Strawman politics

Should the government take our guns away?
Should everyone get free healthcare? Should that include “illegals”?
Should we have open borders?
Why are the Democrats trying to steal the 2016 election?

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you the idea of an implied strawman. Questions like those above imply a strawman position that no credible person is taking in order to make poor arguments about the validity of an opposing viewpoint.

Gun control isn’t about taking all the weapons away, despite what Beto says. It’s about having rational barriers in place.

There is no such thing as free healthcare. And healthcare program will get paid for by taxes and a super majority of people getting government funded healthcare will be contributing to it.

And so on and so on.

Also, do yourself a favor, before asking a question, or before answering one, do your damn homework and get informed about how things actually work.

And if someone corrects your misunderstanding of how things work, say thank you.

Is that so hard?

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BlueVeins · 22-25

I'm pretty sure "free healthcare" in this case is shorthand for "free at the point of service," which a lot of Democrats are in favor of. I do agree though, that gun control and open borders are strawmanned to Hell and back. The 2016 election thing is more of a conspiracy theory than a strawman argument, but the general point still stands.

JoeyFoxx · 56-60, M

@BlueVeins I don’t know how anyone would effectively measure support for “free at point of service” considering that the average voter just doesn’t understand the economics of healthcare beyond what politicians tell them... and most politicians don’t understand either.

We end up in arguments over semantics without actually discussing practical implications. It’s a waste.

ViciDraco · 41-45, M

@BlueVeins a lot of Republicans also tend to be in favor of free at point of service healthcare... The voters, not the politicians.

The problem is largely that politics as presented to the public are shallow. It's easier for politicians to fight for their own jobs if they make it about picking teams and don't make people think too hard about actual policy implications.

BlueVeins · 22-25

@JoeyFoxx Easy way to measure that -- you ask them. A poll from The Hill reported 56% support while a poll from Reuters reported 70% (and 85% of Democrats). You can argue that it's not expert support -- and you're right -- but it's support nonetheless.

JoeyFoxx · 56-60, M

@BlueVeins but it’s support for something without actually understanding it.

If you leave the description in and remove the title, there would likely be a lot of cross party support for something.

But when it’s given a Republican sounding label, Dems are against it. When it has a Dem sounding label, Republicans are against it.

ViciDraco · 41-45, M

@JoeyFoxx Dem or Republican, the policy that gets passed is typically what the wealthy minority desires. A bill with 70 percent support from the wealthy and 20 percent support from the public is far more likely to pass than a bill with 70 percent support from the public and 20 percent of the wealthy.