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“People say that all social media did is give people the mouthpiece to voice what they’ve been thinking for decades. I don’t think they were thinking it. I think we put it into their heads.” – Frank Luntz

In case you don’t know Frank Luntz, he has advised Republicans on messaging for decades. He is responsible for the phrase “death tax” instead of “estate tax” and changed “global warming” to “climate change.” His work has included messaging for Newt Gingrich‘s Contract with America.  His role in promoting Republican ideas was so important he was featured in Jen Senko’s Webby nominated documentary on the rise of right wing media in America, The Brainwashing of My Dad.  Here is a brief clip from the film where Luntz is being interviewed by Jen Senko.

This week Luntz made news by saying  of Trump, “It’s his own damn fault.”  That was not the most interesting thing he had to say in the following podcast. If you want to know more about how the Republican propagandists operate and where he sees things going, and why, take a listen. Although you’ll have to do some self-filtering because like most Republicans he easily fluctuates between sounding rational for awhile before suddenly dropping off the deep end into Crazyland.  Luntz sees himself as someone who was on a righteous mission to tap into the minds of the American public. He seems shocked by where we have gotten to today. He doesn’t see how what he did had anything to do with it.

The podcast is a glimpse into the self-deluded mind of a Republican propagandist who sees himself as a mere pollster.