Tax Lawyer's Blog

“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right…”

 - Stealers Wheel -

Mainstream liberals regularly call conservatives who say President Obama wants to destroy capitalism and have government run everything, wing-nuts, wackos, kooks and nut-jobs.

It’s understandable, though, because in spite of the President’s decidely left-of-center world view, it is patently absurd to suggest that he wants the federal government to run everything. 

But rather than call them insane, I would say that these folks are merely engaging in a shop-worn, but effective debating tactic called the “strawman argument.”

Wikipedia defines “strawman argument” as follows:

A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentationof an opponent’s position. To “attack a straw man” is to create the illusion of having refuted a propositionby substituting a superficially similar proposition (the “straw man”), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.

Of course, liberals use the tactic, too. As, for example, when they claim that conservatives who oppose high taxes want to elminate all government. They make this silly claim often. 

From William Jacobsen of Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion here’s the latest instance:

Dana Milbank argues that conservatives are hypocritical in seeking government involvement in the Gulf oil cleanup, Through oil-fouled water, big government looks better and better:

There is something exquisite about the moment when a conservative decides he needs more government in his life….

It may have taken an ecological disaster, but the gulf-state conservatives’ new found respect for the powers and purse of the federal government is a timely reminder for them. As conservatives in Washington complain about excessive federal spending, the ones who would suffer the most from spending cuts are their own constituents.

Yes, Dana, “limited federal government = no federal government and no state government.” 

Advocates of higher taxes and greater government who accuse opponents of tax increases of wanting to abolish all government are every bit as “kooky” as the latter are when they accuse President Obama of wanting government to run everything.

Don’t fall for the strawman argument, regardless of which side uses it.

Bookmark & Share: