Cheap Rhetorical Trick the Left Does to Everybody

Submitted by David Ryan (United States), Dec 7, 2021 at 13:50

It goes like 'You're a nice guy, not like the rest of your people." And the "nice guy", distracted by the insincere personal compliment, falls for the rhetorical gimmick, which is the goal.

A famous example is in the 1996 Vice Presidential debate between Democrat Al Gore and candidate Jack Kemp. Moderator Jim Lehrer of leftist PBS sets it up and after an initial response from Kemp, Gore sucks Kemp right in with the fake compliment separating him from other Republicans:

MODERATOR -- Mr. Kemp, some are saying these days that something's gone terribly wrong with the American soul, that we've become too mean, too selfish, too uncaring...

GORE -- I think, Mr. Lehrer, that throughout much of his career, Jack Kemp has been a powerful and needed voice against the kind of coarseness and incivility that you referred to in the question.

I think it's an extremely valuable service to have a voice within the Republican Party who says we ought to be one nation. We ought to cross all of the racial and ethnic and cultural barriers. I think that is a very important message to deliver...

And we ought to speak out against these violations of civility when they do occur...

But the same could be said of so many incidents in all kinds of institutions in our society. But I compliment Mr. Kemp for the leadership he has shown in moving us away from that kind of attitude.

KEMP -- Well I thank you, Al. I mean that very, very sincerely...
[END QUOTE]

Kemp totally fell for it and rhetorically sold out the rest of the Republican Party.

He should have said - I'm not falling for the lie about my Republican compatriots. Most of your Democrat friends are as nasty if not nastier than anybody. Example. Rostenkowski... Example. Byrd... Example...

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