Identification and the fear appeal: a rhetorical analysis of the San Diego Stadium referendum

This paper explores the rhetorical use of fear appeals and Burkean identification in the campaign to win public funding for the new stadium. Throughout this paper, I will develop the argument that supporters of Proposition C attempted to have the citizens of San Diego identify the Padres as a integral piece of the puzzle that makes San Diego what it is. Further, the proponents of Prop C used fear appeals to urge the voting population to vote yes on Prop C. I will further argue that the fear argument, that the Padres would leave San Diego unless Prop C passed, depended on the citizens identifying with the Padres and the redevelopment of downtown. Specifically, how was Burke's notion of identification combined with fear appeals to influence the vote on Prop C, and what role in general does identification have in such fear appeals? I will later argue that identification was a necessary element in the fear appeal made by the proponents of Proposition C.