Dog Whistles, Walk-Backs, and Washington Handshakes: Decoding the Jargon, Slang, and Bluster of American Political Speech

by Chuck McCutcheon, David Mark

To the amusement of the pundits and the regret of the electorate, our modern political jargon has become even more brazenly two-faced and obfuscatory than ever. Where once we had Muckrakers, now we have Bed-Wetters. Where Blue Dogs once slept peaceably in the sun, Attack Dogs now roam the land. During election season—a near constant these days—the coded rhetoric of candidates and their spin doctors, and the deliberately meaningless but toxic semiotics of the wing nuts and backbenchers, reach near-Orwellian levels of self-satisfaction, vitriol, and deceit. The average NPR or talk radio listener, MSNBC or Fox News viewer, or blameless New York Times or Wall Street Journal reader is likely to be perplexed, nonplussed, and lulled into a state of apathetic resignation and civic somnolence by the rapid-fire incomprehensibility of political pronouncement and commentary—which is, frankly, putting us exactly where the pundits want us.
Dog Whistles, Walk-Backs, and Washington Handshakes is a tonic and a corrective. It is a reference and field guide to the language of politics by two veteran observers that not only defines terms and phrases but also explains their history and etymology, describes who uses them against whom, and why, and reveals the most telling, infamous, amusing, and shocking examples of their recent use. It is a handbook of lexicography for the Wonkette and This Town generation, a sleeker, more modern Safire's Political Dictionary, and a concise, pointed, bipartisan guide to the lies, obfuscations, and helical constructions of modern American political language, as practiced by real-life versions of the characters on House of Cards.

Genres: Politics, Reference, Psychology, Nonfiction, History

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

I'm a writer and editor in Washington, D.C. My work has appeared in such publications as The Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post and National Geographic online.

My favorite books include:

"Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon
"High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby
"What It Takes" by Richard Ben Cramer
"A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
"Up In The Old Hotel" by Joseph Mitchell
"On Writing Well" by William Zinsser

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received this book through Goodreads First Reads*

This book serves as an excellent field guide to the jargon of American politics. The authors brilliantly blend veteran knowledge of the political sphere with wit to entertainingly demonstrate the insincerity and baffling nature of modern political language. It truly shines in the history, etymology, current uses, shocking examples, and amusing commentary provided below each term.

Here are some select entries:

Attack Dog: A political type who's obviously willing to utter scathingly partisan things - a spokesman, insult comic, and source of blogosphere cacophony rolled into one.
The Good Old Days: Nostalgia for earlier eras in American politics, which in reality weren't always that great. Good old days recollections can take on an old-timers' get-off-my-lawn flavor.
"I Want to Spend More Time With My Family": The all-purpose euphemistic excuse for someone who's departing a job under a cloud of criminal or ethical suspicion but doesn't want to reveal that.
My Good Friend: A politician's term, usually spoken on the House or Senate floors, for someone they actually can't stand.
Opening Statements: Mini-speeches delivered by members of Congress at committee hearings while witnesses are forced to sit by mute.
Walk-Back: Attempts by politicians and press handlers to limit the damage done by dumb, embarrassing, and stupid statements. It's a politely euphemistic way to address the subject of lying or deception without having to use those rather unseemly words.
Washington handshake: Greeting somebody while looking over his or her shoulder to see if there could be a more important person in the room.

[Gene · Rating 5 out of 5]

How/why are you expected to participate in our American democracy if you can’t understand a darn thing anyone is saying?

This indispensable, portable paperback, is THE field guide to American political speech. With it you can finally find out exactly what candidates, elected officials, staffers, spinmeisters, bloggers, talking heads and the news media really mean when they say all the crazy, coded, confusing things they say.

QUIZ time!!!

Can you define the three terms in the book’s title: Dog Whistle, Walk-Back and Washington Handshake?

NO PEEKING

Here are the ANSWERS:

Dog whistle: Political messaging using coded language that seems to mean one thing to the general population, but which to a targeted subgroup means something else entirely.

Walk back: Attempts by politicians and press handlers to limit the damage done by dumb, embarrassing, and stupid statements. It’s a politely euphemistic way to address the subject of lying or deception without having to use those rather unseemly words.

Washington handshake: Greeting somebody while looking over his or her shoulder to see if there could be a more important person in the room.

How did you do?

[Elizabeth Partoyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As informative as it is hilarious, this clever compendium is a witty and thorough study of "all-things-DC" lingo. McCutcheon and Mark astutely and candidly present an expansive array of Washington-speak that will delight political junkies and those curious about the function (and dysfunction!) of our government alike. Handily divided into chapters focusing on different aspects of politics Americana - facets such as people, the legislative process, campaigns, and the media - the authors expertly guide you through the morasse that is the expressions and exclamations of the contemporary political scene. A must-read!

[Exapno Mapcase · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a comprehensive and non-partisan look at political terms, some familiar, some obscure, but all have been relevant at some point. Having the definitions separated into categories, rather than list them alphabetically is a nice touch as was having a real-life and current example for almost all. This is definitely a handy guide for the political junkie or linguists.

Free review copy.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I Received This Book Through Goodreads First Reads*

This book offers some great insight into the treasure trove of weird jargon an lingo that is used by politicians, political commentators, etc. It's already come in handy a couple of times while watching the news.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually met the author's on my recent trip to Washington DC and during their talk I knew I had to read this book. It's political satire at its best.

[Greg]

Great read for the political insider and outsider alike - especially in an election year!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever wonder where we get some of the language and words that are thrown around in the political arena? Then this is the book for you. It is a fun read to learn the origin of some of the slang that gets thrown around, especially in politics. Impress your friends with your new found knowledge whenever politics comes up in conversations!

Fun book to read and recommended for everyone!

***I received this book through LibraryThing's Member Giveaway. The opinion is solely my own.***

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little tour through political lingo, filled with quick examples from both sides of the aisle.

[Muneera Salem-Murdock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bought it from Op-Shop. It was kind of interesting for a while but I lost interest and did not finish it.

[Nadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I received this book through Goodreads First Reads*

It was interesting to learn more about the slang of American political speech and its origins. Quite an informative read.