THE VIDEO
Elizabeth Warren, one of the democratic Senator of Massachusetts, took to the Senate floor to address the issue regarding Planned Parenthood. As of recently, the Republican party has been urging to vote to defund Planned Parenthood, and Senator Warren had some choice words on the subject. She choose to bring attention to certain topics regarding Planned Parenthood, to get her voice and opinion across to her fellow Senators. Warren makes it a point to emphasize how the Republicans almost shut down the government once before; again on an issue regarding women’s health and rights. She asks the Republicans if they had “[fallen] down and woke[n] up in the 1950s,” to really make clear which side of the argument she was on, if it was not clear enough before. Throughout the whole, speech it is evident that Warren is passionate about this subject when she brings in her own daughters and granddaughters and how this vote, depending on the outcome, will have effects on her family and many others. She not only brings up her female family members, but she mentions as well how men can be affected by this, if Planned Parenthood does get defunded. She asks her fellow colleagues to stand with her and support Planned Parenthood, solidifying her stance on the subject.
Elizabeth Warren, one of the democratic Senator of Massachusetts, took to the Senate floor to address the issue regarding Planned Parenthood. As of recently, the Republican party has been urging to vote to defund Planned Parenthood, and Senator Warren had some choice words on the subject. She choose to bring attention to certain topics regarding Planned Parenthood, to get her voice and opinion across to her fellow Senators. Warren makes it a point to emphasize how the Republicans almost shut down the government once before; again on an issue regarding women’s health and rights. She asks the Republicans if they had “[fallen] down and woke[n] up in the 1950s,” to really make clear which side of the argument she was on, if it was not clear enough before. Throughout the whole, speech it is evident that Warren is passionate about this subject when she brings in her own daughters and granddaughters and how this vote, depending on the outcome, will have effects on her family and many others. She not only brings up her female family members, but she mentions as well how men can be affected by this, if Planned Parenthood does get defunded. She asks her fellow colleagues to stand with her and support Planned Parenthood, solidifying her stance on the subject.
THE MESSAGE
In this video Elizabeth Warren, uses cunning banter to draw her audience in and grab their intentions. Banter, according to Jay Heinrichs it “is a form of attack and defense consisting of clever insults and snappy comebacks”(100). Like it was explained in Heinrichs’ book, banter is like a “Yo Mama” joke that was quite popular when I was younger, and mostly likely for a lot of you reading this. It was a way to joke around with friends, and again get a dig on them, but without totally hurting their feelings. Warren skillfully uses banter in the beginning of her speech when asking the Republicans if they had “fallen on their heads," or if they "were back in the 1950s, or the 1800s, and if they should call a doctor.” She makes a joke about how they are viewing women and their bodies, like men did in the past. She obviously knows that that isn’t the case; them having fallen on their heads, but said it to make a point.
She wanted to make those clever insults that Heinrich had mentioned, and possibly to lighten the mood at the beginning, bring in some humor, and to also get the upper hand. She was able to use this banter to discredit the Republicans and build her case, in a brilliant way. It also connects with the audience who can appreciate a good hearted joke and right off the bat Warren draws people into her speech. It’s a smart tactic, especially in the beginning of a speech to grab your audience's attention, and give them a good laugh in the process. She is able to bring herself above her Republican counterparts using this tool. She does this to try and diffuse the tension and to bring a laugh to the people who relate to her and/or are on her side of this argument.
Another Political commercial supporting Planned Parenthood
The use of Logos, as Heinrich would describe it, is "argument by logic” (45), which Warren uses as a way to convey her message to her target audience. At around 3:45 in the video, Warren mentions how the Republicans have tried dealing with women’s issues before and almost caused a government shutdown the first time and are about to do the same. That time it was regarding the government made it so employers can deny giving access of birth control to female employees. To further go on with her logos angle, Warren brings in quite a bit of data surrounding Planned Parenthood and it's services.
She references the statistic of "1 in 5 women in america is a Planned Parenthood patient at least once in her life," to emphasize how women really are using this organization every year. Also, how "2.7 million women, and men, show up for help at Planned Parenthood." And the biggest one, "1/2 of the Planned Parenthood centers are located in areas without ready access to health care," and at these centers, women can get mammograms and couples can get STD screenings. I think Elizabeth Warren wanted to bring in more factual evidence for those in the audience who are persuaded on more facts and on the more logical side of an argument. This way she is able to have more credit in her speech because she is using real evidence on why Planned Parenthood is very useful and should not be defunded.
Elizabeth Warren is a very smart speaker, she's a politician after all. What is so great at the end of her speech is how she acts as if this personally hurts her, which in a way it potentially could. This tool also draws in another tool of ethos because "ethos" as Heinrich puts it "counts more than any other aspect of rhetoric" (76). Warren states how defunding women would take away so many things, like cancer screenings and birth control, and basic healthcare for millions of women. She brings up her own family members and how the Republicans are targeting them and all other women with this vote to defund Planned Parenthood.
It’s very smart to use the tool because it makes not only connected to the speaker but even more so if it will hurt them in the end. Making it personal was a very smart move and very effective. She told the audience how if the vote goes through to defund Planned Parenthood it affects all women and men who use their services. This coming from a woman is very effective as well because it directly affects her and all other women. It plays of people values, and who would willingly take away a woman’s right, especially in a country that prides itself on equality for all.
"1 in 5 women in America use Planned Parenthood once in their lifetime"
-Elizabeth Warren
-Elizabeth Warren
WHAT'S NEXT
Picking the right technique when writing a rhetorical analysis is a serious game. You want to use the best techniques, and if you know Jay Heinrichs' book "Thank You For Arguing," you know there are a lot of them. Elizabeth Warren effectively used smart Banter, logos (for the factual minded people), and acted as if this personally affected her, which being a female, was most likely the case.
I believe that Elizabeth Warren was successful in her argument, even being in front of a tough crowd *yes, I’m talking to you Republicans.* She was able to use these techniques to quickly get her audience involved, was heavy on the factual evidence, and made it very personally, causing many people to connect with her speech. Maybe something Elizabeth could have done better was not come across as attacking as much, though her tone was modest. I do think that this speech did resonate with a lot of the audience because the vote for defunding Planned Parenthood was unsuccessful. I believe Elizabeth Warren with her speech, along with other advocates, had a hand in stopping that potential mistake.
Women's right is are as important now as ever and that's why this speech is perfect timing. With the government threatening to defund Planned Parenthood, it's time that us women stand up for the rights that we deserve. Let's follow in the steps of Elizabeth Warren and get our voices heard. Join me and many other women and Stand With Planned Parenthood. Now...and for many years to come!
*If you would like to take the pledge and Stand With Planned Parenthood, click HERE!*