Kamala Harris avoids the traps

Does Kamala Harris need to focus more on specific policy details?

This was the main question behind a recent story in the San Francisco Chronicle headlined, "In laying out economic plan, Kamala Harris banks on vision over specifics."

In laying out economic plan, Kamala Harris banks on vision over specifics

Kamala Harris’ campaign is making the gamble that undecided voters care more about vision than specific policies.

San Francisco ChronicleShira Stein

(Click here for a gift link to the story.)

From the story:

"It’s about time that a Democrat learned how communication with voters actually works,” Gil Duran, who briefly served as Harris’ spokesperson when she was attorney general and has become a go-to source for Harris insight and criticism, told the Chronicle.

“Democrats traditionally think that lists of policies is what’s going to convince voters, whereas the Republicans tend to speak in broad terms about things like freedom and liberty, and be a little more vague on the specifics of policies,” Duran said. “The laundry list trap is dangerous because voters actually base their choices on things like moral values, authenticity, trust (and) identity.”

My answer was simple: Harris is doing it right.

Policies are important. But politicians too often make the mistake of thinking policies can take the place of clear, strong values-based messages. As Dr. George Lakoff wrote in Don't Think of An Elephant:

We must present a clear moral vision to the country—a moral vision common to all progressives. It must be more than a laundry list of facts, policies, and programs. It must present a moral alternative, one traditionally American, one that lies behind everything Americans are proud of.

Hillary Clinton famously had lists of detailed policies, but they didn't result in victory over Donald Trump. Harris – no stranger to Dr. Lakoff's work – appears to have grasped the lesson. She is framing her positions around cherished values like freedom rather than just reciting policy details and expecting voters to sort it out.

By using a moral values framework to sell her candidacy, Harris is avoiding what Dr. Lakoff calls the "Twelve Communication Traps Democrats and Progressives Must Avoid." These include the Laundry List Trap, the Rationalism Trap and the "Policies Are Values" Trap.

Read more about those here:

Twelve Communication Traps Democrats and Progressives Must Avoid

Dr. George Lakoff outlines the major pitfalls of political framing

FrameLabFrameLab

Emotion Shapes Our Thoughts

In a Vanity Fair piece about Harris's media strategy, Brian Stelter quotes Dr. Lakoff's recent comments on the FrameLab podcast:

George Lakoff, the acclaimed linguist and author of books like Don’t Think of an Elephant!, analyzed a set of Harris speeches and said the overriding sense of joy—so thoroughly ridiculed by Trump types—was the source of her power. “The key to effective communication is not just to present facts and figures, but to connect with people on an emotional level,” he wrote. “Emotion shapes our thoughts and decisions more than logic.”

Read more by clicking below (FYI, there may be a paywall, depending on how frequently you visit Vanity Fair).

Donald Trump Coverage Used to Give Media Outlets a Traffic Boost. Now It’s Kamala Harris’s Turn

What Joe Biden and Harris jointly taught in the summer of 2024 was the art of the heal—and readers and viewers are responding.

Vanity FairCondé Nast