Republicans Know How To Tell A Good Story

Mother Jones asks, Why are Liberals So Bad At It?

Perhaps the fundamental problem for the left is that it has long defined itself in opposition to the powerful. But it needs a story that is consistent with exercising power, and taking action. And it does have a powerful, true story to tell. The hero came over on the Mayflower in the 17th and after the Irish potato famine in the 19th and on a plane from Islamabad to JFK in the 21st. The hero left an old world of oppression, stagnation, and violence to live in a land of democracy, opportunity, and security. The hero willfully pays the dues for such a land--dues of hard work, dues of service, dues of taxes.

But in the same land, there are people who have forgotten where they came from. They’ve so lost faith with the covenant that they have begun to lie with abandon. They led us into a war by lying to us about Iraq, thus making us less secure. They wrecked the economy by lying to us about the effect of tax cuts, thus eroding the social fabric for opportunity.

From George Washington to Abraham Lincoln to Ike and JFK, breakout political leaders in this country have drawn on their personal story, and let it merge with the story they want to tell about the country. John Kerry needs to do the same. He dedicated himself to the service of his country, but when his leaders broke faith with him, he stood up and spoke the truth. “We are here,” he said April 1971 to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, “to ask vehemently, where are the leaders of our country?”

Many now turn to him with the same question. To answer, he needs to know the fundamental lessons of storytelling. Identify the hero and the journey and the prize. Articulate the threat. And show how the prize will be won.