The Little Blue Book: The Essential Guide To Thinking And Talking Democratic

THE INDISPENSABLE HANDBOOK FOR DEMOCRATS Voters cast their ballots for what they believe is right, for the things that make moral sense. Yet Democrats have too often failed to use language linking their moral values with their policies. The Little Blue Book demonstrates how to make that connection clearly and forcefully, with hands-on advice for discussing the most pressing issues of our time: the economy, health care, women’s issues, energy and environmental policy, education, food policy, and more. Dissecting the ways that extreme conservative positions have permeated political discourse, Lakoff and Wehling show how to fight back on moral grounds and in concrete terms. Revelatory, passionate, and deeply practical, The Little Blue Book will forever alter the way Democrats and progressives think and talk about politics. “Republicans offer values. Democrats offer policies. Guess what? Values often win, even when the policies are more popular. It’s about time Democrats learned how to talk (and think) in terms of the underlying values that make them Democrats—values that are more widely shared by Americans than the values Republicans espouse. Here’s the essential handbook for thinking and talking Democratic—must reading not only for every Democrat but for every responsible citizen.” —ROBERT B. REICH, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley, and author of Beyond Outrage “This book is a game changer, one that will enable Democrats to regain their language and to stop mimicking Republican ideas and rhetoric.” —DIANE RAVITCH, author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System GEORGE LAKOFF is Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Don’t Think of an Elephant!, among other works, and is America’s leading expert on the framing of political ideas. ELISABETH WEHLING is a political strategist and author working in the United States and Europe. She is doing research in linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, on how politics is understood both in America and Europe. MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT SimonandSchuster.com THE SOURCE FOR READING GROUPS COVER DESIGN BY ERIC FUENTECILLA COVER PHOTOGRAPH © RIMMA AKBUDAK/123RF Praise for The Little Blue Book “This book is a game changer, one that will enable Democrats to regain their language and to stop mimicking Republican ideas and rhetoric.” —Diane Ravitch, author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education “Republicans offer values. Democrats offer policies. Guess what? Values often win, even when the policies are more popular. It’s about time Democrats learned how to talk (and think) in terms of the underlying values that make them Democrats—values that are more widely shared by Americans than the values Republicans espouse. Here’s the essential handbook for thinking and talking Democratic—must reading not only for every Democrat but for every responsible citizen.” —Robert B. Reich, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley, and author of Beyond Outrage “George Lakoff is the progressive movement’s Jedi master of language. The Little Blue Book tells us how to say what we need to say to bring about the policy changes Americans need.” —Van Jones, author of Rebuild the Dream “I’ve always learned a lot from Lakoff, and you will too.” —George Soros “If you only preach to the choir, you’ve no need for The Little Blue Book. But if you want to reach people you don’t agree with, read this book!” —Joan Blades, founder of Moveon.org “