Mike Allen At Politico - Words That Work

Frank Luntz of The Word Doctors was at the Capitol this week to brief Republican lawmakers on his new plan for undermining Democrats' health-reform without making the GOP look bad. GOP sources provided Pulse with his 8-page playbook: 'You STILL need to acknowledge the need for reform. ... Public anger is REAL (note to certain media outlets & bloggers who will eventually savage this memo: the town hall phenomenon is NOT manufactured). ... offer 'a better approach.' ... Barack Obama is right: what Americans want is a solution, not continued political bickering. And what your 'solution' must provide is, in a word, more: 'more access to more treatments and more doctors...with less interference from insurance companies and Washington politicians and special interests.' ... 'Bipartisanship' is what Americans want from Washington when it comes to healthcare. Here, the GOP needs to make a much greater effort. Once you've articulated the goal of bipartisanship, it is fair game (and according to our polling, supported by independents) to level a sharper attack on those who control Congress: 'The Democratic Party controls a 77 seat majority in the House and almost 20 seats in the Senate, along with the White House. If they cannot get a bill passed with such overwhelming control of Washington, it says there's something wrong with the legislation. Rather than forcing a bill through with only limited support, they should keep working until they can get a bill that represents the opinions of most Americans.''