Lee Atwater's Political Success Linked with Mass Communication Theory

Lee Atwater's Political Success Linked with Mass Communication Theory How Atwater used the Magic Bullet, Agenda-setting, Priming, and Framing Theories to Achieve Political Success James Cochran University of North Alabama 12/1/2012 Lee Atwater's Campaign Success Derived from Mass Communication Theory Abstract Lee Atwater remains one of the most recognized political consultants in recent U.S. history. Having served on campaigns for prominent politicians such as Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Atwater preyed upon the emotion of voters by molding campaigns around "wedge issues." Atwater was able to use these issues to control voter response through four mass communication theories: magic bullet, agenda setting, priming and framing. Atwater effectively used these theories to lead his candidates to political success, leaving a lasting legacy of media mastery in his wake. Lee Atwater's Campaign Success Derived from Mass Communication Theory Main Body Introduction In the past, American politicians were required to run on merit, wit, and a great deal of craftiness. Campaigns were ground out through back-room deals, dependent upon obtaining grass roots support and occasionally won on issue-focused campaigns. Beginning in the early 20th century, the nature of the political campaign changed for good. Much of it began in 1933 when two Californians, Clem Whitaker and Leone Baxter founded the first political consulting firm, called Campaigns, Inc. In an article published by The New Yorker, Jill Lepore (2012) wrote, "Although Whitaker and Baxter, who founded a company called Campaigns, Inc. in 1933, were the first and the most influential political consultants in American history, they are very little known. They worked behind the scenes. They tried very hard to stay out of the limelight. That makes writing their history tricky." While Whitaker and Baxter may have attempted to operate under the cover of shadow, America is witnessing the rise of the political consultant directly into the media spotlight. Karl Rove, Paul Begala, and James Carville exemplify the trend of consultants turned pundits. However, it seems none of the aforementioned individuals loved the spotlight as much as deceased political consultant Lee Atwater. Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater served on campaigns for political greats such as Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, but he was best known for two things: a spitfire personality and a calculated callousness in the campaign game. Atwater was infamous for his ability to find what was emotionally important to the people and take advantage of this to promote his candidate. Either individuals think Atwater "a brilliant strategist" or "the bane of politics," but nearly all concede Atwater was a master of manipulating the populace. However, Atwater was able to achieve complex manipulation through a simplified Lee Atwater's Campaign Success Derived from Mass Communication Theory means: Atwater used a combination of four very simple mass communication theories in conjunction with one another. By combining the magic bullet, agenda-setting, priming, and framing media-communication theories, Lee Atwater was successful in efforts to manipulate voters via "wedge" issues to gain voting support for his political candidates. Brief Biography of Atwater The biography of Atwater is easily traceable, unlike many of his campaign antics. Atwater was born in Atlanta, GA but raised in Aiken, SC. Atwater underwent a severe tragedy early in life in the loss of his younger brother, who was scalded to death by hot oil at the age of three. Atwater would go on to attend Newberry College in South Carolina, where he would begin his career in politics. He would not begin to garner recognition until serving on the campaign of then Sen. Strom Thurmond. Atwater had relative success in the state of South Carolina, winning election for congressional candidate Carroll Campbell (R, 1978). Atwater then served as consultant to Republican candidate Floyd Spence in his bid for Congress in the year 1980. Atwater would go on to serve as an aide in the Regan campaign in 1980, receiving promotion to deputy-campaign manager for the 1984 re-election campaign. After finding himself in network with George H. W. Bush, Atwater fought his way to attain the spot of Bush's 1988 campaign manager. Shortly after Bush won election, he appointed Atwater chairperson of the Republican National Committee. After collapsing during a fundraising speech in 1990, Atwater struggled to overcome an aggressive brain tumor. After battling the tumor and undergoing a self-professed change in life views, Atwater passed away on March 29, 1991. Lee Atwater's Campaign Success Derived from Mass Communication Theory Rise of and role played by political consultants To understand the role played by Atwater, one must first understand the power and influence held by political consultants in recent political elections. Political consultants actually serve a variety of functions including fundraising specialists, media advisors, pollsters, and communication specialists. Generally, these individuals help construct and then run a campaign. David Dulio writes, "[Political consultants] have become the individuals who candidates turn to for advice during, and sometimes between, campaigns and have become a nearly ubiquitous presence in modern elections (xv, 2004)." The political consulting business has become substantial enough for many universities to add graduate degrees that focus on political campaign consulting. While the first consulting firm was established in 1933, Dulio contributes the rise of the political consultant with a different even occurring around 1960: the shifting from a party- focused election to a candidate-focused election (p. 31, 2002). He writes that a shift took place in which mobilization became over shadowed by attitude conversion, much of which can be attributed to mass media becoming a commonplace entity. When this transition occurred, the political consultant was the first to benefit. Over the span of the next twenty years, America witnessed a major growth in the number of political consultants. Numbers grew from relatively few full time-consultants to hundreds, even thousands if you counted full local advertising executives focusing on political issues (Sabato, p. 13, 1981). Dennis Johnson (2001), former associate dean of the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University, writes that there have developed three tiers of consultants: 1) strategists, or lead consultants developing the strategy and tactics for winning the campaign Lee Atwater's Campaign Success Derived from Mass Communication Theory 2) specialists, or experts who focus on one skill such as fund-raising or polling; and the 3) vendors, or individuals who supply a commodity such as a website or voter file. The amount of professions within the political consulting field exemplifies how much the field has grown since its humble beginnings in 1933. The Aggression of Atwater as Described by Colleagues Atwater was able to introduce a relatively new tactic into the campaign industry. He was notorious for playing upon the emotions of voters either to attract them to his candidate or to turn voters against the opposing candidate. Richard McBride, political consultant and friend to Atwater, claimed, "[Atwater's] whole thing was wedges and magnets. What pulls people apart and what attracts people...You find ways to bring people to you and ways to divide people who are against you. That was his bottom-line practical theory (Moore & Slater, p. 138, 2003)." Atwater was adept at finding "wedge issues" and repeating the message until the wedge created a literal divide in voter reaction; typically voters wound up on Atwater's side of the split. Atwater was able to level claims at political candidates, often false in nature, and the mainstream media would relentlessly cover Atwater's attacks. Atwater understood that as soon as the stories were aired, voters would only remember the claim and not the future coverage about the validity of the claim. Atwater was ruthless in his attacks on candidates, refusing to abide by any type of "gentleman's rule" for personal privacy. He attacked candidates based on public rumor and personal history, and many of his claims stuck. Joe Conason and Gene Lyons (2000) wrote of Atwater as a callous victor: "He had cultivated a reputation as the meanest and most devious campaign strategist in the business, a man who would do anything to defeat an opponent. It was Lee Atwater's Campaign Success Derived from Mass Communication Theory a persona he cherished, and he had no intention of changing his identity." Atwater gained notoriety for this as he quickly rose to fame in the political ranks. He did this through unified use of four mass communication theories: magic bullet, agenda-setting, priming and framing. Definition of Magic Bullet Theory This research adopted the definition of magic bullet theory provided by Baran & Davis (2008), whom state "[magic bullet theory] is the idea that propaganda can be powerful enough to penetrate most people's defenses and condition them to act in ways useful to the propagandist (p. 80)." To refer to Atwater's antics as propaganda may be a stretch for some, but many Democrats would argue that to call Atwater's strategy "propaganda" would be an attack on propaganda. Atwater was infamous for finding issues that preyed upon the fears of voters. In Steve Forbes 2008 documentary Boogie Man: the Lee Atwater story, Eric Alterman explained, "People vote their fears and not their hopes. Lee understood that." Many in the academic field have discredited magic bullet theory as being much too simplified a theory to harbor credence, and truthfully, it cannot be given sole responsibility for Atwater's success. Only when coupled with agenda- setting, priming and framing theories can one fully understand Atwater's manipulation of the public audience. Definition of Agenda-Setting and Priming Theories Agenda-setting theory focuses on the news media and how these entities dictate what is important to the common citizen.

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