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Spring 2021

ISSN 0890-913X

Volume 36, Number 1

Rhetoric as a Way of Limiting the Range of Acceptable Policy Positions

Stefanie Haeffele, Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Virgil Henry Storr, George Mason University

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TheJournalofPrivateEnterprise36(1),2021,1–16RhetoricasaWayofLimitingtheRangeofAcceptablePolicyPositionsStefanieHaeffeleMercatusCenteratGeorgeMasonUniversityVirgilHenryStorrGeorgeMasonUniversity______________________________________________________AbstractUnderstandinghowpoliticalactorsnotonlysetthetermsofpolicydebatesbutlimittherangeofacceptablepolicypositionsiscriticaltounderstandingthepoliticalprocess.Beyondtheirmostpreferredpolicies,politiciansandspecialinterestshavesetsofpoliciesthattheywouldfindacceptable,thoughnotideal.Inadditiontoadvocatingfortheirpolicyideals,politicalactorsattempttolimitdebatetothosepoliciesthatarewithintheirpreferredset.Thisrhetoricalstrategyhasimplicationsforhowtoidentify,assess,anddiscusspolicydebatesandlikelyoutcomes.______________________________________________________JELCodes:D72,D78Keywords:rhetoric,framing,politicalstrategy,publicpolicyI.IntroductionPoliticalrhetoricisusedtoshapedebate,conveylegitimacy,clarifyintentions,andultimatelyaffectthespeaker’spopularitywiththepeopleandlikelihoodofachievingtheirdesiredoutcome.1Interestingly,whileresearchonthekeyroleplayedbyrhetoricinpoliticsdoesexist,discussionsofhowrhetoricisusedtomanipulatethefeasiblesetofpolicyoutcomesortheacceptablecontentofpoliciesarelesscommonintheliterature.Forinstance,thereisanemphasisonhowrhetoriccanbeusedtostiremotions,suchasfearandanger,inordertogainpublicsupportforthepolitician’sdesiredpolicies(seeJerit2004;Higgs2006,2007;KrebsandJackson2007),butnotnecessarilyhowthoseemotionalappealsconstrainthesetofpolicyoutcomes.Likewise,agendasettingexplainswhycertainissues1Riker(1986)coinedtheterm“heresthetic,”asacompanionto“rhetoric,”todescribetheartofusingpoliticalspeechtostrategicallymanipulatehearersintosupportingthespeaker’spolicypreferences.

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Title	Rhetoric as a Way of Limiting the Range of Acceptable Policy Positions
Authors/Creators:	Stefanie Haeffele, Mercatus Center at George Mason University Virgil Henry Storr, George Mason University
Year:	2021
Volume:	36
Number:	1
Pages:	1 - 16
Publisher:	The Association of Private Enterprise Education
ISSN:	0890-913X
Document Type:	Articles
Keywords:	rhetoric, framing, political strategy, public policy

Citation:
Haeffele, Stefanie; Storr, Virgil Henry / 2021. "Rhetoric as a Way of Limiting the Range of Acceptable Policy Positions." The Journal of Private Enterprise, 36(1): 1-16.