How to demolish extremist MAGA Republican arguments
Fight back with this three step tactic straight from their playbook: Connect. Pivot. Counterattack.
How do you respond to this gem from Ted Cruz for instance? “Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea”, Ted Cruz praised the Russian army over America’s.
- “Holy crap! Perhaps a U.S. Senator shouldn’t suggest that the *Russian* military is better than the American military that protected him from an insurrection he helped foment?” – Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-WI), a wounded vet.
- “Ted Cruz attacks a US Army soldier for telling her story, says he prefers Russians. Because Ted Cruz is a sedition-loving traitor.” – VoteVets.
What’s the best way to respond to outrageous comments from extremist MAGA Republicans? How do you adapt the approach to different situations? How do you practice your lines to respond instinctively?
Connect. Pivot. Counterattack.
Understand the technique
Dr. Rachel Bitecofer (@RachelBitecofer) an expert on political messaging and Ceekay Tschudi (@beyondabyssal) a professional “alternative facts” destroyer recommend a three step approach to counter extremist MAGA Republican arguments:
- Connecting pivot – to acknowledge their comment and then pivot to change the subject
- Belittling statement – with minimizes or reframes the attack
- Shocking attack – respond with an even more emotional shock
Extremist Republicans comments
- “Slavery and abortion are the two most horrendous things this country has done but when you think about the immorality of wild, lavish spending on our generation and forcing future generations to do without essentials just so we can live lavishly now, it’s pretty immoral.” – Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas), equating slavery with the national debt.
- “I was very proud of the fact that I didn’t get anything wrong that I said during the course of the debates. I didn’t get anything wrong, and that’s a huge arena.” – Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), commenting on her performance in the 2012 GOP presidential debates.
- “When a physician removes a child from a woman, that is the largest organ in a body. That’s a big thing. That’s a big surgery. You don’t have any other organs in your body that are bigger than that.” -Alabama state Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin (R), defending her sweeping anti-abortion bill.
Practice your lines
Learn how to recognize MAGA arguing tactics and be prepared to respond quickly. Use the BigStage Teleprompter, a free app to try different arguments you might hear and how to respond. The Bitecofer/Tschudi guide includes eighteen phrases to mix and match in to come up with the best response. Their phrases can be practiced in this free teleprompter app.
Advocacy groups can arm their supporters with rebuttals to arguments. Campaign managers can freely share talking points and rebuttals with supporters as a free teleprompter app and script. The script can be changed at any time and immediately shows up in the supporters’ apps. Supporters can practice delivering the comments on a phone or laptop.
Help supporters speak up better
Help supporters with talking points so they can practice in advance by pasting your suggested talking points in the BigStage Teleprompter. Key words in the script are highlighted for emphasis and dashes indicate where to pause. Create multiple scripts for different issues in different language. Supporters can customize your script to their speaking style in the BigStage Teleprompter.
Watch in ENGLISH. Watch in SPANISH
‘My Husband is Dying. What Kind of Insurance Do You Have?’: GOP Town Halls Erupt. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) was one of several Republican politicians confronted by outraged crowds. – Common Dreams
“I have a YES or NO question for you. I could tell you three members of my family including me that would be dead. Dead. And homeless. If it was not for ACA. I am angry constituent. You work for us. We apologize for you. I could tell you since 1991, our health insurance woes, and I’m not going to do that. My husband has dementia, Alzheimer’s plus multiple other things. And you want to stand there with him at home. You expect us to be calm, cool, and collected. Wow! What kind of insurance do you have?”
Practice this script with a free BigStage Teleprompter app.
TakeAway: Counter extremist MAGA Republican arguments with the Bitecofer / Tschudi technique and the free BigStage Teleprompter app.
Deepak
DemLabs
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Reposted from Democracy Labs with permission.