Deval Patrick on the Power of Rhetoric

Abstract

Deval Patrick’s campaign for Massachusetts Governor held widespread rhetorical appeal, yet this, partly what supporters found inspiring, was what primary election opponents critiqued. This article will examine Patrick’s own theory of rhetoric, which he created in speeches in 2005 at the Democratic State Convention and 2006, in a speech at a meeting of local campaign coordinators and found additional development in his 2011 memoir. His folk theory of rhetoric involves seeing good rhetoric as powerful force for good if one demonstrates sensitivity to that power and uses those words the right way (nommo), and if the rhetor does the hard work of tending the garden of the community through just words that act for the community.