Originally Posted by James Lacey
It's not that Rod can't back them up. Instead, a good-faith argument or disagreement with you is impossible. Here's, generally speaking, what will happen. Rod will present his perspective and opinion and even back it up with well-sourced news articles or first-hand accounts and documents. Still, you will reject any evidence presented and claim it's fake, biased, or outright lies. You will counter with something from the NYPost, Fox News, or some other right-wing website and claim you have superior facts when the truth is you can't ever seem to sort out opinion from fact. Your whole argument will be, "I have superior facts, and I'm the arbiter of truth, so therefore, you are an idiot/moron/communist/liberal/RINO/etc." Rod will try to point out that your sources are narrow in view and perspective and that you are cherry-picking only the quotes and events that support your narrative while ignoring the piles of other evidence that don't support your narrative. You will counter with more insults and more claims of superiority and then begin to move the goalposts or bring up other matters and disagreements that have nothing to do with the subject. No matter what Rod says or does, you will never yield an inch and will always have to have the last word. If the back-and-forth goes on long enough, you will eventually start posting many other threads with provocative titles, callouts, and insults to distract from the fact that things are not going well for your narrative. Eventually, Rod will give up, realizing national discussion with you is impossible. He'll probably wonder how he got sucked into another one of your endless back-and-forths and vow to avoid them as much as possible. Meanwhile, you will claim a pyrrhic victory, thinking that you somehow have superior facts and are a fantastic debater, when, in fact, people get sick of you and give up. You never seem to realize that you "win" by wearing down your opponent, not because you know how to be persuasive or use language and reason effectively.
As usual, well said!
I could easily point to multiple examples of Trump's fascist and dictatorial actions from his first administration:
1. "The media is the enemy of the state. "
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/publications/enemy-people-trumps-war-press-new-mccarthyism-and-threat-american-democracy
2. Jailing of political opponents:
"President Donald Trump told his counsel’s office last spring that he wanted to prosecute political adversaries Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey, an idea that prompted White House lawyers to prepare a memo warning of consequences ranging up to possible impeachment, The New York Times reported Tuesday."
https://apnews.com/article/060ca2399a744b4a9554dbd2ec276a90
Trump definitely wanted to do it but two AGs, including Barr, told him no.
3. Muslim ban: SCOTUS ultimately upheld what Trump complained about : "The court's ruling on what was the third version of the ban, which Trump has complained is a "watered down" version."
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/26/606481548/supreme-court-upholds-trump-travel-ban
4. ". The rejection of democracy, the rule of law and equal rights under the law in favor of a strongman who interprets the popular will."
“The election was stolen.” (Trump, 2020)
“I am your justice … I am your retribution.” (Trump, 2023)"
"Nationalism based on a dominant “superior” race and historic bloodlines.
“Tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border.” (Trump, 2015)
“Jewish people that vote for a Democrat [show] great disloyalty.” (Trump, 2019)
“Getting critical race theory out of our schools is … a matter of national survival.” (Trump, 2022)"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/17/trump-republican-party-fascism
5. The Jan 6th insurrection.
had to explain to him what in vitro fertilization was before he supported it."