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Frank Luntz

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For the entomologist, see Frank Lutz.

Frank Luntz
Luntz at the 2009 Texas Book Festival
Born (1962-02-23) February 23, 1962 (age 62)
West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania
University of Oxford
Occupation(s)Republican Party strategist, communication consultant, and political pollster
Political partyRepublican
Websitewww.luntzglobal.com

Frank Ian Luntz (born February 23, 1962) is an American political consultant,[1] pollster, and "public opinion guru"[2] best known for developing talking points and other messaging for various Republican causes. His work has included assistance with messaging for Newt Gingrich's Contract with America, and public relations support for pro-Israel policies in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He advocated use of vocabulary crafted to produce a desired effect; including use of the term death tax instead of estate tax, and climate change instead of global warming.

Luntz's most recent work has been with Fox News as a frequent commentator and analyst, as well as running focus groups during and after presidential debates on CBSN.[3] Luntz describes his specialty as "testing language and finding words that will help his clients sell their product or turn public opinion on an issue or a candidate."[4] He is also an author of business books dealing with communication strategies and public opinion. Luntz's current company, Luntz Global, LLC, specializes in message creation and image management for commercial and political clients.

Background

Luntz was born and grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Phyllys (née Kelmenson) and Lester Luntz, who together wrote the first American forensic dentistry textbook.[5][6][7] His family was Jewish.[8] He graduated from Hall High School, graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in history and political science from the University of Pennsylvania, and received a doctorate in politics from Oxford University.[9]

Luntz has appeared as a consultant or panel member on a number of television news shows, including The Colbert Report, Capital Gang, Good Morning America, Hannity, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Meet the Press, PBS NewsHour, Nightline, The O'Reilly Factor, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The Today Show. He has written op-eds for publications such as The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

He was an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania from 1989 until 1996[10] and also taught at George Washington University and Harvard University.[11]

Use of language

Luntz frequently tests word and phrase choices using focus groups and interviews. His stated purpose in this is the goal of causing audiences to react based on emotion. "80 percent of our life is emotion, and only 20 percent is intellect. I am much more interested in how you feel than how you think. ... If I respond to you quietly, the viewer at home is going to have a different reaction than if I respond to you with emotion and with passion and I wave my arms around. Somebody like this is an intellectual; somebody like this is a freak."[4]

In an article in The New Yorker Luntz is quoted as saying,

The way my words are created is by taking the words of others.... I've moderated an average of a hundred plus focus groups a year over five years... I show them language that I've created. Then I leave a line for them to create language for me.[12]

In a 2007 interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Luntz redefined the term "Orwellian" in a "positive" sense, saying that if one reads George Orwell's essay on language (presumably referring to "Politics and the English Language"), "To be 'Orwellian' is to speak with absolute clarity, to be succinct, to explain what the event is, to talk about what triggers something happening… and to do so without any pejorative whatsoever."[13]

Luntz's description of "Orwellian" is considered to contradict both its popularly defined meaning as well as that defined by Orwell. Luntz believes that Orwell would not have approved of many of the uses to which his pseudonym is applied by quoting Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language", where Luntz focuses on how Orwell derides the use of cliché and dying metaphors.[citation needed]

Luntz's description of his job revolves around exploiting the emotional content of language. "It's all emotion. But there's nothing wrong with emotion. When we are in love, we are not rational; we are emotional. ... my job is to look for the words that trigger the emotion. ... We know that words and emotion together are the most powerful force known to mankind."[4]

Additionally in his 2007 interview on Fresh Air, Luntz discussed his use of the term, "energy exploration" (oil drilling). His research on the matter involved showing people a picture of current oil drilling and asking if in the picture it "looks like exploration or drilling." He said that 90 percent of the people he spoke to said it looked like exploring. "Therefore I'd argue that it is a more appropriate way to communicate." He went on to say, "if the public says after looking at the pictures, that doesn't look like my definition of drilling—it looks like my definition of exploring—then don't you think we should be calling it what people see it to be, rather than adding a political aspect to it all?" Terry Gross responded, "Should we be calling it what it actually is, as opposed to what somebody thinks it might be? The difference between exploration and actually getting out the oil—they're two different things, aren't they?"[13]

James L. Martin, chairman of the conservative 60 Plus Association, described Luntz's role as being that of pollster and popularizer of the phrase "death tax."

Martin gained an important ally in GOP pollster Frank Luntz, whose polling revealed that 'death tax' sparked voter resentment in a way that 'inheritance tax' and 'estate tax' couldn't match. After all, who wouldn't be opposed to a 'tax on death'? Luntz shared his findings with Republicans and included the phrase in the GOP's Contract with America. Luntz went so far as to recommend in a memo to GOP lawmakers that they stage press conferences 'at your local mortuary' to dramatize the issue. 'I believe this backdrop will clearly resonate with your constituents,' he wrote. 'Death is something the American people understand.' Apparently, he's right. Spurred by Luntz, Republicans have employed the term 'death tax' so aggressively that it has entered the popular lexicon. Nonpartisan venues like newspapers and magazines have begun to use it in a neutral context—a coup for abolitionists like Martin.[14]

In a confidential memo to the Republican party,[15] Luntz is credited with advising the Bush administration that the phrase "global warming" should be abandoned in favour of "climate change", which he called a "less frightening" phrase than the former (see below).[16]

Publications

Luntz is the author of the 2007 New York Times Best Seller, "Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear."[17] His second book, "What Americans Really Want ... Really: The Truth About Our Hopes, Dreams and Fears," climbed to #6 on the New York Times Business Best Sellers list. In March 2011, Luntz released his book,"Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business From Ordinary to Extraordinary".

Notable work and views

U.S. politics, 1990s

Luntz speaking at a Republican event in Des Moines, Iowa.

Luntz was Pat Buchanan's pollster during the 1992 U.S. Republican presidential primary, and later that year served as Ross Perot's pollster in the general election.[18]

Luntz also served as Newt Gingrich's pollster in the mid-1990s for the Contract with America.[19] During that time, he helped Gingrich produce a GOPAC memo that encouraged Republicans to "speak like Newt" by describing Democrats and Democratic policies using words such as "corrupt," "devour," "greed," "hypocrisy," "liberal," "sick," and "traitors."[20][21]

Israel and the Palestinians

In December 2008 to January 2009, Luntz wrote a report titled "The Israel Project's 2009 Global Language Dictionary" that has been used by the Israeli government to defend Israeli policy in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The report, commissioned by The Israel Project, advised media spokespeople to use specific language that Luntz believed would create a more favorable impression of Israel in the United States and the rest of the international community. For example, when discussing the contours of a two-state solution, the report advised describing Palestinian negotiating points as "demands" because Americans dislike people who make "demands." The report was marked "not for distribution or publication", but it was leaked to Newsweek shortly after it was written. According to the Guardian, Luntz also wrote that "Israeli spokesmen or political leaders must never, ever justify 'the deliberate slaughter of innocent women and children' and they must aggressively challenge those who accuse Israel of such a crime." Luntz cited as an example of an "effective Israeli sound bite" one which read, "I particularly want to reach out to Palestinian mothers who have lost their children. No parent should have to bury their child." Patrick Cockburn criticized the report as essentially admitting "the Israeli government does not really want a two-state solution, but this should be masked because 78 per cent of Americans do.″[22]

Global warming

Further information: Public opinion on climate change and Media coverage of climate change

Although Luntz later tried to distance himself from the Bush administration policy, it was his idea that administration communications reframe "global warming" as "climate change" since "climate change" was thought to sound less severe.[23] Luntz has since said that he is not responsible for what the Bush administration did after that time. Though he now believes humans have contributed to global warming, he maintains that the science was in fact incomplete, and his recommendation sound, at the time he made it.[24]

In a 2002 memo to President George W. Bush titled "The Environment: A Cleaner, Safer, Healthier America", obtained by the Environmental Working Group, Luntz wrote: "The scientific debate is closing [against us] ... but not yet closed. There is still a window of opportunity to challenge the science. ... Voters believe that there is no consensus about global warming within the scientific community. Should the public come to believe that the scientific issues are settled, their views about global warming will change accordingly. Therefore, you need to continue to make the lack of scientific certainty a primary issue in the debate, and defer to scientists and other experts in the field."[25]

In 2010, Luntz announced new research that shows the American people are eager for Congress to act on climate legislation that would promote US energy independence and a healthier environment. "Americans want their leaders to act on climate change—but not necessarily for the reasons you think," Luntz said. "A clear majority of Americans believe climate change is happening. This is true of McCain voters and Obama voters alike. And even those that don't still believe it is essential for America to pursue policies that promote energy independence and a cleaner, healthier environment." In reference to recent political events, Luntz added: "People are much more interested in seeing solutions than watching yet another partisan political argument."[26]

2005 UK Conservative leadership election

In 2005 Luntz conducted a focus group broadcast on the Conservative leadership race on the BBC current affairs show Newsnight. The focus group's overwhelmingly positive reaction to David Cameron was seen by many as crucial in making him the favorite in a crowded field. Cameron was the eventual victor.[27] In March 2007, Newsnight invited him back to gauge comparative opinions on Cameron, Gordon Brown and Sir Menzies Campbell in the city of Birmingham.

2007 Irish general elections

Luntz led a focus group telecast with the Irish state broadcaster RTÉ to gather the opinions of the Irish people before the May 24, 2007 general elections. RTÉ hoped to show viewers some of the campaign techniques the political parties were using without their knowledge.[28]

2007 Australian federal election

Another focus group of swing voters was analysed by Luntz in the lead-up to the November 2007 poll between the ruling Coalition and the opposition Labor party. Luntz noted that, like the Irish scenario, the Coalition was well established, presiding over the country for 11 years and overseeing continued economic growth for much of that period; and that unlike the lead-up to the Irish elections, Australia had a stronger and more popular opposition leader in Kevin Rudd: "This is much closer to the Irish election where the leader just barely scraped in, Bertie Ahern, because the economy was so good. But the big difference there was the opposition leader was not as good as Kevin Rudd." Luntz was brought in to conduct his research in a collaborative effort by Sky News Australia and The Australian newspaper.[29]

2010 UK General Election

During the 2010 UK General Election, Luntz led focus groups during the Prime Ministerial debates between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg, and wrote about his findings for The Sun,[30] and also appeared on the BBC's Daily Politics.

Luntz predicted that 2015 would likely result in a hung parliament.[31] The prediction did not come to pass, because British voters returned a majority Conservative Party.[32]

Gun control

In 2012 Luntz conducted a poll that found that sizable majorities of gun owners supported gun control measures such as mandatory criminal background checks, minimum age restrictions, and eligibility requirements for concealed weapon permits.[33]

U.S. politics, 2010s

Occupy Wall Street movement, 2011

In November 2011, during the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Luntz had a meeting with the Republican Governors Association to discuss how to address the growing populist Occupy movement sweeping the country.

I'm so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I'm frightened to death. They're having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.[34]

Depression and sale of LuntzGlobal, 2012–2014

According to a 2014 article in The Atlantic, Luntz became frustrated with the contention and argumentation of voters after the 2012 presidential election and, at the time of the interview for the article, was in psychological turmoil: "Something in his psyche has broken, and he does not know if he can recover."[35][36] As a result, in 2014, he sold the majority of shares of his polling business, LuntzGlobal, but he continues to be a contributor to news outlets.[37]

Criticism

Refusal to release poll data

In 1997, the American Association for Public Opinion Research, of which Luntz was not a member, criticized Luntz for refusing to release poll data to support his claimed results "because of client confidentiality". Diane Colasanto, who was president of the AAPOR at the time, said

It is simply wanting to know, How many people did you question? What were the questions? We understand the need for confidentiality, but once a pollster makes results public, the information needs to be public. People need to be able to evaluate whether it was sound research.[38]

In 2000 he was censured by the National Council on Public Polls "for allegedly mischaracterizing on MSNBC the results of focus groups he conducted during the [2000] Republican Convention."[39] In September 2004, MSNBC dropped Luntz from its planned coverage of that year's presidential debate, saying "[W]e made a decision not to use focus groups as part of our debate coverage. This decision had nothing to do with Frank's past work or politics." Luntz disagreed, believing that MSNBC "buckled to political pressure" from activist David Brock.[40]

2010 "Lie of the Year" award

Luntz was awarded the 2010 PolitiFact Lie of the Year award for his promotion of the phrase 'government takeover' to refer to healthcare reform, starting in the spring of 2009. "'Takeovers are like coups,' Luntz wrote in a 28-page memo. 'They both lead to dictators and a loss of freedom.'"[41] In an editorial response, the Wall Street Journal wrote that "PolitiFact's decree is part of a larger journalistic trend that seeks to recast all political debates as matters of lies, misinformation and 'facts,' rather than differences of world view or principles." The editors of PolitiFact announced "We have concluded it is inaccurate to call the plan a government takeover."[42]

Leaked tape from the University of Pennsylvania

On April 25, 2013, The American Spectator, a conservative news outlet, published a scathing article about Luntz entitled "The Problematic Frank Luntz's Stockholm Syndrome".

In fact, what Luntz has done is simply reveal the kind of thinking that goes on in the minds of too many on the right who, whether they realize it or not, have been intellectually and culturally bullied that there is some sort of 'right way'—'right' as in 'correct'—to think. Resulting in some conservatives who suffer from what might be called a political version of Stockholm Syndrome—where the captives identify with their captors.[43]

The article was a response to an April 22, 2013 leaked recording of Luntz at the University of Pennsylvania, where he said conservative radio personalities (specifically Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin) were being "problematic" and "destroying" Republicans' ability to connect with more voters, or even maintain a majority in the House of Representatives in the 2014 mid-term elections.[44]

As part of his critique Luntz said:

And they get great ratings, and they drive the message, and it's really problematic. And this is not on the Democratic side. It's only on the Republican side. ... [Democrats have] got every other source of news on their side. And so that is a lot of what's driving it. If you take—Marco Rubio's getting his ass kicked. Who's my Rubio fan here? We talked about it. He's getting destroyed! By Mark Levin, by Rush Limbaugh, and a few others. He's trying to find a legitimate, long-term effective solution to immigration that isn't the traditional Republican approach, and talk radio is killing him. That's what's causing this thing underneath. And too many politicians in Washington are playing coy.[45]

After the leak, Luntz announced that he would no longer fund a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania. The scholarship, which was in his father's name, supported student trips to Washington, D.C.[46][47]

Bibliography

  • Candidates, Consultants, and Campaigns: The Style and Substance of American Electioneering. New York: Blackwell, 1988.
  • Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear. New York: Hyperion, 2007.
  • What Americans Really Want ... Really. New York: Hyperion, 2009.
  • Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary. New York: Hyperion, 2011.

References

  1. ^ Mike Allen. "Frank Luntz warns GOP: Health reform is popular". Politico. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  2. ^ Ball, Molly (January 6, 2014). "The Agony of Frank Luntz". The Atlantic.
  3. ^ Undecided voters speak to Frank Luntz during focus group, retrieved October 6, 2016
  4. ^ a b c "Interview Frank Luntz". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved March 23, 2007.
  5. ^ "The unpopular pollster Frank Luntz's political defection casts him as GOP party pooper". Nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  6. ^ "Pollster Uncovers Al Gore's Secret Identity Is He A Creature From Another Planet?". Hartford Courant. June 22, 2000.
  7. ^ "Birth Notice 1 – No Title". The Hartford Courant. February 28, 1962.
  8. ^ Popper, N. (November 14, 2003). "Political pollster grows into his Jewish identity". The Forward.
  9. ^ "People Who Went to Penn: Frank Luntz". Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  10. ^ McLaughlin, Joseph. "Voices from the Inside: SAS Professors, Pollsters, and Pundits Weigh In on the 2004 Election". University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  11. ^ Reynolds, Heather L. (2010). Teaching Environmental Literacy: Across Campus and Across the Curriculum, Volume 38. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-253-22150-6.
  12. ^ Lemann, Nicholas (October 16, 2000). "The Word Lab: The mad Science Behind What the Candidates Say". The New Yorker.
  13. ^ a b Fresh Air with Terry Gross, "Frank Luntz Explains 'Words That Work'", January 9, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
  14. ^ Joshua Green "Meet Mr. Death", The American Prospect, May 20, 2001
  15. ^ Oliver Burkeman, Memo exposes Bush's new green strategy", The Guardian, 3 March 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  16. ^ Goldenberg, Suzanne (May 28, 2014). "Americans care deeply about 'global warming' – but not 'climate change'". The Guardian. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  17. ^ Luntz, Frank (2007). Words that work : it's not what you say, it's what people hear (1st ed.). New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-4013-0929-9. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  18. ^ "Frank Luntz's Tarnished Legacy". CBS News. September 22, 2009.
  19. ^ "Interview Frank Luntz". PBS Frontline. Retrieved December 17, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Douglas, William (December 15, 2011). "Newt Gingrich's mouth is famous as a verbal blowtorch". McClatchy Newspapers.
  21. ^ "Language: A Key Mechanism of Control". Information Clearing House.
  22. ^ Cockburn, Patrick (July 27, 2014). "Israel-Gaza conflict: The secret report that helps Israelis to hide facts". The Independent. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  23. ^ Burkeman, Oliver (March 4, 2003). "Memo exposes Bush's new green strategy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  24. ^ "Climate chaos: Bush's climate of fear" (TV Programme). UK: BBC News. 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  25. ^ Burkeman, Oliver (March 4, 2003). "Memo exposes Bush's new green strategy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  26. ^ Environmental Defense Fund. "Pollster Frank Luntz Releases New Polling Results: Bipartisan Public Support for National Climate Legislation". Environmental Defense Fund. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  27. ^ "How a celebrity pollster created Cameron" by Nick Cohen, The Observer, 10 December 2006
  28. ^ "The Luntz Effect". Irish Election. December 10, 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  29. ^ "The Voters' Verdict". The Australian. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  30. ^ "Sun dial tells who shone". The Sun. London. April 16, 2010.
  31. ^ "Pollster Frank Luntz predicts 2015 hung parliament". BBC. August 7, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  32. ^ "Live UK election results". The Guardian. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  33. ^ Honan, Edith (July 24, 2012). "Poll finds gun owners, even NRA members, back some restrictions". Reuters.
  34. ^ Moody, Chris (December 1, 2011). "How Republicans are being taught to talk about Occupy Wall Street". Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  35. ^ Molly Ball (January 6, 2014). "The Agony of Frank Luntz". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  36. ^ Jim Geraghty. "Cheering Up Frank Luntz, and Ourselves – National Review Online". National Review Online. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  37. ^ "Frank Luntz: I Sold Polling Business Because I Did All I Can". Newsmax. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  38. ^ Chinni, Dante (May 26, 2000). "Why should we trust this man?". Salon.com. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  39. ^ Morin, Richard (August 28, 2000). "Famous for 15 Minutes". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  40. ^ Howard Kurtz's Media Notes, Washington Post: Pink-slipped pollster. October 4, 2004.
  41. ^ PolitiFact's Lie of the Year: 'A government takeover of health care', by Bill Adair, Angie Drobnic Holan, PolitiFact, December 16, 2010
  42. ^ "Review & Outlook: PolitiFiction". Wall Street Journal. December 23, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  43. ^ "The Problematic Frank Luntz's Stockholm Syndrome". American Spectator. April 25, 2013.
  44. ^ "Frank Luntz's problematic secret Rush Limbaugh tape". Mother Jones. April 30, 2013.
  45. ^ Corn, David (April 25, 2013). "Secret Tape: Top GOP Consultant Luntz Calls Limbaugh "Problematic"". Mother Jones.
  46. ^ Smith, Sarah; Marble, Will (April 25, 2013). "Student leaks off-the-record comments by Republican strategist". The Daily Pennsylvanian.
  47. ^ Lavender, Paige (April 26, 2013). "Frank Luntz Fires Back After Comments Are Leaked". Huffington Post.
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