Reply #1: I disagree completely

[Walt Starr]

I suggest you read Lakoff. All of America shares the Progressive values we espouse. Our difficluty has been in engaging in a debate under the terms of the regressive Conservatives. Language is importnant and they have learned it.

I even applied some of this to the above paragraph. I defined my values as Progressive, dumping the illegitimate term "liberal" which has been demonized for forty years. Jettison that bullshit phrase, it's useless and it will take forty years to redefine. I am a Progressive and am working for the Progressive Revolution.

By defining myself as Progressive, I represent my core values as being in motion in a forward direction. Anybody who dares oppose my core values is now a Regressive by definition. I further enhance that metaphor by stating specifically that my opponents are Regressive Conservatives, tieing up the two philosophical phrases in a binding action where the two cannot be seperated.

I've just won the debate without saying anything other than the fact that I represent Progressive values. As we move more deeply into defining those values, I utilize terminology and metaphors that everybody understands and sharesat their core. In the end, I dessimate my opponent by 1) Defining him, 2) defining myself as the one who wants to move forward, 3) making him the bad guy because he doesn't want to move forward.

Get the picture?