The Podium, the Pulpit, and the Republicans: How Presidential Candidates Use Religious Language in American Political Debate
In
The Podium, the Pulpit, and the Republicans: How Presidential
Candidates Use Religious Language in American Political Debate, a
veteran minister analyzes the religious metaphors Republicans use at the
podium and alleges that the party deliberately employs blaming tactics,
fear metaphors, and coded references to apocalyptic judgment to sway
undecided voters. Over the past 40 years, Frederick Stecker charges, the
Republican Party has created fear for political expediency. Stecker's
book traces the development of the Republican rhetoric of polarization
and applies the linguistics-based "nation-as-a-family" political
typology of George Lakoff to an analysis of the presidential debates of
2000, 2004, and 2008. He demonstrates how Republican candidates select
their language and metaphors to signal adherence to rigid belief systems
and simple, black-and-white choices in domestic and foreign policy.
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