Leaked Luntz Report: Intro to Outline

A 160-page playbook of GOP strategies and talking points was leaked last week. Apparently entitled, "The New American Lexicon," it explains how to use language to garner support for a list of Republican agenda items including changes to Social Security, taxation, trade, lawsuits and energy policy.
Today, policies are marketed to the public much like cars or toothpaste or any other commercial product. The Bush team, far more than any other administration, has devoted enormous resources into these kinds of marketing efforts. The White House's PR budget doubled under Bush. Numerous scandals are now showing that the administration is also using public resources for such "propaganda."
Frank Luntz conducts research for the GOP and specializes in testing words and phrases in surveys and focus groups. The results help the GOP set the terms of debate; and, through brute repetition, these phrases may become common parlance.
It was Luntz who renamed the estate tax (which only affects the very rich) to the "death tax" (which only affects the very rich but sounds more sweeping). Luntz explained this coup in a recent episode of Frontine, "The Persuaders."
Two years ago, a Luntz paper on the environment was also leaked. One part of the report (for example) explained that "climate change" tested better than "global warming." Since then, "climate change" is the term of choice for the GOP.
"The New American Lexicon" is a far more comprehensive report with recommendations on many of the major policy initiatives of the Republican Party.
Reading through this, I was repeatedly reminded of a quote from an administration official who spoke desparagingly of "the reality-based community." The unnamed official said that the Bush team creates reality while the reality-based community is too busy trying to figure out what has happened.
In lieu of reality, we always have perceptions. And perception management is what this document is all about. It concentrates on what people believe and how they react, with little regard for the truth value of those beliefs.
The report is a collection of documents designed for easy thumbing-through. The sections on policy each have a breakdown of the main points at the beginning. Excerpted here are these main points and it reads like a table of contents. For any section you find interesting, I recommend going to the original document and read it more thoroughly. It also includes numerous real-world examples of "Words that Work" from political speeches.
The excerpts I'm posting here do leave out some of the more alarming and casually manipulative statements such as:

"First, you will never find any symbol as powerful as the American flag. The flag is in many ways an American Rorschach test - the inkblot upon which Americans project their ideals of America. It is both too easy and too vague at the same time." From the section on context & tone.

"[A] villain always helps. Our polling indicates that 31% of Americans see China as the country that ignores agreements and breaks rules the most often. They are the number one response by a long shot, and if approached with some degree of sensitivity, could function as a stunningly effective foil when talking about fairness." From the section on trade.

"September 11th changed everything. So start with 9/11. This is the context that explains and justifies why we have $500 billion dollar deficits, why the stock market tanked, why unemployment climbed to 6% and why we are still in a rebuilding mode. Much of the public anger can be immediately pacified if they are reminded that we would not be in this situation today if 9/11 had not happened, and that it is unfair to blame the current political leadership or corporate America for the consequences of that day." From the section on the economy.

"I want you to see as many examples of the ownership issue as possible because this is SUCH a critical component of any Social Security communication. Hammer away at it until it is an absolute fact in their minds!

"...Let's face it — seniors love to talk about their kids and grandkids, so talk about them. Tell them about the opportunity America has to insure their retirement security. This point, though simple, is extraordinarily powerful, ESPECIALLY with older women." From the section on Social Security.

These and more can be found in the full document. The excerpts have had their bolds, italics and underlines removed for easier online reading. Big thanks go to Jay for the OCR help.
Finally, a note on Fair Use. On the one hand hand, this report from Luntz Research Companies is intellectual property, the value of which is partially due to its secrecy.
However, since this report also contains vital information about proposed US policy and managing public discourse, it is material citizens deserve to know. As such, this reproduction is protected according to fair comment and criticism. Furthermore it is in keeping with the value of government accountability.

Excerpted Outline to "The New Amrican Lexicon."

Outline by sections:
Introduction: Learning from 2004... Winning in 2006
Setting the Context and Tone
Growth, Prosperity & Restoring Economic Opportunity
International Trade: Promoting America's Competitiveness
The Budget: Ending Wasteful Washington Spending
Tax Relief & Simplification
Social Security = Retirement Security
Lawsuit Abuse Reform: A Common Sense Approach
An Energy Policy for the 21st Century
Appendix: The 14 Phrases Never to Use