Talking Smack: How Congressional Candidates Frame the Opioid Epidemic

• In Event: Deaths of Despair? Framing the Opioid Epidemic

Abstract

In October of 2017, President Donald Trump declared the growing opioid crisis a public health emergency, vowing to devote considerable federal attention and resources to the issue. In his January 2019 prime-time address, he used this epidemic as evidence that America needed to "secure the border and stop the criminal gangs, drug smugglers, and human traffickers” by building a wall and devoting additional resources to border security.

Meanwhile, across the aisle, prominent Democrats have also taken up the issue. California Senator Kamala Harris tweeted in November 2017 that she would investigate “whether a big pharma company tried to limit access to treatments for opioid addiction.” Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire said in early 2018 that additional funding was needed to “support treatment, prevention, recovery, and law enforcement efforts.”

These sample discussions of the opioid crisis illustrate a potential partisan divide in how politicians engage the issue. At least two frames appear to be commonly used: a public health frame, in which public figures treat the issue as essentially a medical one, requiring harm reduction, additional treatment, and prevention; and a public safety frame, in which the issue is regarded as fundamentally requiring stricter law enforcement or border security.

Other public health crises do not appear to present these same possibilities for candidates. The opioid epidemic has essentially become a valence issue. Politicians of all striped may credibly claim they want to combat the crisis and offer potential solutions. Meanwhile, these broad platitudes mask real disagreement in their approaches.

Examining 2018 House candidates’ websites and social media posts, I identify the roles geography, gender, age, race, and party (among other interesting variables) play in how candidates engaged the opioid crisis. Of particular note will be their use of public health or public safety frames.

This study seeks to expand our understanding of one of the most pressing issues in our society, while also speaking more broadly to the literature on framing issues of public policy. It is part of a broader project examining how national politicians engage with and offer solutions for the opioid epidemic.

Author

• Jack D. Collens, Siena College