Here’s how the conversation went and what you can learn from it
Over the weekend, I was catching up with an old friend I’d known since elementary school who we’ll call Steven. We had gone to the same church, been in the same clubs in high school, and joined the Army after college. We weren’t as close as we used to be, but we still kept in touch and talked a few times a year. When I was catching up with Steven after Thanksgiving, differences soon emerged though.
His relatives had flown to see him for Thanksgiving, while we canceled our flights to go home. I was not totally surprised by this…
The difference is key to winning in 2022 and beyond
A massive mistake I see Democrats making, myself included, is assuming that all Trump Voters are Trump Supporters. The caricature of Trump Voters in our minds is that they are all MAGA hat-wearing, mask-burning, die-hard Trump Supporters.
However, this is far from the case. Of the 73 million people who voted for Trump, only 2.7 million or 3.7% of his voters, donated to his campaign, and only 1.4 million or 1.9% attended his rallies in 2016. In contrast, Biden had almost twice as many donors with no cult following. …
The moral equivalency arguments need to stop
A common theme on Facebook these days is that what the Democrats ‘did’ in 2016 with the Russia ‘hoax’ or Hillary Clinton saying the election was illegitimate is about the same as what Republicans are doing now. Often I see things along these lines:
“It’s the difference between two people who drive drunk. One of whom hits a person, and the other one who got caught by the cops.”
Or they share videos of fringe Democratic groups that advocated for electors in 2016 not to respect the popular vote and vote for Clinton instead. Yes, both parties have a history…
“Listening is the cheapest, yet most effective concession we can make” — FBI Negotiator Gary Noesner
I opened Facebook and at the bottom of a lengthy thread debating if the election was stolen was this response from a Democrat:
“What an exhausting conversation… The guy [Trump supporter] raises three bogus points with no references, proceeds to have people present actual articles disputing those bogus points, guy goes on to not post any evidence but downplays a very serious disease while trying to make it seem like he’s the only one interested in a free and fair election. This is not a good faith discussion but props to the people really trying to make it one.”
His…
Because halfway between a truth and a lie, is still a lie
Trying to discuss politics with Trump supporters these days is exhausting and disorienting. In large part, this is because they rely on logical fallacies which are like magic tricks on the mind that exploit gaps in logic to fool people.
By understanding common logical fallacies, it makes it much easier to effectively call them out when you see them. Below are some of the most commonly used fallacies I’ve seen, along with examples and how to respond to them.
Most of the definitions and explanations come from the website yourlogicalfallacyis.com, a great resource on logical fallacies.
Part 1: Avoidance Tactics
After providing evidence of…
A Recovering Republican
A former Republican’s thoughts on our experiment in democracy
