The Big Political Debate

By: Brandon "Jersey" Jaworowski, Lauren "The Predicament" Guest, and Jessica "Kandi" Kamp

In politics, there is a never-ending feud between the Republicans and the Democrats. Each side is quick to point the finger at their opponent. After all, the blame always falls to one side, right? And emotional appeals to spur on action against the other side are thrown in your face all the time. When it comes to politics, one side is always wrong and the other is quick to point it out.

            For example, look at a chain email claiming that Obama inherited the deficit from himself. In the email, the author discusses the issue of the huge deficit that Obama inherited. He claims that the Democrats argue that Obama inherited it from Bush. Since Obama was a member of Congress during the Bush Administration, he voted for the proposed budget. As the author tells us, budgets come from Congress, and the Democrats have been in control of Congress since January 2007. Because of this, Obama inherited the deficit as a result of his own voting. The main point of the email is to stir readers into action. It aims to encourage people to be upset about this twisting of the truth and pass on the message: The Democrats are lying.

            But let’s take a look at the facts. Contrary to the author’s claim, budgets start in the office of the President and then sent to Congress for approval. This small fact changes the tone of the argument. Instead of all the blame belonging to Congress, as the author suggests, both the President and Congress are to blame for the huge deficit. The author also makes the generalized claim that since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, whatever Obama inherited was a result of his own voting. But we know that the government is a complicated process, and a statement that generalized gives no concrete evidence to support it.

            In short, the email relies on emotional Republicans to send it on. When it is broken down into strictly the facts, you can see that it is littered with half-truths and generalized statements that challenge its credibility. It relies on the emotional aspect that will stir readers into action. In reality, the facts are slightly different. So the next time you want to join the political debate, remember to check your facts and present them accurately. If not, your credibility is challenged and your comments disregarded.