Newt’s Glittering Generalities
Newt Gingrich’s Language, A Key Mechanism of Control offered rhetorical advice to Republican candidates who wanted to “speak like Newt.”
The booklet contained two lists of words. GOP candidates were instructed to use one set of “positive, governing words,” (glittering generalities) when speaking about themselves. A second set of negative words (name-calling words) were to be used against their opponents.
This is the list of “positive, governing words” that GOP candidates were told to use when speaking about themselves or their policies.
- Active(ly)
- Activist
- Building
- Candid(ly)
- Care(ing)
- Challenge
- Change
- Children
- Choice/choose
- Citizen
- Commitment
- Common sense
- Compete
- Confident
- Conflict
- Control
- Courage
- Crusade
- Debate
- Dream
- Duty
- Eliminate good-time in prison
- Empower(ment)
- Fair
- Family
- Freedom
- Hard work
- Help
- Humane
- Incentive
- Initiative
- Lead
- Learn
- Legacy
- Liberty
- Light
- Listen
- Mobilize
- Moral
- Movement
- Opportunity
- Passionate
- Peace
- Pioneer
- Precious
- Premise
- Preserve
- Principle(d)
- Pristine
- Pro-(issue) flag, children, environment
- Prosperity
- Protect
- Proud/pride
- Provide
- Reform
- Rights
- Share
- Strength
- Success
- Tough
- Truth
- Unique
- Vision
- We/us/our
- Workfare