Dictionary definition of “dog-whistle politics”

dog-whistle politics

n. a concealed, coded, or unstated idea, usually divisive or politically dangerous, nevertheless understood by the intended voters. Also dog whistle issue. Subjects: English, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Politics

Editorial Note: A dog whistle is often used as a figurative device for something cannot be heard or understood by everyone, or that surreptitiously compels people to come along. Etymological Note: Despite the information in the first 2000 citation, this term probably originated in Australia or New Zealand, though it could be derived from the dog whistle effect in American polling, which is the ability of survey participants to distinguish a difference in questions where a pollster may not have intended one. The credit for the coinage in the 2005 cite is unproven though possible, since Lynton Crosby ran four election campaigns for Australian Prime Minister John Howard; Crosby certainly introduced the term in the U.K.

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Citations: 1988 Richard Morin Washington Post (Oct. 16) “Behind the Numbers: Confessions Of a Pollster” p. C1: About 15 percent more people were “very happy” when the alternative was being merely “fairly happy.” Maybe they were really that happy, or maybe the pollsters offered them unacceptable choices. Anyway, researchers call this the “Dog Whistle Effect”: Respondents hear something in the question that researchers do not. [1989 Russell Smith Dallas Morning News (Apr. 9) “Has Mtv Sharpened Its Edge?” p. 1C: The spot, which has no obvious reason to exist, is like a secret signal, a dog whistle blown on the thirtysomething frequency. Come back, MTV beckons, in a language it hasn’t spoken in years.] 1997 The Dominion (New Zealand) (Dec. 16) “Election Fight On Race Issue” p. 8: Labor’s spokesman on aboriginal affairs has already accused Mr Howard of “dog-whistle politics”—in rejecting a race election, he actually sent a high-pitched signal to those attuned to hear it. 2000 Tony Wright The Age (Australia) (Apr. 8) “The Dog Whistler”: The Americans call this “dog-whistle politics.” Blow a dog whistle, and you won’t hear much to get excited about. But the target of the whistle…the dogs—will detect a sound beyond the audible range of the rest of us, and will react to it. Two quite different messages are contained within the one action of blowing the whistle: the one benign, the other designed to be heard and heeded only by the ears tuned to it. 2000 Dennis Atkins Courier Mail (Brisbane, Australia) (Apr. 10) “Driving a wedge to win” p. 13: A simple statement such as “I don’t like political correctness” might not sound too threatening but there are some who hear something quite different, such as “It’s okay to be racist.” When the politician who used the original words is challenged for inciting racism, he or she is able to say, “No, all I said was I’m against political correctness, what’s wrong with that?” A number of people last week hotly disputed that wedge and dog-whistle politics are played in Australia. Don’t believe them. That’s just spin. 2002 Shaun Carney The Age (7) (Nov. 2) “Closer to Asia than you think”: The message from the Howard Government in its early days was that Australia was not part of Asia and never would be. To a considerable degree, it was part of a dog-whistle campaign by the Coalition. At a time when rural voters and elements of blue-collar Australia were rallying around Pauline Hanson’s simplified nostrums for dealing with what she portrayed as the Asianisation of the nation (and the featherbedding of Aborigines), Howard was, with some fanfare, cutting back immigration numbers. 2005 Jonathan Freedland Guardian (U.K.) (Apr. 12) “Beware the nasty nudge and wink”: Every election introduces a new phrase into the political lexicon and the “dog-whistle issue” is 2005’s early contribution. Coined by Lynton Crosby, the strategic guru imported from Australia by Michael Howard, it refers to those policies that summon back voters who have gone astray.

Posted 12 Apr 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

my dog is 5 years old and is half beagle/half cocker spaniel, and she likes to run away everytime I open the door. And even when shes on the leash and she sees another animal, she is able to get out of her collar. Everytime I call for her to stop she continues running. She thinks we r playin. So If I bought a dog whistle, would that make her come back to me, if she runs away again?

by Peter Monroe 10 Sep 08, 0618 GMT

Oh gosh! We had the same problem with our boxer, she would “wiggle” out of her leash, we eventually had to buy a pinch-collar to help with that.

by Angela 03 Jan 09, 0327 GMT