How Trump and Sanders broke the Overton window
Coined by Joseph Overton, the term 'Overton window' refers to acceptable range of public discourse, which has changed dramatically this election cycle.
A protester holds up a sign in support of Democratic, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as Republican as presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a Super Tuesday campaign rally in Louisville, Kentucky.
Chris Bergin/Reuters
Overton window:听A term that refers to the acceptable range of public discourse, with those venturing outside the window considered non-mainstream.
It is named for Joseph Overton, who developed the idea at Michigan鈥檚 Mackinac Center for Public Policy in the mid-1990s. Overton noticed that in some areas, only a narrow range of potential policies are seen as palatable.
鈥淭his 鈥榳indow鈥� of politically acceptable options is primarily defined not by what politicians prefer, but rather by what they believe they can support and still win re-election,鈥� the center鈥檚 website 鈥淚n general, then, the window shifts to include different policy options not when ideas change among politicians, but when ideas change in the society that elects them.鈥�
Many pundits believe Donald Trump has jolted the Overton window far more than any presidential candidate in history. National Review鈥檚 David French that liberals previously had shifted it on gay marriage and transgender rights and were trying to do so on gun control.
鈥淭hen along came Donald Trump,鈥� French wrote. 鈥淥n key issues, he didn鈥檛 just move the Overton window, he smashed it, scattered the shards, and rolled over them with a steamroller. On issues like immigration, national security, and even the manner of political debate itself, there鈥檚 no window left. Registration of Muslims? On the table. Bans on Muslims entering the country? On the table. Mass deportation? On the table. Walling off our southern border at Mexico鈥檚 expense? On the table.鈥�
On the liberal Rachel Maddow Blog, Steve Benen not just Trump鈥檚 stances, but the subsequent rightward posturing of other GOP candidates on immigration and the treatment of Muslims. 鈥淲atching the Overton window move with such incredible speed is exasperating,鈥� he said.
But Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also is seen as helping to push the window in the opposite direction. Writing in Salon, Bob Cesca that 鈥渇or the first time in 50 years, the Overton window appears to be slowly moving leftward. For this, Bernie ought to receive a significant share of the credit. Obviously, two terms of the Obama administration, helmed by arguably the most progressive chief executive since FDR, hasn鈥檛 hurt either. But the best indicator of this leftward voyage has been Hillary Clinton鈥檚 cleverly perceptive adaptation of Bernie鈥檚 positions.鈥�
In a larger sense, social media has played a massive role in moving the window, said Clay Shirky, a New York University writer-in-residence who studies the Internet鈥檚 impact on society.
鈥淭he Overton window was imagined as a limit on public opinion, but in politics, it's the limit on what politicians will express in public,鈥� Shirky wrote in a series of tweets last month. 鈥淧olitically acceptable discourse is limited by supply, not demand. The public is hungry for more than politicians are willing to discuss.鈥�
The fact that people of all ideologies can invoke the Overton window undoubtedly sustains its continued popularity. Far-right provocateur Glenn Beck even wrote a with the title.
听Chuck McCutcheon writes his "Speaking Politics" blog exclusively for Politics Voices.
Interested in decoding what candidates are saying? Chuck McCutcheon and David Mark鈥檚 latest book, 鈥淒oubletalk: The Language, Code, and Jargon of a Presidential Election,鈥�