1. Walk Toward the Fire
“The
left knows this is war. And they know you are the enemy. You will be
castigated. You will get punched. That’s the way it will go because that’s
how the left wins: through intimidation and cruelty. You have to take the
punch, you have to brush it off. You have to be willing to take the
punch.”
2. Hit First
“Don’t
take the punch first. Hit first. Hit hard. Hit where it counts. Mike Tyson
used to say, “Everybody has a plan ‘til they get punched in the
mouth.” That’s exactly correct. But throwing the first punch requires
game-planning. Walking through the door, you have one shot – one! – to
put someone down for the count from the beginning of a debate. If
done properly, any debate on a single topic can be over within the first
30 seconds.”
3. Frame Your Opponent
“I have
argued that the left’s entire playbook consists of a single play:
characterizing the opposition. It’s incredibly effective. And the only way to
get beyond character arguments is to frame your opponent – make it toxic for
your opponent to slur you. Then, hopefully, you can move the debate to
more substantive territory. This is the vital first step. It is the only
first step…There is no way to convince someone that you don’t hate him or
her. You can convince him or her, however, that your opposition is a liar
and a hater.”
4. Frame the Debate
“It’s important that you
neuter those buzzwords quickly, because otherwise you will be arguing against
nonsense terms that can be used against you. You can’t argue against empty
terms. So don’t accept the premises of their arguments, which are largely
buzzword based…It’s important that you neuter those buzzwords quickly, because
otherwise you will be arguing against nonsense terms that can be used against
you. You can’t argue against empty terms. So don’t accept the premises of their
arguments, which are largely buzzword based…As a general matter, the left’s
favorite three lines of attack are (1) you’re stupid; (2) you’re mean; (3)
you’re corrupt. Sarah Palin is supposedly stupid; Mitt Romney is supposedly
mean; Dick Cheney is supposedly corrupt. Take away those lines of attack and
watch the discomfort set in.”
5. Spot Inconsistencies in the Left’s Argument
“The
left’s arguments are chock full of inconsistencies. Internal inconsistencies —
inconsistencies that are inherent to the left’s general worldview. That’s
because very few people on the left will acknowledge their actual agenda, which
is quite extreme. Leftists prefer to argue half-measures in which they don’t
truly believe…There are almost invariably unbridgeable inconsistencies in the
left’s publicly stated positions that are at war with their actual fundamental
principles. Your goal is to make the left admit once and for all what they
believe about policy by exposing those inconsistencies.”
6. Force Leftists to Answer Questions
“This
is really just a corollary of Rule #4. Leftists are only comfortable when they
are forcing you to answer questions. If they have to answer questions, they
begin to scratch their heads. The questions they prefer to ask are about your
character; the questions they prefer not to answer are all of them. Instead,
they like to dodge issues in favor of those character arguments.”
7. Do Not Get Distracted
“You may notice when arguing with someone on
the left that every time you begin to make a point, that leftist begins
shouting about George W. Bush. It’s like Leftist Tourette’s Syndrome. “Why did
Obama blow out the budget?” “BUUUUUUUSHHHH!!!!!” Don’t be fooled. You
don’t need to follow the idiotic rabbit down into his Bushy rabbit hole…Arguing
with the left is like attempting to nail jello to the wall. It’s slippery
and messy and a waste of resources. You must force them to answer
the question.”
8. You Don’t Have To Defend People on Your Side
“Conservatives
get trapped in this gambit routinely, because they figure that the enemy of
their enemy is their friend: if the left is attacking someone, he must be worth
defending. But that’s not true…Don’t follow people. Follow principle.”
9. If You Don’t Know Something, Admit It
“Don’t
get caught in the trap of believing you have to know everything about everything.
Your opponent will undoubtedly know something you don’t. It’s fair to simply
state, “I didn’t know that, but I’ll be happy to research and get back to
you.” Another side-note here: don’t bring up a topic with which you
aren’t passingly familiar.”
10. Let the Other Side Have Meaningless Victories
“Leftists
prize faux moderation above all else; by granting them a point or two, you can
convince them that you aren’t a radical right-winger at all. After all,
everyone can admit both parties are terrible!…If the left engages you on
immigration reform, your answer should be that you are for immigration
reform. Now, how do they define immigration reform? That’s the key question.
But because you’ve always granted the premise that you like the idea of
immigration reform, you don’t look like a naysayer off the bat…The conversation
is meaningless until you force the left to define terms. Until then, we can all
agree on useless platitudes.”
11. Body Language Matters (Not on video)
“The Left is expert at imagistics. The right
is not, because the right falsely believes that shallow imagistics can be
beaten with substance. Which has worked out fabulously for every great actress
who is 300 lbs. in Hollywood — all two of them who are working…Leftists prize
faux moderation above all else; by granting them a point or two, you can
convince them that you aren’t a radical right-winger at all. After all,
everyone can admit both parties are terrible!”
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