“Fair share” or “Class warfare”?

by David Safier

If there's going to be a battle of sound bites about Obama's tax-the-rich proposal, it should be a contest between "fair share" and "class warfare." That's the question: Is Obama demanding the rich pay a reasonable — fair — amount of their income in taxes, or is he waging war on the rich?

The answer to me is obvious. If there is "class warfare" in this country, just look at the current income distribution and figure out who's winning the war. It ain't the poor and the middle class. Obama's proposal for higher taxes actually bends over backwards to be fair in its definition of "fair share." I would like to see the rich taxed at far higher rates than Obama suggests.

Already, though, I've seen the MSM trumpet the "class warfare" meme, and I haven't seen "fair share" around as much. I can think of a few reasons.

1. Conservatives say "class warfare" ten times for every time a progressive says "fair share." The right doesn't try to be clever; it sticks to the catch phrases that work. Everyone on the left thinks they can say it better in their own words. They're still in college trying to write a better, cleverer, longer essay than their classmates. (Maybe someone should tell them they're going to have a talking points vocabulary test at the end of the week. "Say it ten times a day, and you'll ace the test.")

2. The talking heads are familiar and comfortable with the term "class warfare." It's been around for decades. They feel safe and comfortable in their comfort zones.

3. "Class warfare" has a blood-and-guts bite to it. "Fair share" is mom trying to teach her kids how to play nice. Blood and guts sells newspapers and attracts TV viewers.

Democrats can easily turn the "class warfare" meme on its head if they have to, but Lakoff says, repeating the conservatives' frame, even to refute it, strengthens the frame.

No answers here. I'm just thinking on keyboard.

UPDATE: I guess the words "fair" and "fairness" are creeping into the cable news discussions, as in, "Is it fair for a barber to pay more in taxes than a millionaire?" Repeat that enough times, and the "class warfare" idea begins to look ridiculous.