Editing GOPAC (section)

==GOPAC memo of 1990==
Drawing rhetorical inspiration from Newt Gingrich, GOPAC wrote and distributed a memo to Republican Party legislative candidates in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|title=Political Memo; For G.O.P. Arsenal, 133 Words to Fire|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/09/us/political-memo-for-gop-arsenal-133-words-to-fire.html|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 28, 2018}}</ref> The memo, which came from a list drawn up by [[Frank Luntz]],<ref>Al Franken 1996 p.253.</ref> 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 a 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.

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."<ref name="fair">{{cite web |url=https://fair.org/home/language-a-key-mechanism-of-control |title=Language: A Key Mechanism of Control |date=February 1995 |work=Fair.org |publisher=[[Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting]] |access-date=February 28, 2018}}</ref><ref name="UTK">{{cite web |url=http://web.utk.edu/~glenn/GopacMemo.html |publisher=UTK.edu |title=GOPAC Memo on Language (1990) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902053532/http://web.utk.edu/~glenn/GopacMemo.html |archive-date=September 2, 2013}}</ref>

The comic strip ''[[Doonesbury]] '' mentions the memo in a strip, calling it the "Magna Carta
of attack politics."<ref>{{cite web |date=September 21, 2008 |url=http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/2008/09/21 |title=Doonesbury |last=Trudeau |first=Garry |author-link=Garry Trudeau |publisher=G.B. Trudeau}}</ref> [[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'.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Al Franken |first=Al |last=Franken |title=[[Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations]] |publisher=[[Bantam Books]] |date=1996 |pages=154–164}}</ref>