only one responsible for immediately disarming "for the good of our divided nation."
You'd think our liberal, conservative hating media would be filled with "Where should Hillary direct her landslide-electoral-margin-flame-thrower at first?" stories if our media was truly so liberal and conservative hating.
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