Posted on 12/31/2013 5:24:06 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Washington, they say, is Hollywood for ugly people. Its also debate club for the logically impaired. The past year included its share of fallacies, sophistries, oversimplifications and utter absurdities.
But a few prominent arguments committed the worst offenses against rational thought. Below are the three worst arguments made in Washington in 2013. These werent illogical brain freezes or odd beliefs spouted by backbenchers. These arguments were deliberately devised, promulgated and repeated by prominent politicians, which makes them all the more embarrassing.
1. If we can save only one life
The demagoguery started early in 2013, as Democrats tried to push gun-control laws in the wake of the December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Conn. The White House argued for gun restrictions using a litany of facile talking points, most absurdly this gem by President Obama: If there's even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try.
Vice President Joe Biden echoed the line: As the president said, if your actions result in only saving one life, theyre worth taking. White House spokesman Jay Carney repeated the mantra: If even one child's life can be saved by the actions we take here in Washington, we must take those actions.
It sounds nice in a high school Model Congress sort of way that we ought to take any action that would save one childs life. But we all know policies have costs, in terms of freedom, unintended consequences and using up enforcement resources. Obamas just one child argument pretends his gun control proposals have no costs.
Outlawing party balloons would save the handful of kids who choke to death on them. Outlawing swimming pools would save hundreds of children who drown in them every year. A national speed limit of 10 mph would spare untold
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
2. Defund it or youre for it...
3. "It's the LAW..."
Pretty decent column. I think he missed the nuance Mike Lee was going for, and didn’t give enough credit for that, but mostly a logical analysis IMO...
4. Anything out of Harry Reid’s, Nancy Pelosi’s, or Obama’s mouth.
RE: Anything out of Harry Reids, Nancy Pelosis, or Obamas mouth.
I’d like to add Nancy Pelosi’s beaut of a statement which will live in infamy for all time:
“We have to pass it to find out whats in it.”
We have to pass it to find out whats in it.
Same with gas, a bowel movement, passing a kidney stone...or heck...throwing up for that matter....
Thanks SeekAndFind, a good one.
I think he missed completely on the second one. Republicans swept into office in 2010, and some in 2012, on a promise to repeal, or at least defund, Obamacare. Therefore, any R politician who decided to play nice with Obozo and give him his billions for Obamacare bribes - er - implementation - was turning their back on their promise, and living the lie that is republican politics.
The “defund or own it” battle cry was a warning to the pols that they cannot SAY on one hand that they oppose the behemoth while ACTING to preserve it in reality. “Defun or own it” is a succinct way of saying “don’t lie to me AGAIN”.
Speaking of saving just one life, the 11-year-old girl whom Sebelius tried to prevent from getting a double lung transplant was on Fox & Friends this morning, together with her parents, in a conversation with Peter Johnson, Jr. (They were at home, not at the Fox studio.) Perfect example of the callousness of liberals when it comes to human lives (other than their own) and the hollowness of their “if we can save just one life” slogan.
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