This really is about rhetoric:<p>The article is an excellent example of a popular rhetorical trend, especially on the right[1]: Say something outrageous, provocative, and aggressive to take the initiative, to force the other side onto defense. (EDIT: And to frame the discussion; that is, to define the debate in terms of issues in your favor and omit issues that don&#x27;t suit you; people will sheepishly follow whatever terms are set.)<p>Think of the things that GOP presidential candidates and other politicians say, day after day, that meet those criteria.<p>Putting someone on the defensive and forcing them to articulate and make explicit something that is intuitively obvious, but which they haven&#x27;t had to put in words before - it&#x27;s a fun game but ultimately is a waste of time. It&#x27;s much cheaper to make spurious attacks than to defend against them, and as a defender you can spend your whole life jumping through those hoops and never get anywhere - which is one of the attacker&#x27;s goals.<p>-----<p>[1] I&#x27;m not taking a political position, but it would be untrue if I said that in 2015 it was done nearly as much on the left as on the right.