One of the themes to emerge at IWF’s hugely successful Women in the Wilderness panel concerned making the argument in a better way without surrendering principles.
Jennifer Rubin blogged on the same thing today in the Washington Post. The item contained this gem:
Republicans have their own language problems. They can do without “anchor babies” and “self-deportation,” which make immigrants sound like chattel. They should abandon “culture of dependency,” which only brings back bad memories of Mitt Romney’s 47 percent and is subject to continual misinterpretation.
(Better to say what they favor, namely the “dignity of work” and the “satisfaction of earned success.”) Since government is not remotely small (and won’t be), better to sound like they are of this century and refer to “limited government” or “nimble government.” Instead of the clinical “income inequality” they need to speak about “spreading success” and “expanding the American dream.”
It bugs me that there are so many true things that we aren’t supposed to say because of political correctness. On the other hand, the dignity of work is a splendid term, with all sorts of resonances. It is more likely to draw people in than complaints about government dependency.