Frank Luntz

Frank Luntz, the Republican Party pollster and political consultant, is president and CEO of Luntz Research Companies, which offers "Strategic Consulting and Message Development," focus groups, surveys and other research for political and corporate campaigns. In 2005, Luntz sold his firm to the Omnicom Group. He is now the chair and CEO of the new firm, Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research.[1]

According to his LRC bio, Luntz has worked for "more than a dozen Fortune 100 companies ... from Merrill Lynch to Federal Express, Disney to American Express, from AT&T to Pfizer, from Kroger supermarkets to McDonalds to the entire soft drink and motion picture industries. ... as well as some of the largest business associations, from the Chamber of Commerce to the National Association of Manufacturers to the Business Roundtable."[2]

Reprimanded

According to Salon.com, "In 1997, Luntz was formally reprimanded by the American Association for Public Opinion Research for his work polling on the GOP's 1994 'Contract with America' campaign document. Luntz told the media that everything in the contract had the support of at least 60 percent of the general public. Considering the elementary phrasing of that document (stop violent criminals, protect our kids, strong national defense), it seems almost laughably uncontroversial. But one of AAPOR's 1,400 members wasn't so amused, and filed a complaint requesting to see Luntz's research and a verification of the figure. Luntz's response? He couldn't reveal the information because of client confidentiality." [3]

Notable Work

Luntz's other notable work includes:[4]

• During the height of the war in Iraq, he conducted televised sessions in Cairo, Paris, and elsewhere for MSNBC.
• In April 2003 Luntz made headlines when a memo - "The Environment: a cleaner, safer, healthier America" - he prepared for GOP leaders on how to win "the environmental communications battle" was leaked to the press.
• In May 2003 another memo attributed to The Luntz Research Companies and The Israel Project was leaked. It outlined how American Jewish leaders should incorporate the war in Iraq into their public comments about Israel: "Israeli Communications Priorities 2003"
• In March 2004, Grist magazine reported on an emphatic Luntz memo (PDF) sent out in February 2004 discussing Americans' intense feelings on the subject of water: "Young and old, Democrat AND Republican, the demand for clean water is universal. More importantly, the public is willing to pay for it . An overwhelming majority of Americans - 91 percent - agree that 'if, as a country, we are willing to invest BILLIONS of dollars annually in highways and airways, we certainly should be willing to make the necessary investments in our nation's waterways. '" [The italic and bold flourishes are Luntz Research's own.]
• "Communicating the Principles of Prevention and Protection in the War on Terror", mentioned on the PBS TV show "Now with Bill Moyers", apparently prepared for the Bush Administration, full of guidance on specific words, phrases, and context to use when talking about the policy of pre-emption and the war in Iraq." This advice included: "No speech about homeland security or Iraq should begin without a reference to 9/11"
• Media Matters for America wrote a letter to MSNBC urging that Luntz not be included in the station's presidential debate coverage, due to "Luntz's partisan Republican ties and history of questionable scientific methodology." MSNBC did decide to cancel Luntz's participation, two days before the first debate. "I think they [MSNBC] buckled to political pressure," Luntz said. "They caved. . . . Why is it that Democrats are allowed to do this, but Republicans aren't?"[5]
• Journalist and blogger Joshua Micah Marshall, fact-checking a Luntz claim that "he's done no GOP work since 2001,"[6] describes regular briefings Luntz gave to the House Republican Caucus, at least as recently as mid-2004, and concludes: "Sounds like Luntz provides regular strategy briefings for Republicans and does it, not suprisingly, in part to troll for work."[7] In a subsequent post, Marshall (expanding on others' reports) wrote, "According to the California Secretary of State's website, the Bill Simon (R) for Governor campaign paid Luntz about $80,000 in 2002 and 2003. He also got paid over $25,000 in 2003 by Darrell Issa's recall committee 'RESCUE CALIFORNIA'."[8]
• A memo titled "The 14 Words Never to Use," which, according to Luntz, was "originally prepared exclusively for Congressional spouses because they are your eyes and ears, a one-person reality check and truth squad combined…However, by popular demand, I have included and expanded that document because effectively communicating the New American Lexicon requires you to STOP saying words and phrases that undermine your ability to educate the American people. So from today forward, YOU are the language police. From today forward, these are the words never to say again." The verboten verbiage includes "government," "privatization," "global economy/globalization/capitalism," and "outsourcing." [9]
• Another memo titled "The Eleven Steps to Effective Trade Communication," in which Luntz writes, "Americans love being told we’re the best, that we’re number one. We will do anything—ANYTHING—to remain number one, and will oppose anything that undermines our superiority. It is essential in any discussion of trade to declare that we are 'the greatest economic power in the world' and that 'we will remain the greatest economic power in the world only so long as we continue to do business with other nations.'" [10]
• The DailyKos reported on May 25, 2006 that it has a copy of an October 2005 memo by Luntz about how to spin the immigration debate. “Americans are not only ready for an overhaul of illegal immigration policy, they are demanding it. It has become such an important issue that many are willing to vote against their traditional party if they disagree with a candidate’s position on immigration reform. Linguistically, as you enter the debate, there are four key themes that must represent the core of your message: prevention, protection, accountability and compassion.” [11]

Customers

• BBC
• RTE (Ireland)

Affiliations

• Renaissance Weekend

References, Resources and Contact

Resources

• Newt Gingrich – Luntz co-produced the "contract for America"
• Hasbara
• The Israel Project

External Links

• Dante Chinni, "Why should we trust this man?," Salon.com, 26 May 2000.
• "Interview with Frank Luntz," The Persuaders, PBS Frontline, 15 December 2003.
• Bill Berkowitz, profile for Media Transparency, October 2004
• Howard Kurtz, "A Changed Political Landscape, or an Isolated Peak in the Polls?," Washington Post, October 4, 2004.
• Hilary Leila Krieger, Expert: Israeli PR improving, but..., Jerusalem Post, 16 December 2004.
• Nancy Snow, "The Language Police: Gettin’ Jiggy with Frank Luntz," Common Dreams, 26 February 2005.
• Frank Luntz, "It will be a hard night for Blair on May 5," Times Online (UK), 4 April 2005.
• "The Luntz Research Companies sold to Omnicom", Media Release, 14 July 2005.
• Henry Norr, How the Next Generation Views Israel - we should be so lucky!, 22 Dec 2005. (contains a discussion of a Luntz/TheIsraelProject study)
• Samara Kalk Derby, "GOP pollster gives tips to Democrats", Capital Times, 21 February 2006.
• Bill Berkowitz, "by Washington Republicans, Frank Luntz turns to Canada", Media Transparency, 27 May 2006.
• Guy Adams and Ben Chu, Frank Luntz: the US's hottest pollster, The Independent, 24 Feb. 2007.
• Bill Berkowitz, The Frank Luntz Effect, DissidentVoice, 31 August 2007.