Learning To Counter The Progressive Left's Constant Use Of OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™

I should like now to discuss the constant use of OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™ by the Left in place of actual argument over public policy.

If you've debated political issues with Progressives for any amount of time, you've no doubt encountered the use of OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™

Take the issue of ObamaCare. Remember during the years ObamaCare was debated, how many times Progressives said the following:

OUTRAGE STATEMENT™ #1: "Why do you HATE sick people and want them to die??!!!"

OUTRAGE STATEMENT™ #2:  "Why don't you want to do anything to fix the health care problem? What's WRONG with you? Why don' t you CARE?!"

OUTRAGE STATEMENT™ #3: "How DARE you keep lying about what ObamaCare will do! No one will lose their health insurance plans or their doctors, you creepy lying liar!"

Starting to remember, aren't you? Probably because the Left is still making OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™ in defense of ObamaCare right now. 

Want another example of use of outrage statements in place of an actual argument? How about Texas rolling back it's abortion limit last year.

One one side, you had people making an actual ARGUMENT:

1) Roe vs. Wade established viability as litmus test for State acting on human life.  

2) Preemies born at 26 weeks were now being saved at a GREATER than 93% rate as of 2000. 

3) Decades ago when the 26 week legal abortion limit was set, 26 weeks was FAR from viable.  Today it's not.

4)  Therefore, it was time for the law to RECOGNIZE the change in viability and roll back the legal limit from 6 1/2 months to 5 months. That's changing the legal limit for an abortion from 26 weeks [6 1/2 months] to 20 weeks [5 months] for those of you in Rio Linda.

Now notice what I just did there. I made an actual argument.  I used 4 points to build a case for the state of Texas to act.  How did many on the Left respond to Governor Rick Perry and others who made that 4 point argument?

Do any of the following OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™ sound familiar?

OUTRAGE STATEMENT #1: Why do you HATE women?!

OUTRAGE STATEMENT #2:  How DARE you try to interfere with women's control of their bodies!

OUTRAGE STATEMENT #3: Admit it! You want women back in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant, don't you, you misogynist bastards!

Now, as my good friend Tom Doran just pointed out to me on Twitter, it's true there are people on the Right who use their own OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™.  This is true. Instead of making a good case for rolling back the legal limit, you CAN just scream "HOW DARE U KILL BABIES!" at people. 

But the problem I am addressing here is people knowing they have to make a difficult case like say, keeping abortion legal at 26 weeks. Or they have to try to defend a law where they made all kinds of BS promises to get it passed & now it's blown up in their faces. It's HARD to do. 

So many don't even try, opting instead to just go the OUTRAGE STATEMENT™ route. Because defense is hard. Especially when you know you're trying to defend the indefensible. 

All during that big controversy over the new Texas law last year, I saw precious few trying to build a true COUNTER-argument for 26 weeks. And right now, following Harry Reid's lead, the big strategy on defending ObamaCare seems to be a blanket denial of the bad results.

Charles C. W. Cooke  pointed out in recent column how Dem's strategy seems to be following Monty Python's 'Argument Clinic' skit.

This isn't making a counter argument, this is just contradicting and throwing out OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™. 

Another example of attempts to use OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™ to silence and misdirect important discussion on a public issue? How about this one.  Now that Paul Ryan is daring to address what 50 yrs of Progressive social welfare policy has done to the black family, what is the response?

OUTRAGE STATEMENT #1: "Hey Paul Ryan...why do you HATE black people?  

OUTRAGE STATEMENT #2: "You only talk about this due to your RACISM!"

Obviously social policies directed at black community that achieved these 'spectacular' results cannot be laid at the feet of Conservatives. There isn't much of a defense that can be made.  Like scalded puppies, the Progressive Left can only react with immediate, strong OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™ to try to shut Ryan up.

When following a debate on social issues and public policy, it helps to recognize which side builds a case & which one resorts to outrage. When your policies place you in position of having to defend the indefensible, the louder you yell out your OUTRAGE STATEMENTS the better.

I've just explained to you the true purpose of just about every host on MSNBC, BTW.  You're welcome.

Yep. Think about it.

You can be OUTRAGED all you want, folks. But when it's time to make a case for the actual policies you want to enact or defend, stop it. You can't build public policy or agitate for change just based on the outrage you feel. You have to have an actual argument. Running around all the time screaming about how outraged you are may make you FEEL good, but it's not an agenda for fixing problems and addressing important issues.

You want to keep abortion legal up to 26 weeks or even beyond? MAKE AN ACTUAL ARGUMENT then. Stop the constant misdirection & man up.

You want to defend ObamaCare? Quit issuing blanket denials & insisting 'nobody' has lost plans/Dr.'s due to the new law you passed.

Want to defend what 40 yrs of welfare policy did to the black family in America? Quit screaming 'Racist!' at people who address it.

Conservatives often advance an actual case for policies. In response they get a series of 'When are you gonna stop beating your wife?!' outrage.

How about this one? I want to stop over 1 million illegal immigrants from coming into America every year by closing the borders. WHY would I like to do that?  Simple:

I want unemployment to go down & I'd like wages to rise.

And every year we let in over a million low skilled illegal immigrants, we'll get a glut in the labor market, high unemployment, low wages.

But guess what? You AREN'T ALLOWED to discuss the actual impact of insane Open Borders immigration policies. If you try to discuss what Open Borders does to our employment rate & wages here in America, guess what that makes you?

OUTRAGE STATEMENT™ #1: Why do you HATE poor immigrants!

OUTRAGE STATEMENT #2: How DARE you want poor immigrants to die in the desert!

How about Global Warming? Question the science?
HOW DARE YOU! WHY DO YOU HATE THE FLUFFY POLAR BEARS & WANT THEM TO DIEEEEE!

'We shouldn't force Catholics to violate their 1st Amendment rights."
"WHY DO YOU HATE WOMEN? WTF IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?! "

How about one of the best examples in decades? How about the TrayVon Martin case? 

Remember how that case was introduced to the public, the false narrative that was relentlessly pushed in media? A hulking huge white racist jumped out of a car, ran down, tackled, beat the sh*t out of, then cold bloodedly executed a tiny black child?

Remember how the Left responded with scads of OUTRAGEOUS OUTRAGE!!!11!!! if you er....QUESTIONED that narrative? Even a little bit?

WHY DO YOU HATE BLACK PEOPLE??!!!

YOU'RE IN FAVOR OF WHITE RACISTS SHOOTING UNARMED BLACK KIDS,HUH?!

YOU'RE KKK, RIGHT? ADMIT IT!

And what do we know NOW that all the facts came out of the trial? A Hispanic guy was getting his ass beat for over 90 seconds.

At first they couldn't admit Trayvon was over 6 ft tall, which is why you only saw pics of him as a 12 yr old.

 Then they couldn't admit there had been an actual fight. They needed it to be Trayvon screaming, crying, wailing for help on the 911 audio. In fact, as was shown at trial, that's George Zimmerman wailing & screaming and crying for help for over a minute & 1/2 as Martin beats him up.

The TrayVon Martin case is THE best example of how the LEFT use OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™ to try to save a false & failing narrative. Every single step along the way as the facts started to come out they screamed and wailed and cried their outrage about it.

They wanted a racial narrative in which a white racist chased down then murdered a helpless black child as he screamed for help. The Left fought for over 2 years to save that narrative as the facts slowly came out.  They savagely attacked people who told the truth. And in the end.....THEY LOST.   

But don't worry, they'll do it again when the opportunity comes around once more. Some case where they can hide facts to make it 'fit' the story they want to tell. 

No matter what issue is - learn to spot the constant use of OUTRAGE STATEMENTS™ instead of argument. On abortion, global warming, immigration, ObamaCare, the latest media-driven false narrative, whatever the Progressive cause du jour of the month is.