Our text of the day today comes from yesterday’s CongressDaily PM …
Wednesday’s State of the Union speech and the subsequent unveiling of the Social Security plan will also provide Republicans with the first major test of the media and message strategies that have been developed for the Social Security debate. At the center of the GOP pitch is a language “branding” plan that Republicans hope will undercut Democratic criticism of Republican plans. For instance, the GOP has been pushing to move from describing the investment accounts as “private,” preferring to use “personal,” which they believe is less loaded politically. Similarly, Santorum said Friday he preferred to avoid calling costs associated with the creation of the accounts “transitional,” favoring the use of “prepaying.” A senior GOP Senate aide acknowledged that both of these semantic changes are part of the party’s broader strategy to reframe the Social Security debate.
So there you have it, <$NoAd$> the president’s State of the Union address is to be dedicated in large part to promulgating the new Social Security speech code already in evidence from Republicans over recent weeks.
The question is, how will this be reported?
And which news outlets will simply adopt the speech code either out of deference to the president or inherent simpletonian tendencies?
Pick your talking head, grab your notepad and get ready to jot.
