They Built the Divisive Political Machine, Now They Blame Our Parenting

Inside the hypocrisy of America's political operatives

Days after Mother's Day, Frank Luntz — a prominent Republican pollster and messaging consultant who rose to fame crafting political language for Newt Gingrich and the GOP in the 1990s — decided to blame mothers for America's toxic political climate.

On Governor Gavin Newsom's podcast, Luntz claimed mothers were responsible for our current divisive environment because they're reluctant to take away their children's phones. Newsom sat there and nodded.  This came before Jake Tapper today released a new book on President Joe Biden’s decline.  If recent history is any predictor, I’m guessing Newsom has Tapper on soon… 

I’m just so over it all.  

While Luntz actively engineered divisive political messaging, other high profile individuals like Tapper or even Newsom have played different roles in building the environment we experience now — some amplifying polarization for show, and now shifting their approaches depending on which way the political winds blow. What unites them is a reluctance to acknowledge their own contributions to our fractured discourse.

Frank Luntz on Governor Gavin Newsom’s podcast where Luntz claims moms are the reason for political division.

The architects of division

I was a high school student in Galesburg, Illinois, watching the political machinery Luntz orchestrated with Newt Gingrich during the 1990s. For those unfamiliar with his work, Luntz is the communication strategist who helped Republicans win control of Congress in 1994.

He crafted the messaging for the "Contract with America" and choreographed the rhetorical strategy behind the impeachment of Bill Clinton. I learned about blow jobs not from the internet — I didn't even have a cell phone then — but because the President of the United States was interrogated about the specific mechanics of sexual acts. Was using a cigar sex?

This became national discourse while manufacturing towns like mine lost jobs, Americans struggled with healthcare costs, and our education system languished.

Frank Luntz mastered the art of framing issues to maximize emotional impact rather than promote understanding. He famously taught Republican politicians to say "death tax" instead of "estate tax" and proudly declared: "I am much more interested in how you feel than how you think."

His influence extended well beyond the 1990s — he played a role in orchestrating Republican opposition to the Obama administration's health care reform efforts. I witnessed this firsthand when, as part of the Obama administration, I helped open a House Republican Caucus meeting to the press to publicly expose the obstructionist tactics. Luntz had advised Republicans on messaging strategies designed to block healthcare reform rather than improve it.  On the podcast he recalls this event, where President Obama mentions Luntz, as someone who he tried to call and engage, while Luntz was taking notes on how he was going to tie it all to Nancy Pelosi.  For him the notes were already about a blame game versus solutions. 

Luntz represents a particular breed of political operative — one who actively crafted the language of division and is now attempting to recast himself as merely an observer of a problem created by others. 

Meanwhile, in mainstream media, figures like Jake Tapper — CNN's lead Washington anchor and chief Washington correspondent — have navigated a different path but often sowed division through their work, too. Before his journalism career, Tapper served as press secretary for Democratic Representative Marjorie Margolies from Pennsylvania (who became Chelsea Clinton's mother-in-law). He then briefly worked in PR before entering journalism.

I remember Jake Tapper well from traveling with the White House press corps.  As a Midwesterner, I've always been skeptical of those who manage up while being dismissive of those they don't think they need something from — a behavior I've observed in many Washington circles. These personalities may not have engineered division like Luntz, but Tapper has participated in a media ecosystem that too often prioritizes access and spectacle over accountability. And now with all the hype, Tapper stands to profit mightily from a gossip driven book, supposedly in an effort to bring about others’ accountability. 

The blame game

The reality? Our polarized political landscape wasn't created in a vacuum. The road from Gingrich's partisan warfare to reality TV politics was paved by a complex interplay of forces: political operatives who crafted divisive language, media figures who found that conflict drives ratings, and a political system that increasingly rewarded extremism over compromise.

While Americans worried about jobs, healthcare, and education, Washington and the media often fixated on scandals and partisan theater.

Those of us raising children today are doing so in the environment that these guys helped build. Mothers — who already shoulder disproportionate family responsibilities — now face the added burden of navigating a toxic information landscape engineered by the very people blaming them for not cleaning it up. It's particularly rich to hear Luntz blame moms when, if nothing else, fathers would seemingly be part of that equation too.

When I pointed out his misplaced blame on social media, Luntz responded, offended that I'd used the phrase "wanted to slap him." To be absolutely clear — I don't condone or advocate for political violence in any form. The "slap" was entirely proverbial — a figurative wake-up call that I believe is necessary when someone who profited from division for decades blames mothers for the political climate he helped create. 

I've actually been to Luntz's Los Angeles home, attending an Axios event he hosted after I moved to California. The experience was surreal. Outside sat a statue of President Obama, the guy I worked for, greeting visitors. Inside, Luntz’s house was meticulously decorated with presidential memorabilia — Air Force One M&Ms, White House paraphernalia — items that most former staffers like me shove into boxes. But the true monument to his political influence was his construction of full size replicas of the Oval Office, the White House bowling alley, and the Lincoln Bedroom. This elaborate shrine was built on profits made from sowing division, not progress.

This is the same man who later rented a room in his DC home to Kevin McCarthy while he was Speaker of the House — a perfect example of the insider culture that breeds skepticism about our political system among everyday Americans in places like my hometown of Galesburg. Luntz has made his fortune from individuals and organizations that benefit from the very polarization he helped create. And now he blames mothers – who are just trying their best in a dysfunctional system he helped build.

Moving forward

The political division in America wasn't caused by smartphones. It wasn't caused by mothers failing to police their children's screen time. Social media is only the kindling that helped the fire of division grow. 

The division we face was deliberately cultivated by political strategists who discovered that anger and fear drive engagement better than hope and unity. It was amplified by media figures who found that conflict drives ratings better than context. And it was exploited by politicians who found it easier to demonize opponents than to solve complex problems. 

What we need isn't reinvention from political operatives like Luntz, nor is it establishment media figures stepping into new roles without acknowledging their past contributions. What we need is accountability across the spectrum – from those who deliberately engineered division to those who passively enabled it. And then we need a fresh perspective: An active attention on the voices who have consistently worked to respect, empower, include, and bring about progress, and those who are determined to fix problems.

So no, Frank Luntz, mothers aren't to blame for America's political division. And no, media figures who now position themselves as defenders of the truth without acknowledging their role in our polarized landscape and distrust aren't the solution either.

Those of us who came of age during the Clinton impeachment haven't forgotten who helped write the playbook for our current dysfunction. And those of us raising children in this broken system will continue working to fix what was broken—not by taking away phones, but by demanding better from our leaders, our media, and our political discourse.

I believe we can do better. I believe we must. The generation that men like Frank Luntz blame is also the generation most motivated to create the change we need. And we're not waiting for permission from the architects of this division to build something better.  (Though I did offer to Luntz I’d be happy to talk to him about the roots of this division👇 if he actually cares what we think.)