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Stuart G

(38,365 posts)
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:04 AM Dec 2011

They are here...from the Heritage Foundation and Cato... ..What do you think?

They are here..hard to believe, but I think they come here to study us, so they can attack us better.
They read the best of our ideas, and formulate their attacks based on some of what we say?

I believe it is true. No, I am not a conspiracy nut..

Why? it is a cheap, easy, efficient, way of finding out what the opponents think?

What do you think ?

21 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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They are here...from the Heritage Foundation and Cato... ..What do you think? (Original Post) Stuart G Dec 2011 OP
I think that conservatives are as incapable of thinking like liberals.. Fumesucker Dec 2011 #1
I think I can imagine how they think. Stuart G Dec 2011 #2
That would NOT be how they think if you are speaking of the followers, not the leaders karynnj Dec 2011 #14
I used to do it over at FR Gman Dec 2011 #6
It's possible to emulate someone on the other side if you know the terms they use.. Fumesucker Dec 2011 #11
We're a lot more "liberal" here as to what's allowed Gman Dec 2011 #18
Oh, probably. It's an old strategy, usually described as 'Know Your Enemy'. LeftishBrit Dec 2011 #3
The generated names are pretty easy to spot. Warren Stupidity Dec 2011 #4
Heritage and Cato ideas have made it into education reform Starry Messenger Dec 2011 #5
^ ^ ^ ^ ^What she said. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Smarmie Doofus Dec 2011 #16
It's been like that for years. It's pretty obvious that's what they do. CJCRANE Dec 2011 #7
"No way, Stewie. We are, like, totally INNoscent and stuff. Smirk" - Cato-Heritagers (R - 1%) SpiralHawk Dec 2011 #8
Believe me. sendero Dec 2011 #9
there are assholes everywhere spanone Dec 2011 #10
This message was self-deleted by its author HereSince1628 Dec 2011 #12
It doesn't matter what they think. It's what they can accuse them of CJCRANE Dec 2011 #13
Of course they are. annabanana Dec 2011 #15
What do I think? I really don't give a shit. n/t gkhouston Dec 2011 #17
Where can I find this Dewey Finn Dec 2011 #19
Heritage Foundation members are sooo OVERRR Mimosa Dec 2011 #20
It's because the mo-rans at these "think tanks" cannot 'think' for themselves jpak Dec 2011 #21

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)
1. I think that conservatives are as incapable of thinking like liberals..
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:05 AM
Dec 2011

As liberals are of thinking like conservatives.

Stuart G

(38,365 posts)
2. I think I can imagine how they think.
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:07 AM
Dec 2011

Just take the most selfish, self-serving positon, (seemingly patriotic)
.. that is them..

karynnj

(59,475 posts)
14. That would NOT be how they think if you are speaking of the followers, not the leaders
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 10:16 AM
Dec 2011

Have you ever been in a redder area of the country? If you have, think of how the people act toward each other - on completely not political or social hot button issues. While some will be obnoxious, as is true of any large group, most will be basically good people doing what they think (and have been socialized to think) is the right thing to do - although they will sometimes fall short.

In their case, to understand what they think on political issues, it would be best to actually listen to them speak among themselves. In addition, it is good to listen to what they get as input - from an echo chamber. (The echo chamber defeats many who do want to "double check" something - but they hear the same Heritage and AEI talking points from multiple sources and don't see that they are not independent!) If I did not have the natural links to even passively be at gatherings of conservatives, I think that I would look to discussion boards. However, I would ignore Free Republic and look at maybe Fox News comments. There, I would ignore the more reactionary. I would look for the more thoughtful threads where people here are speaking of their values and the policies they then support.

I think part of the reason for the deep divide is that there have always been two main visions of society in America. The one that leads to liberalism/socialism is one that is communal - that we are all connected and have a governmental responsibility to others. The other is the frontier, rugged individualism that leads to Republican/libertarian views.

Gman

(24,780 posts)
6. I used to do it over at FR
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:25 AM
Dec 2011

Then I'd slip in some some innocent sounding rebuttal with a couple of sound facts. You know you stuck a chord when no one responds. They will ignore that which they know is true but they don't like.

it's really easy. It's easy to do it here too. There's always a meme. Learn the meme and you can fit right in. Right wingers also do it here all the time. You can spot them fairly easily here too. Read some of the instructions they give to their trolls on how to fit in and you'll see they follow it to the letter. In fact they will overdo it which makes some very easy to spot. Anyone that starts a post with "I've been a liberal all my life but..." then goes into a slant on a right wing meme is highly suspect. They are taught to establish their "liberal" credentials.

I read somewhere once that they were taught if they're here to run up their post count by posting a lot of simple posts like "LOL!" and other quick things to make theirselves appear to be established. There are other techniques they're taught. But eventually they get tombstoned.

I quit doing it over at FR because it's no fun anymore. It's no fun because RimJob has run off everyone that had any intelligence above that of a toad. There used to be some lively discussions there with the sane arguing with the insane and not understanding they are arguing with the insane. Over time, all the sane ones got banned.

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)
11. It's possible to emulate someone on the other side if you know the terms they use..
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:55 AM
Dec 2011

But it's not possible to actually think like the other side, which is why trolls are usually pretty easy to spot, like OMC for instance, a blatantly obvious troll that nonetheless lasted for years here.

Gman

(24,780 posts)
18. We're a lot more "liberal" here as to what's allowed
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 11:14 PM
Dec 2011

as long as you don't go overboard breaking the TOS, you can survive here. OTOH, at FR, all that has to happen is to rub RimJob the wrong way. And it doesn't take much. Supporting Romney will get you banned, for example.

LeftishBrit

(41,192 posts)
3. Oh, probably. It's an old strategy, usually described as 'Know Your Enemy'.
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:09 AM
Dec 2011

While FreeRepublic is too much for me, I admit that I do at times go onto the British 'ConservativeHome' to find out what our Right are up to.

 

Warren Stupidity

(48,181 posts)
4. The generated names are pretty easy to spot.
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:12 AM
Dec 2011

Blog wars and professional warriors are not exactly a new phenomena.

Starry Messenger

(32,342 posts)
5. Heritage and Cato ideas have made it into education reform
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:14 AM
Dec 2011

and were being promoted by conservadems for the last two years. I can only pray that Ron Paul and all of his bastard children make that trend unpopular here again. It's been a heartbreaking couple of years if you are a DU teacher.

 

Smarmie Doofus

(14,498 posts)
16. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^What she said. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 10:34 AM
Dec 2011

Can I alert on a post that jars us into reality, even though we'd prefer to continue sleepwalking ??

The Heritage and Cato ideas are being pursued with reckless, mindless, irresponsible abandon by our "own" Democratic administration.

CJCRANE

(18,184 posts)
7. It's been like that for years. It's pretty obvious that's what they do.
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:31 AM
Dec 2011

They have no scruples or consistency so they can just copy something wholesale we said about conservatives and flip it round on us (sometimes it's as simple as replacing the word "conservatives" with "liberals", a sort of "cut-n-paste projection" technique).

I'm sure they teach that in Rovian Tactics 101.

 

SpiralHawk

(32,944 posts)
8. "No way, Stewie. We are, like, totally INNoscent and stuff. Smirk" - Cato-Heritagers (R - 1%)
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:41 AM
Dec 2011

"We overpaid RepubliWankers against America doesn't not do no eevil sneaky occult spying stuff and shit like that, and we are not hear nowhere monitoring you or no eevil crap like that 'cuz we are busy bees and stuff. Sneer. Smirk."

- Cato Heritagers (R - 1%)

sendero

(28,552 posts)
9. Believe me.
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 09:50 AM
Dec 2011

.... they've been here a long time. And not just watching but floating their bullshit answers to our concerns.

If the left had any sense and any sense of the big picture, we'd fund analogous organizations that do nothing but get our ideas out there. At this point in American history people are ready for a new message, the shit these assholes are peddling is a complete and utter failure for 95% of Americans.

Response to Stuart G (Original post)

CJCRANE

(18,184 posts)
13. It doesn't matter what they think. It's what they can accuse them of
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 10:14 AM
Dec 2011

that matters.

The Rovian tactic is all about projection. You project your weaknesses onto your enemy.

Mimosa

(9,131 posts)
20. Heritage Foundation members are sooo OVERRR
Fri Dec 30, 2011, 11:17 PM
Dec 2011

Stuart are you trolling for them?

That org is Loserville. And YOU started a thread to encourage people to visit a long dead conservative website. *Hmmm*

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