Dave Ross is a commentator for the CBS Radio Network. You probably never heard of him, and neither had I until today. His voice, though, sounded really familiar.
Ross apparently has a morning show in the Pacific Northwest, but comes on the air nationally for CBS only to give a short rant in the middle of the program you actually wanted to hear.
Ross’ rant today, which I listened to in the car tonight, was one of the most extreme cases of a strawman argument I’ve heard in a while. Using the shooting of Seattle policemen as a backdrop, Ross tried to score cheap points against conservatives.
Here’s Ross’ pitch: “The overarching theme of talk radio is government sucks. It fails at whatever it does. And yet in the wake of Sunday’s massacre of the four police officers outside Seattle, the community has come together to tell a very different story.”
Ross constructs a classic all or none argument. If conservatives are against a massive expansion of government into every aspect of our lives, then conservatives must be against all aspects of government including the police. Therefore, conservatives hate the police, suggests Ross.
The fact that conservatives are the biggest supporters of the police means nothing to Ross. The strawman argument sets up a fictitious extreme, which then easily is knocked down.
Listen for yourself:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW-7iG7tpPM]
How pathetic. Dave Ross, shorter.
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Comments
I get tired of liberals and their party of "no" cries. It reminds me of spoiled children who throw a fit when they are denied something.
Conservatives like properly porportioned government. We appreciate the mathematical beauty of ratios and what works and what doesn't. I think the optimum ratio is something like 22% government.
Professor, you have figured out in two and a half minutes what most of the Seattle area has been unable to figure out for about 20 years. Classic example of a well-spoken guy who sounds great with his eloquence, cadence and tone until one stops and listens to the rationality of his words. (Ross's interview style is actually pretty fair, but his monologues tell the tale of his errant logic, the strawman being his favorite.) The metropolitan Seattle area has pretty much lost its mind, and Ross pretty much exemplifies most people's thinking around here.
Dave Ross is also the liberal candidate for congress who refused to give up his radio show for 2 months essentially giving himself 3 free hours of advertising a day. He still lost to Dave Reichert.
Conservatives see government's role as prevention and punishment for injustices brought on law-abiding citizens, which make good police work OK. They object to government doling out "justice" as they see it, and for that reason dislike that aspect of government. Look at the policies of 19th century Democrats who followed Jefferson, cited in THE CHANGING FACE OF DEMOCRATS on Amazon and claysamerica.com, not the modern Democrat who follows Rousseau and Marx and seeks justice in community.
We saw how much you cared when you voted down the first reponders healthcare.
Yeah, this clown is a real dandy. A two minute segment, smooth talker, but the substance is totally irrational. There is no debate here, just this man's opinion. Today, the Wisconsin Governor election results were turned completely around with Barrett defeating Walker 52-47%, exactly the opposite from the general election. Of course there was no specifics such as sample size, registered vs. likely voters, etc. So after over 2 million votes cast in the November election, most voters would change and vote for the demoncrat. For all we know the poll was taken inside the Capitol building in Madison during a protest!!