No shit, Holmes

Via Kevin Drum, this obvious piece of advice from Frank Luntz. Yes, that Frank Luntz.

Luntz:

--“Cleaner, safer, healthier” is a more effective phrase than “sustainability.” Sustainability is about maintaining the present, while politicians have to be for something new and better in order to win support.

--Even more specific, enviros tend to focus on “clean” while Americans want to focus on “health.”

--Stop saying “green jobs.” Say “American jobs.”

--“Carbon neutral” conjures up “Hollywood types flying across the country and buying carbon offsets.” “Accountability for polluters,” on the other hand, conjures up good governance.

Luntz insists that Americans would support a cap on carbon emissions—80 percent of Dems, but also 43 percent of Republicans he surveyed are either definitely or pretty sure climate change is a problem that's caused in part by humans. But he doesn't believe cap-and-trade can pass as long as "it’s called ‘cap-and-trade,’ and all the messaging that’s been used against it.

I totally agree. Call it the "American Taxpayers Get Fun New Toys and Don't Have To Pay For Gas Anymore" bill. Especially since energy legislation involves so much more than just cap-and-trade, this legislation has to be renamed.