Political Jargon 201 and Metaphors
This blog post discusses political metaphors that relate to nature : Political red herring, gerrymandering, logrolling and swift boat politics . The symbolism of color in politics is also highlighted . Other metaphors discussed are those with a directional bias (political crossroad, political compass) , sports (Political baton, scoring political points) and military related (To catch flak, fly under the voters’ radar, political firing line) .
Use of Color in Political Metaphors
In the 1990’s, the American media started to use the color red to signify states where voters predominantly voted for Republicans and blue for Democrats. A purple state in America features roughly even numbers of Democratic and Republican supporters in a presidential election.
A Blue Dog Democrat (now close to being extinct) was referred to a member of Congress who is moderate or more conservative in their voting record and political philosophy than other, more liberal, Democrats in the House and Senate. The equivalent analogs were called “Country Club Republicans or Rockefeller Republicans”.
Some media content that demonstrates this usage:
“The pandemic is dividing blue cities from their red states” was speaking about when many cities led by Democrat officials enforced sanctions when the Governors of the states, who were republican, refused to take action.
“Three reasons why the Democrats’ Blue Wall crumbled” was talking about the 2016 Presidential election when democrats lost states that had previously been predominantly Republican-won states.
There is even a book titled “Painting the Map Red: The Fight to Create a Permanent Republican Majority”.
Political Metaphors related to Nature
Water related metaphors
Water metaphors (Waves, tides, ripples, tsunami, splashes, surfing, draining the swamp) are especially used in the context of election results, sometimes in combination with the metaphors for color.
Some examples are :
“A red wave swept through”
“They’re a Blue Tidal Wave—If They Vote” when referring to teenagers voting.
“Why the blue wave is dying in the fight for the Senate” talks about the Democratic Party surfing a tide of discontent.
“Experts: It is indeed a women’s wave, but is it a blue wave?”
This headline uses the ripple metaphor to show that one party did not make make big gains in the election “A Blue Wave Election? Maybe More of a Ripple”
Political tides ebb and flow. Sometimes there are political tsunamis, as happened in Malaysia when the ruling coalition collapsed and the Prime Minister quit. Candidates create splashes and political pundits wonder if the splash can be turned into a wave.
Political candidates have used the rallying cry of draining the swamp to their advantage in the past, but it seems to have lost its luster on disaffected voters. The phrase comes from the physical draining of swamps in the past to combat malaria-carrying mosquitoes, and sometimes to make way for settlements. It is meant to signify a holistic reform of the government, or to root out corruption. A prior US President’s successful campaign mantra was indeed, “It’s time to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C.“. The underlying fact that Washington, D.C. is built on a swamp is not known to many.
Per this article from the Wall Street Journal, titled “Draining the Swamp: Up From the Muck—and Also From Corruption“, the original use of the phrase for politics was in an essay titled Draining a Political Swamp in 1899, where the author argued that the drainage of the swamplands around Toledo should be followed by “the conquest of the swamp of machine politics”.
Political parties or candidates are often accused of conducting fishing expeditions on their opponents. The comparison is that they will pull up whatever they happen to catch. If the catch happens to be a herring, it might be used to to create a diversion. Although these expeditions are unlikely to occur on a swift boat, those tactics can also be employed.
A “political red herring” is a diversion tactic used in politics as these examples show
“Foreign oil disdain a political red herring?”
“Is the undervalued yuan is a political red herring?”
The origin of the phrase is a little mysterious . A herring changes color to red after being smoked and has a very strong smell. There are references in literature to it being used by bandits to throw bloodhounds off their trail or being used to throw dogs off trail in hunts to deliberately prolong the hunt.
“Gerrymandering” which is used to refer to the redrawing of voting district boundaries to favor a specific political party. The word is a combination of the name of an early Massachusetts Governor, ‘Elbridge Gerry’, and the political boundary that he drew in the shape of a salamander.
A swift boat was a class of vessel used by the American Navy during the Vietnam war. In the past, an attempt was made to tarnish a prior presidential nominee’s campaign which was based on his heroism as a swift boat commander, by a group called the “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth”.
The term is now popularly used in politics to mean an unfair political attack or a smear campaign as the following example conveys.
“The essence of Swift Boat tactics, which—far from disappearing from American life —have become a mainstay in politics. They have been perfected over time, and are deployed in current Presidential campaigns”.
Other metaphors from nature
There is often political mudslinging during campaigns , but often it does not damage the reputation of the candidate being targeted who can score a landslide victory.
A Political Quagmire represents a complex situation, similar to the marshy land where one would sink into.
“Why is Medicare for all (Single Payer system) such a political quagmire?”
“The political quagmire of the prime minister accepting his country’s complicity in genocide”.
The origin of the phrase “Logrolling” comes from America in the frontier days where neighbors would help each other roll logs into heaps for burning after the trees had been cut to clear land. Sometimes also called horse-trading, it is commonly used in politics to refer to reciprocal (quid pro quo) voting for each other’s proposed legislation. It represents trading of political power.
“How old-fashioned logrolling produced Congress’ massive budget deal”
” Could our legislative leaders would get a lot more accomplished if they were willing to try logrolling on public projects? ”
Another phrase tied to the clearing of land is “Slash and burn”, which involves lighting fires to clear land. Slash-and-burn political ads and practices have minimal to no regard for the truth, and rely on frightening voters with damaging lies and half-truths about the opposition.
Political Metaphors related to Direction
Political ads and messages constantly seem to be steering America in a direction – up, down, turning it around.
Obama, George W.Bush and Ronald Reagan have all consistently used the phrase “stay the course” when campaigning for president. Mitt Romney’s website implored donors to help him “turn America around“. A political ad ended with Obama stating that “America is on the way up.” In another ad, Paul Ryan promised to “put the nation back on a path to renewed prosperity for all,” suggesting that the country has been derailed and needs to be put back on track. It always seems that there countries or governments are at a “political crossroad”.
In America, directional metaphors as “left” and “right” are used to signify a progressive or conservative candidate respectively. There is an interesting story on the origin of these metaphors going back to the French Revolution. Once you realize that there is a political ideology spectrum, the terms far-right, right-leaning, far-left and radical-left, all start to make sense. Your Political compass shows where you stand with left, right , libertarian north and authoritarian south.
“US election: How left-wing is the Democratic field?”
“How radical left-wing US presidential candidates have fared”
“How right-wing pundits are covering coronavirus”
“You know that right-wing stunt? ”
Sports Metaphors in Politics
Track sports
The electoral race has sometimes been compared to a relay race, especially when discussing if an incumbent can pass on their advantages to his party’s nominee. There are often references to handing off or passing the political baton. Barack Obama had also described his presidency as a relay race. Lowering the bar in politics , a phrase commonly used, comes from the sport of vaulting.
Boxing
If you see politics as one long boxing event, there is plenty of evidence to support that. However, there are others that have argued that presidential debates are not boxing matches and that our politicians are not pugilists, but politicians. No matter which side you fall on in the debate, read on and enjoy the political metaphors.
A common boxing maneuver, popularized by Mohammed Ali called “Rope-a-dope”, is commonly used in politics. The boxer chooses to take blows while leaning back on the ropes in an attempt to wear out his opponent.
“Explaining Clinton’s Rope-A-Dope Strategy Vs. Trump’s Whistle-Stopping”
“Foxconn’s Gou throws hat in ring for Taiwan presidency, with blessing of sea goddess”
“No real knock out punches in final debate of federal election campaign”
“Lawmakers Set to Take Gloves Off in Next Coronavirus Aid Fight”
“The meaningless of scoring political points”
“Why President Trump has the Fed on the ropes“
“New parties to slug it out in 2019 elections”
Political Chess and Dominoes
Politicians are adept in the game of political chess. They seem to have no hesitation in using people as pawns and moving political chess pieces. There is always speculation around what political dominoes might be the next to tumble.
Baseball
Baseball and politics have had a long history with Presidents throwing the ceremonial first pitches, notwithstanding the current President’s controversial stand to not follow the tradition. Per history.com, an American President (William Taft) is also to thank for the ritual of the seventh-inning stretch. Baseball is embedded in the psyche of America and politics is no exception as can be seen below.
“The Republican majority leader just threw a curveball to the Democrats”
Senate GOP throws healthcare curveball into tax debate”
“The Republican majority leader just threw a curveball to the Democrats”
“Her announcement that she would not be seeking re-election was such a refreshing political curveball“
“The mayor and City Council should step up to the plate and provide assistance to the residents of their city”
“It would appear that the current ruling party has, for the moment, retained its dominant position, given the equal failure of the national opposition to step up to the plate
“The primary debate stage can provide a candidate with the political home run they need to grab the attention of American voters”
“Their signature tax cuts were never the political home run they expected”.
Military Metaphors in Politics
There are “battleground” states and “political foot soldiers” that hit them, canvassing with old-fashioned door-knocking to secure votes . Political candidates “gun for each other” and “bombard the airwaves” . People and policies are often thrust into the “political firing line” as this media headline shows. Judicial races sometimes fly under voters’ radar. Election day is often referred to as “D-Day“, the day when Allied forces invaded Normandy in the second world war.
“As the world’s two biggest economies take pot-shots at each other , it’s multinationals that are are getting caught in the political firing line“.
“The President fires opening shot in trade war”
“White House fires opening salvo in budget skirmish”
“The Senate majority leader is taking flak over his decision to call Senators back to Capitol Hill after the House abruptly decided to cancel plans to do the same”
“To catch flak” is a phrase that has it’s origins in the second world war. This refers to catching criticism or taking fire (in a plane explosive shells from an antiaircraft weapon) from the enemy. Flak came into English as an abbreviation for the German word Fliegerabwehrkanone, meaning ‘aircraft-defense cannon’.
For many more metaphors, check out my blog post on Boxing Metaphors, Football Metaphors , Baseball Metaphors, Political Metaphors-Part I and Political Metaphors-Part III