For those not familiar with the term, "dog-whistle politics" is defined as follows:Dog-whistle politics, also known as the use of code words, is a term for a type of political campaigning or speechmaking which is employs coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has a different or more specific meaning for a targeted subgroup of the audience...With that definition in mind, let's consider the words of Republican Attorney General nominee Ken Cuccinelli from his latest "Cuccinelli Compass."
[...]
One group of American code words is claimed to appeal to racism of the intended audience. The phrase "states' rights", although literally referring to powers of individual state governments in the United States, has been described as a code word for institutionalized segregation and racism. Other terms that some people say are used to indicate alleged veiled racism are "crime in the streets" and "welfare queens".
...We're creating our own version of the million dollar club and we're going to call it the Gadsden Plan, after the Gadsden flag and what it stands for.OK, now, cue the howls of all the Cooch supporters and right wingers (sorry for the redundancy) out there, telling us how the "Gadsden Flag," "Don't Tread on Me," and "Minutemen" are all completely innocuous and/or positive symbols from American history. For instance, Cooch's defenders will probably point out that the Gadsden Flag, is "considered one of the first flags of the United States...later replaced by the current Stars and Stripes (or Old Glory) flag." True, true. They likely will also note that "Minutemen" were "members of teams of select men from the American colonial militia during the American Revolutionary War." Also true. In these contexts, the terms "Gadsden Flag" (or "Don't Tread on Me") and "Minutemen" would be perfectly fine.
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We also have a June-only program called our "Minuteman Program." Because we have a strong immediate need for donations, anyone that can raise or donate a total of $1,000 or more before June 30th will be inducted as "Minutemen" in our Gadsden Program. That title will be immediately retired for this campaign, so there will be no more Minutemen added after June. Think you can do it? If you're not sure, you may just surprise yourself!
Once you raise or donate a total of $1,000, you will be inducted in the Gadsden Program. If you do this in June, you will join the exclusive "Minutemen," for the remainder of the campaign after June, those at this level of participation will join the "Don't Treaders" (i.e., Don't Tread On Me). When you reach this level, we will get you a unique lapel pin. Those who join as Minutemen will get two pins, the Don't Treader pin plus a separate Minuteman pin.
But what about other contexts, like...this ("The Gadsden Flag has been used throughout modern politics as a symbol of disagreement with the current governmment. This flag was most notably used during the Tea Party protests of 2009. The flag is often associated with the Right of revolution.") or this ("The Minuteman Project is an activist organization started in April 2005[1] by a group of private individuals in the United States to monitor the United States–Mexico border's flow of illegal immigrants. Co-founded by Jim Gilchrist, the name derives from the Minutemen, militiamen who fought in the American Revolution. The Minuteman Project describes itself as "a citizens' Neighborhood Watch on our border", and has attracted media attention to illegal immigration.")? Also click here and read about how "the Minuteman Project and its chapters have been called an extreme nativist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center."
In sum, this looks like classic "dog whistle politics" being employed by Ken Cuccinelli here in his "Compass." On the one hand, we have a positive and even patriotic meaning of a word. On the other hand, we have a darker meaning of the same word that can be utilized as a signal to right-wing groups and individuals. Thus, while "Minutemen" were Revolutionary War heroes 230+ years ago, today they are also a prominent anti-immigrant militia labeled "extreme nativist" by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Similarly, the "Gadsden Flag" was a symbol of the American colonies and their revolt against British rule in 1776, but today it is widely used as a symbol by anti-government, conservative/right-wing "tea party" participants and the like. Which meaning one is supposed to draw from these terms, as used by super-conservative politicians like Ken Cuccinelli, is left unclear and ambiguous. Fortunately, one doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to detect the "wink wink nudge nudge" messaging going on here. And that, dear readers, is exactly what "dog whistle politics" is all about. Nice job, Senator Cuccinelli! :)
