The Stupid Politician Tricks Wrap-Up

Before I give you the listing of the four articles that make up the Stupid Politician Tricks, here are a few more things about stupid poltician tricks you should learn to detect:

1. Implicit vs. Explicit:  A politician can deny a bill does something if it isn’t explicitly stated in the bill.  If, however, the end result is the same, they get their denial and their law too.  The Disastercare “Death Panels”, for instance, aren’t explicitly stated, but the end result of rationing care means that for all intents and purposes, they’re there.
2. It’s never what they say it is:  If a politician tells you a bill is about doing something worthwhile, the last thing you should do is believe them.  Until you double check and confirm it for yourself, it’s safe to assume they’re up to something bad.  None of the “compassion” or “help the poor” or “good for the country” arguments should ever be taken at face value, because a bill is never what they say it is.
3. Path of least resistance:  A favorite of moderates, who like to pretend it’s “compromise”.  Nowadays, a compromise is that the Democrats get everything, and the Republicans get enough to pretend it was a compromise, plus they avoid the fights, bad press, and ostracism at the cocktail parties.  Heck, they might even get a puff piece or two out of it.  His Maverickness John McCain made this fashionable during the Bush term.
4. Conspicuous conservatism:  I’ve ragged on the Democrats quite enough, and now it’s time to torque a favorite of the Republican Party.  For lack of a better term, I’ll call it ”conspicuous conservatism” .  Basically, it’s tokenistic and/or lip-service conservatism that lasts only as long as it takes someone using it to get re-elected, or until it’s time to do something real.  There are noteworthy exceptions in the Republican party who actually practice the real thing (Inhofe, DeMint, Pence, for example), but the rest, not so much.

Have you found a Stupid Politician Trick you think I’ve failed to mention?  I’d love to hear about it in the comments.  But for now, here are the posts that make up the Stupid Politician Tricks series:

• The Short and Sweet of Demagoguery.  It’s all about the children!
• Stupid Politician Tricks:  The Moral Untouchability Card.  You can’t criticize me because I’m a…uh…well, something you can’t criticize!
• Stupid Politician Tricks:  Marginalization.  If you don’t read it, you’re a big snarfwaffling waffle snarfer!
• Stupid Politician Tricks:  Hyperbole.  It must be a million words long!

See you soon.

Filed under: Commentary and Opinion on September 5th, 2009 1 Comment

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