Questions tagged [rhetoric]
For questions about the messaging of political entities, such as politicians, candidates, parties, and interest groups.
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Why do some Somalilanders hold that Ethiopia is their primary enemy?
AP:
Somaliland’s defense minister has resigned to protest his government signing an agreement to allow landlocked Ethiopia to access Somaliland’s coastline.
“Ethiopia remains our number one enemy,” ...
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Which countries has the US publicly threatened to sanction if they expel US troops, say, in the past 25 years?
Back in 2020,
When Iraq’s parliament voted to expel American troops from the country Sunday, it was an apparent bid by the government to extract the country from an escalating US-Iran proxy war. [...]...
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Le Pen's gesture as immigration bill passed
This might be more a question of political discourse than of politics proper.
Recently, French passed legislation toughening France's immigration policy. Emmanuel Macron's centrist Renaissance party ...
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What's this Algerian parliamentarian tearing up in his speech in support of Gaza/Palestine?
On Oct 31 the Algerian parliament held some symbolic support session for Gaza/Palestine.
There is a summary in French of what was said. However, it doesn't explain what is the stuff that a speaker is ...
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Why is the $14 billion aid bill to Israel "bad for Israel", according to the White House?
VOA reports
U.S. senators from both parties voiced doubts on Tuesday about House Republicans' plan to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel by cutting Internal Revenue Service funding, without ...
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What is the difference between a missile and a “rocket”? [closed]
For some reason when people describe the projectiles launched by Palestinian forces into Israel, they refer to them as rockets. But in all other contexts it seems like such would be called missiles.
I ...
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Does using the word "state" imply questioning the status of the region as a country?
Inspired by the question asking for the difference between these two words.
I used to write "the Baltic States", simply using the words I have previously seen somewhere and was usually ...
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Are there studies on whether either the US left or right make more use of snarl words?
In my last question, I attempted to avoid any answer saying that one political party was more likely to abuse snarl words without proof as I deemed such an attack plausible and unconstructive to my ...
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Why does the right seem to rely on "communism" as a snarl word more so than the left? [duplicate]
Both political parties use snarl words to denigrate policies or views they don't like. I have a bit of a rant on what a snarl word is in another question I answered. While that question is primarily ...
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Why do Australian politicians use the term “The Greens political party”?
The Australian Greens are the largest of the minor parties in Australian politics, and a regular target for criticism by the major parties. They are normally referred to as “The Greens” in the media ...
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Does this argument qualify as whataboutism? [closed]
Alice and Bob are two students who are habitual cheaters.
Alice to Bob: You really should stop cheating on your exams.
Bob to Alice: I'll stop cheating if you stop cheating too.
Does the hypothetical ...
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What's the longest speech by a sitting US president?
According to History.com
Ironically, the man with the shortest White House tenure delivered the longest inaugural address in history, which may have been his undoing. This first presidential speech, ...
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Does Castro hold the record for re-election speech length, among heads of government/state?
According to Reuters:
Castro holds the record for the longest speech ever delivered to the United Nations: 4 hours and 29 minutes, on Sept. 26, 1960, according to the U.N. website. One of his longest ...
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How do those who claim it envision that Ukraine would destroy Russia as a country?
I have seen the declarations like "For Russia this conflict is about preservation not only of its elites, but the country itself". It looks that there are people who think that Russia can be ...
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Did Björn Höcke sue (and win?) for being called "new Hitler" or "AfD fascist"?
Somewhat related to a recent question, where in answers we find out out that several AfD members won defamation lawsuits for being called "Nazi", Höcke was called "new Hitler" and ...
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It seems Russian public messaging uses false or mutually inconsistent claims, why do they use that messaging strategy?
To someone following Western media summaries of Russian public diplomacy and state-supported media, it appears that they are putting out both obviously false claims and mutually inconsistent ones, e.g....
user43849
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Why is "Whataboutism" often criticized?
Whataboutism or Whataboutary is the technique or practice of responding to an accusation or difficult question by making a counter-accusation or raising a different issue.
Examples:
The USA to Russia: ...
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Why didn't Ukraine and NATO simply pretend to agree to Russia's demands? [closed]
Russia have invaded Ukraine to prevent their admission into NATO. Prior to the invasion, Russia made it clear that they wanted assurances that this would not happen.
Why didn't NATO and Ukraine just ...
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Is it common for politicians to share speeches they wrote but never gave?
Hillary Clinton has made public the speech she would have given had outcomes been different in the 2016 US Presidential Election.
I can only think of one other example of a high profile politician ...
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What do those Iranians who say "Death to America!" mean by it?
I was watching an old Anthony Bourdain show and I saw local Iranians in Tehran chanting "Death to America!" and then in the next scene saying "We need one day to be friends".
Do ...
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Have politicians elaborated on their use of the term 'the Big Lie' in reference to US election fraud claims?
As defined by Lexico, the Big Lie technique is
A gross distortion or misrepresentation of the facts, especially when used as a propaganda device by a politician or official body.
As explained on ...
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Why do populists and dictators sometimes lie so ridiculously that it's obvious it's untrue?
Why do populists and dictators sometimes lie so ridiculously that it's entirely obvious it's untrue? What purpose do such blatant lies serve if no one takes them seriously? Examples of extremely ...
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What is the significance of Sec. Pompeo's labeling of China's treatment of the Uighurs as "genocide"?
A couple of recent headlines:
Pompeo labels China's treatment of Uighurs 'genocide' - The Hill
US accuses China of 'genocide' of Uyghurs in Xinjiang - CNN
It seems reasonable to expect that this ...
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Why do politicians often say that they cannot comment on individual cases?
Often you hear politicians say, "I cannot comment on individual cases".
I could understand if it is in court proceedings already so that politicians should avoid influencing the result, but ...
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"[W]ithout the stability of Israel, there can be no Palestine" - is this an actual idea? [closed]
I've been watching "House of Cards". I understand it is mainly fiction, yet as a non-American, I cannot tell real ideas within the U. S. government apart from made-up ones. In the 1st season,...
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Is this expression displayed by protestors antisemitic?
Reading the news after four people were stabbed in protester-counterprotester clashes in Washington, DC — this image from npr.org — I came across this potentially offensive picture:
(Hover over to ...
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Is there a (fuller) transcript for Trump's recent quip about election officials being “communists” and “enemies of the state”?
AP recently reported that:
Speaking to news crews gathered to watch the traditional holiday conversation with the military, Trump denounced officials in battleground states he’d lost as “communists” ...
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(How) did Trump's administration rebut the accusation that lowering drug prices via regulations is tantamount to socialism?
In an amusing perhaps reversal of the usual rhetoric from ads in the 2020 elections, Trump found himself being accused of advancing some kind of socialism, at least if AP's summary of the rhetoric ...
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History of the Three Word Slogan [closed]
What's the history of the three word slogan in Politics? I'm aware of individual cases like "strong and stable" but was it ever as prevalent as it is now? It would be good to know if it ...
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Why is it considered racist to say "White Lives Matter"?
Given the recent political upheaval and mass protests/riots with scores of people chanting "Black Lives Matter" on the streets, why is it considered white supremacist and racist to say "...
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Origin of gerrymandering phrase regarding politicians picking voters
Recently, I had a project involving studying the history of redistricting and gerrymandering.
In my studies, I came across what appears to be a particularly common aphorism in redistricting academia. ...
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Does the motto “Don’t tread on me” have a specific political color?
According to the following extract, the expression has in recent decades been associated with conservative groups:
Don’t tread on me:
Originating as a motto on an iconic Revolutionary War flag, don’...
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Who was responsible for the decision to play "Live and Let Die" at Trump's visit to a mask factory? [closed]
Some of the media has been pointing out the irony in that when Trump was visiting a mask factory, the Guns and Roses song "Live and Let Die" was being played on loudspeakers. Some coverage of the ...
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Have the police forces in other countries besides India dressed in coronavirus costumes as an awareness campaign?
CNN etc. have pictures of Indian police forces in coronavirus costumes, as part of an awareness campaign
Have other countries used similar in-person costumes for awareness campaigns?
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Did the Romanian president equate autonomy for the Székely with giving the area to Hungary in prior speeches?
I'm curious if Romanian president Iohannis has used such blunt language before today in describing autonomy proposals for the Székely (which he did reject before, but perhaps not using this kind of ...
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Can intentional foreign accent in a negative context be considered as xenophobia? [closed]
Today the Romanian president intentionally pronounced the name of its opposition party with Hungarian intonation and pronunciation. The message of his speech was that this opposition party sold ...
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How common is it for the UK Government to publish official rebuttals of media claims?
Today, the Cabinet Office published a press release entitled Response to FT article and Twitter thread by Peter Foster. It begins:
An article in FT Weekend on 18 April 2020, ‘Muddled thinking ...
CDJB♦
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Why is the UK government advising, but not requesting to stay at home this weekend?
The background is obvious. I'm really curious about the wording. In particular, UK told that staying home this weekend is 'not a request'. To me, it sounds like loosening restriction, in an unofficial ...
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How did the US administration usually refer to COVID-19 before the Chinese foreign ministry started claiming the virus is of US origin?
It's been recently reported that Trump's administration (Trump himself, but also Pompeo) has been referring to COVID-19 as "China virus" or "Wuhan coronavirus" etc., emphasizing the Chinese origin of ...
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Is there systematic evidence that (campaign) "pivoting" doesn't work as well as it used to?
It's not hard to find punditry like
[Trump's] chief campaign strategist Paul Manafort told Republican leaders that Trump’s been acting all along. “The part that he’s been playing,” Manafort insisted, ...
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Why do primaries contestants (usually) announce that they are "suspending" their campaign when they exit it?
It seems to be just another political euphemism, in line with politicians not being terribly willing to admit when they are wrong, but is there anything more than that to their use of "suspend" when ...
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Are there some details on what issues Romanian Social Democrats blamed on Soros?
According to a NYT article:
In many ways, the struggle in Romania echoes the political drama playing out in other parts of the world, where leaders touting a populist agenda tapped into deep public ...
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What does the concept of "International Shame" intend?
What is the meaning of International Shame?
What is intended when the term International Shame is used in the text below?
The Mobilization of International Shame can also be thought of as a tool ...
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Are there more examples of self-contradictory messages from Trump when he (allegedly) asks for something iffy?
With respect to Trump telling Sondland "I want nothing" (which was used/repeated as a defense by other Trump allies), an opinion piece in the Washington Post claims that this might be a ...
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Why is Trump apparently disparaging Michael Bloomberg as "little Michael"? [closed]
Trump has a penchant for disparaging his political opponents with labels like "crooked Hillary", "sleepy Joe Biden" and so forth.
Recently Trump called Michael Bloomberg "little", in relation to ...
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Have there been cases in New Zealand in which the consequences for unparliamentary speech have been more than a (forced) apology?
In an exchange in New Zealand's Parliament from 2017, the following record has been kept:
Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Grumpy old prick.
Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I know there is a ...
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Is it known what the intervening MP was saying when Swarbrick retorted "OK, boomer"?
In relation to another question of mine, New Zealand Green Party MP said that
"Today I have learnt that responding succinctly and in perfect jest to somebody heckling you about your age as you ...
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Has New Zealand announced any investigation or punishment/censure for MP Swarbick for her saying "OK, boomer"?
Have any authorities in New Zealand, e.g. some Parliamentary discipline/ethics committee or even the justice authorities launched any investigation or punishment attempt against MP Chlöe Swarbrick who ...
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Methodology of Deny, Obfuscate, Admit but deny significance; generally accepted term, notable implementations?
A recent comment below the question What is Trump's position on the whistle blower allegations? What does he mean by “witch hunt”? includes the following (I've reformatted for easier reading):
The ...
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What is Trump's position on the whistle blower allegations? What does he mean by "witch hunt"?
Last night, on a major US TV network there was a Trump ad about the "Witch Hunt" and ongoing impeachment proceedings.
It was unclear from the ad, if Trump's position is that he didn't take the ...
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