GOPAC
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Industry | Politics |
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Founded | 1978 |
Founder | Governor Pete du Pont |
Headquarters | 1201 Wilson Ave Suite 2110 Arlington, VA 22209 |
Key people |
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Revenue | $400,057 (2013) |
Website | www.gopac.org |
GOPAC is a
History
GOPAC was founded by
Others who have chaired GOPAC include former
Instructional tapes used to train aspiring Republican politicians from 1986 to 1994 were selected by the Library of Congress as a 2010 addition to the National Recording Registry for their influence in "shaping political discourse". The Library of Congress selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3]
GOPAC memo of 1990
Drawing rhetorical inspiration from Newt Gingrich, GOPAC wrote and distributed a memo to Republican Party legislative candidates in 1990.[4] The memo, which came from a list drawn up by Frank Luntz,[5] called "Language: A Key Mechanism of Control", contained a list of "contrasting words" and "optimistic positive governing words" that Gingrich recommended for use in describing Democrats and Republicans, respectively. For example, words to use against opponents include decay, failure (fail), collapse(ing), deeper, crisis, urgent(cy), destructive, destroy, sick, pathetic, lie, radical, liberal, they/them, unionized bureaucracy, betray, consequences, limit(s), shallow, traitors, sensationalists,"compassion" is not enough; words to use in defining an opposing candidate's own campaign and vision included share, change, opportunity, legacy, challenge, control, truth, moral, courage, reform, prosperity, crusade, movement, children, family, debate, compete, active(ly), we/us/our, candid(ly), humane, pristine, provide. Al Franken, a comedian and later a U.S. senator from Minnesota, wrote that GOP candidates were drilled to adopt three basic techniques in debating: "Go Negative Early"; "Don't Try to Educate"; "Never Back Off". Minor details were relevant only to 'demolish the opposition'.[6]
The cover page of the memo said: "The words in that paper are tested language from a recent series of focus groups where we actually tested ideas and language."[7][8]
The comic strip Doonesbury mentions the memo in a strip, calling it the "Magna Carta of attack politics."[9]
References
- ^ a b "Chairman's Corner". GOPAC. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
- ^ Moughty, Sarah (December 21, 2011). "The Long March of Newt Gingrich: Part Five". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
- ^ "The National Recording Registry 2010". Library of Congress. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ^ "Political Memo; For G.O.P. Arsenal, 133 Words to Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ^ Al Franken 1996 p.253.
- Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations, Bantam Books1996 pp.154-164, 154.
- Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. February 1995. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ^ "GOPAC Memo on Language (1990)". UTK.edu. Archived from the original on September 2, 2013.
- ^ Trudeau, Garry (September 21, 2008). "Doonesbury". G.B. Trudeau.
External links
- Official website
- GOPAC's 2013 990 Form (pdf)