Bill Berkowitz
May 26, 2006

Spurned by Washington Republicans, Frank Luntz turns to Canada

From Canada to Great Britain, from Iowa to the nation's capital, Frank Luntz is racking up the frequent flyer miles these days. Luntz, the Republican pollster/consultant and message massager, appears to be at his best when he's darting from one place to another dispensing advice and offering up fanciful political frames.

Recently, after an apparently fruitful meeting with Frank Luntz goes to Canada Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Luntz met with a group of Canadian conservatives and advised them how to win upcoming elections.

But Canada was only one stop for the Luntzmobile.

In recent weeks, the Toronto Star reported, Luntz weighed in with his "analysis of British Conservative Leader David Cameron's electoral chances, [given] his take on whether New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg could run as an independent for president ... and has tested the appeal of Democrat presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and John Edwards in New Hampshire and Iowa."

In addition, the New York Daily News reported, in a "private" meeting with 20 Republican state senators from New York, Luntz told them "to spurn any offers of campaign help made by [Gov. George] Pataki, according to people who attended the Albany gathering last week. ‘He told us if the governor offers help, just tell him you are going to be out of town or on vacation,' said one source."

Cavorting in Canada

After meeting in Canada with Stephen Harper, Luntz pointed out that "The Canadian and U.S. leaders could not be more different. Stephen Harper is a genuine intellectual, brilliant in his understanding of issues."

Luntz, perhaps suspecting that he'd said too much, added: "I think I'll leave it at that."

Luntz then spoke to the Civitas Society, an influential Conservative group whose members include Harper's chief of staff Ian Brodie and his former campaign manager Tom Flanagan.

"Luntz's links with the Canadian right go back to the days of the Preston Manning-led Reform party, but he characterized himself yesterday as a ‘casual observer' of Canadian politics," the Toronto Star reported.

"One thing he does know, Luntz said, is the previous Liberal government was corrupt and Harper should be blunt and open about repeatedly reminding Canadian voters of that. He said North American voters are sick of political scandals, and urged the Canadian government to avoid the American experience by finding out how the Liberals got to where they were and make sure it never happens again," the newspaper pointed out.

"'Canadians shouldn't have to go through what Americans are going through,'" Luntz said. "The U.S. system is rife with corruption, or perceived to be rife with corruption, and Canadians have an absolute right to know what previous governments did with their hard-earned money," he added.

According to a report posted at Canada.com, New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton expressed concern that Harper had met with Luntz: "I think if Mr. Harper was listening to Canadians instead of American right-wing pollsters, he would be taking very different positions on issues.

"He would be trying to do something to achieve the Kyoto (accord) objectives instead of just saying we can't do it. He would be taking immediate leadership on issues like Darfur. He would be moving on issues like child care and all the other things that Canadians have spoken about. But I guess if he's going to take his advice from an American pollster, we can't exactly expect that he's going to follow the recommendations of Canadian public opinion."

"Why is the prime minister taking direction from Republican pollsters?" Liberal MP Mark Holland asked during question period after the meeting. "Why are they more important to him than the elected premier of the province of Ontario?"

In mid-May, in what appears to be a mini "mission accomplished" moment, CTV.ca reported that Canadian environmentalists charged that "the Conservatives' communication strategy on climate change almost exactly echoe[d] advice in a three-year-old briefing book" written by Luntz. In his 2003 memo, Luntz advised against using "economic arguments against environmental regulations, because environmental arguments would always win out with average Americans concerned about their health."

According to CTV.ca, "Since the Conservatives took office, they have consistently stressed their commitment to clean air and water, and tried to avoid discussion of cutting back environmental programs – although many have been eliminated."

Not a Boehner buddy

Despite not being one of new House Majority Leader John Boehner's favorite people, Luntz showed up in Washington recently to dispense advice to Republican lawmakers and their staffs, Tom Chapman recently reported. According to Chapman, the Director of the Center for Media and Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation and the host of Townhall.com's Capitol Report, while Luntz's message wasn't particularly startling, it was straightforward: "It's crunch time for Republicans," Luntz said.

"You are going to have to be radical," Luntz told one group.

When John Boehner (R-Ohio) was installed as House Majority Leader in February, Luntz took a powder ... sort of. According to Roll Call, Luntz, who has had disagreements with Boehner, sent an e-mail to the staff of his Alexandria, VA-based Luntz Research Companies, with the subject line "Where We Stand."

The e-mail, sent after Luntz was excluded from a GOP House retreat, began: "By now, you are all probably aware that House Republicans have a new Majority Leader and he is not a fan of myself or my work. That's just the way it is."

Claiming that Boehner has "not always been an effective communicator" Luntz continued, "We have a long history that has not been pleasant. ... For 10 years, even though he was Conference Chair and a Committee Chair, I have actually had the upper hand. But now that he's in charge, I guess it's payback time."

"I reached out to about 40 Members over the past two days. Of those that got the message, over 30 called me back, and every one of them was supportive. Think about that for a moment. ... We have more fans in Congress than any ‘outsider,'" he said in the e-mail, He also pointed out that he had been invited to speak to an upcoming GOP Conference.

Luntz's e-mail ended with: "I am not happy at all about the situation, but this is what politics is all about. When [former Senate Majority Leader Trent] Lott [R-Miss.] lost his job, so did dozens of people. But after a few months, we found a way to integrate ourselves with [Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.)], and I will find some way to work through this challenge. Those of you who like the Congressional work will still be able to hone your skills. We just won't have the immediately [sic] impact we once had. We'll have to work a little harder and be a little smarter.”

"This is a good lesson. I just wish I didn't have to learn it now."

Luntz has clearly landed on his feet, however, and has even branched out a bit. According to the Nation's Ari Berman, "Luntz recently showed a focus group of Democratic primary voters in Iowa and New Hampshire footage of [Massachusetts Senator John] Kerry over the past few months. ‘Where the hell was this John Kerry?' Luntz says the voters asked him. ‘Why didn't he have this passion, this specificity, when we needed him to?' If Kerry had run in 2004 using his 2006 language, Luntz argues, he might be President now."

The frameister

Over the years, Luntz's contributions to framing the political debate make for a healthy Greatest Hits package: Before the 1994 Republican "Revolution," he helped Newt Gingrich craft the GOP's "Contract with America"; in 1997, he distributed a report entitled "The Language of the 21st Century," which he maintained was his "most serious effort to put together an effective, comprehensive national communications strategy"; during MonicaGate he encouraged Republicans to exploit Bill Clinton's sexual dalliances; in 2002, Luntz wrote an extensive memo advising the GOP to soften their linguistic approach to discussing environmental issues; and a June 2004 memo entitled "Communicating the Principles of Prevention & Protection in the War on Terror" offered Republicans the sound-bites for connecting the war on terror to the war on Iraq.

Luntz has earned the reputation of a man who not only reads the political tea leaves, but transforms that reading into a winning message. "Frank Luntz is the Republican Party's undisputed master of right-wing propaganda, conservative spin-meistering, political-deception, diversion, redirection and focusing the imagination of an unsuspecting audience in ways that bring about specific outcomes or foster public support for anti-environmental, anti-democratic or pro-business positions," Scott Silver, the executive director of the Bend, Oregon-based environmental group, Wild Wilderness, explained in a recent email.

While providing winning advice to the GOP, Luntz may also succeed in further diluting the already paper-thin democratic discourse. "Luntz combined the most effective techniques of Madison Avenue with the most effective tools of the psychoanalyst's couch and figured out how to apply them for the purpose of political persuasion," Silver told Media Transparency in an email. "He elevated to a science the persuasive art of the naturally gifted politician. Through the nearly universal adoption and application of Luntz's new science, all of political discourse has become less honest, less open, less productive and more divisive."

With Bush's poll numbers continuing to tank, Luntz recently pointed out that it was "absolutely possible for the Democrats to take one or both [houses this fall]. I was involved in 1994. It feels like a 1994-style election. Voters will come to the ballots for candidates they do not even know [to get the incumbent out]."