Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism Into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Re

by Geoffrey Nunberg

Book Overview

Geoffrey Nunberg breaks new ground with this fierce and funny narrative of how the political right has ushered in a new world order, aided unwittingly by the liberal media. Democrats are well known... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586483862
• ISBN13: 9781586483869
• Release Date: July 2006
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Told with great thought and insight

Geoffrey Nunberg's "Talking Right" is one of a number of books that have come out recently explaining why Democrats (and liberals, though not necessarily synonymous) have trouble getting their collective message across. Nunberg's approach is through language itself as he relates the success that the Republican right wing has had in wresting control of that message through slick phrases and twists on existing parlance. The author's book is straightforward and informative, to say the least. It's clear from the beginning of "Talking Right" that this is not a book that will scream either at the right wingers or at us, the readers. Slowly, but with a broad brush, Nunberg hits the right (and with it the left, as well) with chapters on class, the "L" word, government and values. He's terrific, for instance, in delving into the word "freedom" and how the earliest Americans didn't use that word much...they preferred "liberty". It may be a bit of a shock to learn that the Declaration of Independence doesn't mention freedom at all but we are reminded "...it was liberty that Patrick Henry declared himself willing to die for....". In this wonderful chapter, Nunberg goes on to explain how freedom then became connected with other words along the way and how it became central to the Republican party's campaign for word domination. While much of "Talking Right" is low-key, Nunberg revs up in a chapter called "Old Bottles, New Whines" and almost roars to the finish. The narrative here becomes eye-popping and this last third of the book is the best. Near the end of "Talking Right" Nunberg, speaking about "the right's capture of the basic vocabulary of politics...", concludes "...if the right can do this with an ersatz populism, surely the Democrats can do the same thing with a genuine one". It's a fitting statement to include in the final chapter of this terrific book.

Excellent analysis of how slogans win elections

The author's title, which describes how most Republicans describe most Democrats may not BE correct, but it SOUNDS correct to most people. That is the point this book is trying to make. Nunberg, a linguist by trade, shows how Republicans use terse and memorable mottos and slogans to get their points across and label their opponents - and it works, and has been working since 1980. In contrast, the author points out that Democratic candidates have largely used lengthy discussions to argue their positions so that, at the end of the day, the voter can't remember the point the candidate was trying to make in the first place. This is largely because liberals have great disdain for simplistic answers to complex problems, but forget that the average voter can't remember the complex solution when he/she steps into the voting booth, even if the complex solution is correct. The author points out that even when the Democrats have tried to come up with slogans they often fall flat. He uses John Kerry's 2004 campaign slogan "America can do better" as an example. Nunberg points out that this slogan sounds like what you would say to a less than brilliant child whose grades were even worse than expected. Is this really the Democrats' message to the nation: that they don't need to be quite as pathetic as they now are? The author points out that over the last 26 years, Bill Clinton seems to be the only national candidate who has been able to use the power of language effectively to get his message across with "It's the economy" in 1992 and "the bridge to the 21st century" in 1996. The author points out that the right has rewritten the language of politics to the point that even progressives and liberals can't help using language that embodies the worldview of the right even when trying to put forth the worldview of the left. Thus, the author argues, the challenge facing liberals and Democrats is to recapture ordinary language itself. I found this book to be an interesting perspective on modern politics and the success of the right from a linguistic standpoint, and I highly recommend it no matter what your political persuasion might be.

Right on the Money...

I had heard Nunberg's interview with Teri Gross on NPR and decided that was one of my "sit on the beach and read" vacation books last week. The other reviews say it but here goes. Democrats have a terrible time getting ONE message across because they are diverse and want in include everyone. Nunberg shows how trying to be inclusive and compassionate with your rhetoric only makes you wishy-washy. Republicans can be given big credit: THEY HAVE ONE MESSAGE BECAUSE THEY REALLY DO NOT CARE WHO THEY OFFEND. In this day and age it wins an election, sadly enough. Nunberg's comments on Bill Clinton are especially fascinating, Clinton came up even more rungs on the ladder for me after reading this. Clinton understands the rhetoric of politics and how to unify people, Franklin Roosevalt did too (as Nunberg points out).

Losing the Language War

A scholarly expose of the linguistic nuances of political doublespeak could prove deadly boring. But in TALKING RIGHT, Geoffrey Nunberg proves himself an able and funny commentator and educator on the topic. He traces and annotates the evolution of political and media euphemisms, lingo, and nomenclature in the U.S. with a gimlet-eyed stare. Yet even with the brio that Nunberg brings to his theses, one wonders: Is the failure of liberals (or "progressives," if you prefer) really an inability to get a good motto on a bumper sticker? Or is it simply that since Clinton, there has not been a compelling leader to take charge of the Democratic Party? Anyway, regardless of your party affiliation, if you're politically aware and/or enjoy thinking about the meaning of words and/or have an interest in American history and current events, you will get something from this book. (Did I leave anyone out?) SIDELIGHT: With a book that deals with linguistics and meaning, one hopes that the author is an expert in his field. Impressive academic credentials aside, Geoffrey Nunberg chairs the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary. That's good enough for me. (Imagine the rousing discussions they have in that group!)

MOVING DOWN THE BRAIN STEM...

Talking Right is a book about how the liberals have lost the language wars...not the culture wars. I have always thought that the real problem with Democrats and liberals is their effort to politicize a little too high up the brain stem... Republicans always keep it simple. They exploit emotions that are low on the brain stem...fear, hate, greed, love, lust, family... These are all ideas that can easily be observed at the Ape House of your local zoo...or at Republican Conventions! Democrats on the other hand talk about equality, tolerance, justice, fairness....alas, this stuff is way way up in the cortical gray matter...alas, in a location that is hard to get at, and harder to explain to someone who is only using 5% of the brain capacity. Result: Republicans win. Now, at some point the ignorant should "wise up" when they see their jobs and pensions and kids going off shore to satify the greed and warmongering of the elites... But that hasn't happen yet... Maybe it will...some day... But in the meantime I would suggest that Democrats go to the zoo and watch the monkeys and apes for the rest of the summer...READ TALKING RIGHT, and then frame their message for the November election.