Bush the Conservative p. 11
“Surplus” and “money” do not have an emotional appeal of their own. However, the usage of the terms is used to generate a gut-level emotional reaction. “The surplus is not the government’s money” is a direct attempt to gain support by denying the government’s claim to tax revenue. The insistence that someone holds something that does not belong to them is a de facto emotional appeal. It cries of injustice and the need for correcting the problem and setting things to right.
The set-up statement, then, is that a crime has been committed by the government – a theft of money that does not belong to it. The follow-up appeal to trust crystallizes this argument – the President can be trusted to right this wrong because he trusts you with your own money. This is a rhetorical device that twists logic on its head with the unspoken claim that the reason government steals money from taxpayers is because it doesn’t trust them to have that money. Because the President trusts taxpayers, they can trust him. He will restore the proper balance.
It is also an important factor that the discussion quickly moves from “the people’s money” to “your money”. This moves the discussion from a large-scale economic discussion of macro-economics and taxation and into a smaller group – the people in attendance – that have been wronged by violating their trust and stealing their money. It is an elaborate ideological argument wrapped up in a few political keywords and packaged as propaganda.
Go on to Page 12
The set-up statement, then, is that a crime has been committed by the government – a theft of money that does not belong to it. The follow-up appeal to trust crystallizes this argument – the President can be trusted to right this wrong because he trusts you with your own money. This is a rhetorical device that twists logic on its head with the unspoken claim that the reason government steals money from taxpayers is because it doesn’t trust them to have that money. Because the President trusts taxpayers, they can trust him. He will restore the proper balance.
It is also an important factor that the discussion quickly moves from “the people’s money” to “your money”. This moves the discussion from a large-scale economic discussion of macro-economics and taxation and into a smaller group – the people in attendance – that have been wronged by violating their trust and stealing their money. It is an elaborate ideological argument wrapped up in a few political keywords and packaged as propaganda.
Go on to Page 12
© 2004 by Xpatriated Texan
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