Blogger/Author Chat with Jeffrey Feldman: MI Native, Political Framer, MI Policy Summit Guest

by: LiberalLucy

Fri May 09, 2008 at 09:47:14 AM EDT

Becoming a progressive framer begins with changing a set of habits with respect to how we receive and process information. Framers make a choice to stop being passive consumers of political debate and to start producing the debate themselves-to seek out the situations where politics happens and drive the debate.

Progressive framers must be willing to step into the shoes of the traditional media. Gone are the days of reading one daily newspaper to get information; framers must read dozens of sources each day, tracking political ideas and issues as they take shape across the broad landscape of media- driven contemporary politics.

Blogs are the central haunting ground for progressive framers because they offer a nexus between political organizations, mass media, and the chatter of popular culture.

LL: Okay, before we start, I have to run the "You know you're a Michigander if..." test - so Faygo or Vernors?

JF: Vernors!  But hey--if Diet Frosh is all there is...

LL: Okay, on a serious note -  Michigan is a state that has just reeked of conservative money and hence messaging for far too long. Your book is all about messaging and framing the message. What kind of lessons can Michigan progressives take from your book?

JF: The lesson for Michigan progressives in Framing The Debate is: define the entire debate, don't just try to win the battle-of-the-facts on each issue.  Lay out Michigan's big story in terms of progressive principles, ground it in American language familiar to all, and then relate all campaign talk back to this larger frame.  The lesson in Outright Barbarous is a bit more bare-knuckled:  frame the right-wing media before they frame us---and be tireless about it.  If progressives don't push back against the right-wing media, American Democracy itself will suffer.

LL: What was the best part about writing this book?

JF: Framing the Debate presented famous presidential speeches as object lessons for communications that can win elections.  The best part of writing that book was meeting older folks who absolutely loved historic American rhetoric, but had never met a political activist so engaged on the topic.  Once I quote FDR's first inaugural speech during a book talk and a 75 year-old woman thanked me afterward.   Outright Barbarous is more difficult because writing it puts me in the thick of a nasty, ongoing fight with right-wing pundits.  So far, the best part of this new book has been watching the 'violent rhetoric' frame help progressive activists as they push back against the likes of Coulter, O'Reilly, and Buchanan.  Many people have told me that reading Outright Barbarous was an 'ah, ha!' moment for them that finally helped them see what right-wing pundits had done to American democracy.   I never tire of hearing that.

LL: You earned your chops over at Daily Kos before moving to your current home - Frameshop. How was your experience as a blogger changed the way you look at political dialog, and more importantly writing?

JF: Blogging changed everything for me because it turned what I do naturally--analyze the meaning in everyday language--into a relevant, timely form of political activism.  As a writer, blogging 'encouraged' me to drop jargon and be direct.  After more than a decade in higher academia, that was a painful process at first--but in the end I found my true voice.

LL: So there's a rumor circulating around that you're going to be joining us for the Michigan Policy Summit. Can you confirm or deny that?

JF: Confirmed!  A chance to hang out with Michigan progressives, in Lansing, and in May?  Throw in a frozen margarita (or two) and it's the perfect spring break.

LL: Well, when you say it like that, how could you resist? :-) See you bright and early on Saturday!

That's right, Jeffrey will be joining the rest of Michigan's lefty bloggers in the Bloggers Box of the Michigan Policy Summit this Saturday at the Lansing Center in the heart of the Capitol City.

When you attend, you'll have an opportunity to meet Jeffrey and buy a copy of his book in the Author's Corner provided by Michigan's most progressive bookstore, Everybody Reads LLC, and if you're really nice, he might even sign it for you. :-)

If you live outside of Lansing, and can't make it, you can still support a Michigan-owned business and have Everybody Reads ship it directly to your door.

Either way, many thanks to Jeffrey for joining us for this chat and we're all looking forward to seeing him and you at the Policy Summit tomorrow!

(Full disclosure: I'm working on promotion with the MI Policy Summit)