The death of Supreme Court Justice Scalia hasn’t changed the U.S. Constitution, the role of the president or the duties of the U.S. Senate. Governmentally, it’s a non-issue.

It has, however, changed politics, which is too often confused with government. They’re different beasts – lovers caught up in a dysfunctional relationship.

As a result of the death, many Americans shifted their sometimes-laser-focused gaze to a new issue: They suddenly remembered (or discovered) that their presidential candidate would play a pretty important role in court decisions. And, as this epiphany unfolded, they shivered a bit when they put two and two together: The power held by a president to nominate a Supreme Court justice equals indirect influence over other important issues, such as universal healthcare, the right to an abortion, and restrictions, if any, on gun ownership.

How many Americans worried about that particular POTUS chore before Scalia’s untimely demise?

Politicians – at least the savvy ones with big budgets and political consultants – love to define issues because it helps them control the voting public. If they find the just-right big issue, they can use it to hide all the other pesky details, such as the fact that presidents pick Supreme Court justices, have their hand on a nuclear doomsday button or negotiate with foreign governments.

Issue-creation is a way for politicians to say: “Look over here. Pay attention to this. Don’t turn away.” At the same time, the “look over here” argument simultaneously says: “Don’t look there. That’s not important. No one cares much about that.” It’s the Wizard of Oz blowing fire behind a big head to keep attention away from the man behind the curtain.

Politicians’ how-to-do-it playbook

1. Pick an issue people already know. The ideal issue is often an oldie but a goodie – one that people already understand, such as Donald Trump’s selection of immigration. The “illegal immigrant” issue sat on the back burner until Trump stoked the fire, but most voters already had an opinion. Now it’s a major election topic because Trump made it one.
2. Make sure your side has a clear stance – one that can be watered down to a 144-character tweet or printed on a single poster. The best issues don’t require a lot of explanation.
3. Make sure the opposition doesn’t have a clear stance. Or at least make sure their counterargument requires a minimum of three paragraphs to explain. “Build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico” has a lot more fire than “I believe that qualified candidates for immigration should have a path to citizenship if they can prove …”
4. Find a way to steer all issues back to your pet issue. The economy’s bad? It’s lackadaisical immigration laws that allow foreigners to take good American jobs. Crime bad? It’s immigrants shooting people and the drugs that came with them. Terrorism on American soil? It won’t happen if we ban all immigrants.
5. Make shit up. This is an art form. The best arguments stretch truth to the almost-but-not-quite breaking point. However, a lie consistently told and never retracted also works. People who hear that the sky is green 500 times may start to wonder if they’ve been wrong all along. Maybe they never saw all that greenness before. Maybe they’re colorblind. After 500 times, that record keeps playing inside their heads, so there must be at least a little grain of truth to it – right?
6. Fear unknown issues. Scalia’s death had no impact on the American system of replacing a Supreme Court justice. The Constitution is clear, and Obama has 20 percent of his second term left to go. But the death messes up the political process. It tosses a new issue on top of the pile – an issue presidential candidates weren’t prepared to handle when reporters shoved microphones in their faces.

At the moment Scalia’s death was announced, hundreds of high-paid political advisors broke into a sweat. They sat on big chairs holding a blueprint for electing their candidate (employer) that they had to completely redo with “results on my desk by 7 a.m.” Steering Americans back to immigration isn’t so easy when the Supreme Court Sword of Damocles suddenly hangs over Americans’ heads.

The best defense to avoid high-profile non-issue issues? Ignore the speeches and say, “What do I care about the most?” If none of your issues are getting airtime, ask why – and then try to find out.

© 2016 SmithTakes.com