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Wednesday, October 1, 2008 12:00 AM

Another Palin-Couric debacle

Katie Couric interviews Sarah Palin yet again, and once again ends up with evasion and one truly puzzling answer.

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  • Wednesday, October 1, 2008 11:39 AM

    abortion, birth control, and playing to the extremes

    Those who wonder why she shifted her answer to something along the lines of not wanting to see teenage girls go to jail for abortions, it's a standard conservative strategy. You come up with something really ridiculously over the top (imprisonment for having an abortion) that would shock your target audience. You don't have to be for it, or to have an opinion on it one way or another. You just have to make sure it comes up in conversation.

    Then, you propose something less draconian, like fines or jailtime for abortion providers. If you've gotten your audience used to hearing about the more extreme option, they'll be more likely to embrace the one that's more moderate by comparison (and the one the conservative wants you to embrace).

    And then you keep shifting the discussion ever rightward, gradually expanding the boundaries of what's politically acceptable. It's called the Overton Window.

    Sarah Palin may know squat about anything else, but these right wing fundies are incredibly crafty when it comes to abortion, and she knew what she was doing there, count on it.

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