Playbook patterns: you should fear the government bogeyman

Here is resident Longrie from the voice clip highlighted in a recent post

[ at 1:25] Why are they [(unidentified) Maplewood business owners who have talked to me about the sign ordinance] not here tonight? they told me very clearly why they are not here tonight. Because they are fearful that if they identify themselves, that identifying their shops, that Maplewood will indeed drive by their shops, see how much signage they have on their windows and will tag them. They are fearful of retaliation.

Here is Michele Bachmann

BACHMANN: He said that in Japan, to wait and get health care is almost impossible. You get on a list and you wait and you wait and you wait. But he said this is something people don’t know: in Japan, people have stopped voicing their opinion on health care. There are things that are wrong with Japanese health care, but people are afraid of voicing. ‘Well why is that,’ I asked. [He said], ‘Because they know that would get on a list and they wouldn’t get health care. They wouldn’t get in. They wouldn’t get seen. And so people are afraid. They’re afraid to speak back to government. They’re afraid to say anything.’ Is that what we want for our future? That takes us to gangster government at that point!

[emphasis mine throughout]

Stephan

Playbook: The insinuated non-accusation accusation - Final update

See if you can spot one or more insinuated non-accusation accusations in this audio clip:




[Resident Longrie addresses the council during the second reading of the proposed sign ordinance, January 25, 2010]

Update:

Some readers report trouble with the embedded Google audio player I used for this audio clip. While we figure that out, here is a youTube version.


Update 2: As long as we are testing, here is a different embedded player:




And still another:



Final update (technote):

For future reference, and readers who care about blogger technology, the issue with the Google audio player has been resolved. Internet Explorer cannot correctly parse the mp3 file URL from the player's URL query string unless a (meaningless) additional parameter is added to the query string. Better browsers, like Firefox, handle it correctly. Other players like the two used above pass the mp3 URL as a flash variable rather than within the player query string, so the issue does not arise.

So now you know!

Playbook: Manufacture a controversy

Alert reader BZ suggests that the example from yesterday also illustrates the tactic of manufacturing a controversy. This tactic, when conducted well, has several potential outcomes. Among them are diverting attention away from governing to the agenda of the inciters, and smearing those in charge with blame for supposed scandals. Those using the tactic often could care less about the subject of their supposed controversy. It is the simple existence of a controversy they find valuable.


I agree.



This tactic is often known as creating a tempest in a teapot.

Playbook: Threat display

Watching the early moves in the 2010 special election campaign will provide examples and illustrations of the Political Football playbook being used.

Today's illustration is the threat display created by pumping up your size to look as big as possible.



From WebEcoist

Inflating their bodies by gulping air and standing high on all fours helps toads who feel threatened create the illusion of larger size.

Of course, if you actually are big there is little reason to do this.

WØrd of the day: Political football

Instead of the traditional meaning, political football can also be used as an exercise in reasoning by analogy about effective political organizations. Some adopt strategies that respond to current circumstances. Others just keep doing the same thing over and over.

flexible
dogmatic

Place your bets!