43 Comments
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Claudia Robinson's avatar

Absolutely! The debater should have his/her microphone silenced if not answering the question. What a total waste of time those last 30 minutes were. Thousands of people lost 30 minutes of their lives. Someone should have known better.

Golf shmolf! What the he🏒🏒!

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Jessica Rath's avatar

Completely agree, also with Heather Cox Richardson's assessment that this technique comes naturally for the bully and liar in question.

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Michael Breeding's avatar

I'm learning about so much on Substack. Love HCR especially, but I'm amazed at how many really good Americans can write really well! Thanks Dr Sinclair for sharing your gift!

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Morgaan Sinclair, Ph.D.'s avatar

Thank you so much!!

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El Lund's avatar

Thank you

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Morgaan Sinclair, Ph.D.'s avatar

You're welcome!!!!

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Donald Sinclair Richardson's avatar

Brilliant on HCR's part and great that you lay it out in detail with solutions.

The process of holding/presenting a debate also has to be reviewed. CNN was so egregiously irresponsible that they should be disqualified from hosting any further debates. Period.

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Allen Schulz's avatar

So, whats the debate technique to best stop the gallop? Can one practice that strategy?

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Morgaan Sinclair, Ph.D.'s avatar

The one and only technique is this: DO NOT ANSWER A SINGLE POINT THE GISHER MAKES. ONLY, ONLY, ONLY ****CONFRONT**** THE MANIPULATION, TURN THE TABLE, AND FAULT THE ****LACK OF CHARACTER****OF THE GISHER. This can be done by the respondent, but is better done by the debate moderator who stops the respondent from responding and cuts the manipulator's microphone. ... The debate moderator then responds to every single lie told by the Gisher during their SPEW, while the Gisher is not allowed to respond. Effectively, the penalty for this behavior then becomes that (1) the Gisher's lies get called but s/he doesn't get to spew some more, (2) you slap tape over the mouth of the bully who does this and you keep them from talking, (3) the Gisher gets instant karma for bullying and loses debate time, (4) all the lies get called, (5) the Gisher gets exposed as what he is, a bully and liar. And then the respondent starts with a fresh subect, with all the Gisher's lies exposed. And (5) if the Gisher has engaged in personal name-calling, they are penalized five minutes to time in a one-hour debate.

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Emmy's avatar

I guess the opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. If everyone stopped paying attention to him he'd probably implode. Like training a puppy...when they do something good you praise and turn into a treat pinata, because reacting to bad behavior is still reacting, and all he wants is attention.

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Matthew Tedone's avatar

I wouldn’t blame CNN . This has been a Trump technique for 7 years. Biden had 16 advisors and experts locked away with him for 7 days. Was there no Gish Gallop preparation? Did these 16 advisors and Biden- who already debated the Orange Gish Galloper twice, not know what was going to happen? Absolutely inexcusable! Trump interlaced facts with exaggerations and false declarations. There was no debater there to take him down.

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Bonnie's avatar

The photo is so spot on. Reptilian. Not to speak poorly of reptiles

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Jay  Kinard's avatar

A friend of mine from one of our embassies overseas, retired in late 2015. He was afraid he might have to still represent America to another government. In all conscience, he could not lower himself to pass on Trump’s written garbage.

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Matthew Tedone's avatar

Do you know what Trump’s instructions to the embassy were? Sounds interesting. Your friend did the right thing if he couldn’t agree to the new policy.

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Jay  Kinard's avatar

To paraphrase something I published elsewhere:

The debate must be fact-checked immediately after the lie is told. By not doing this the debate is controlled by the person telling the most, loudest, crazy lies.

I’m suggesting that hockey air horns sound with each lie. Perhaps the Canadians would loan us one.

That would have ensured that only one tRump lie would have been heard in each minute instead of the firehose method he used.

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Morgaan Sinclair, Ph.D.'s avatar

ROFLOL!!!!! I've got a great friend in Canada. I'll check!!!

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Matthew Tedone's avatar

If a Trump supporter holds the air horn, it will blow a lot at Joe; and vice versa. He who holds the air horn wields the power. Trump is famous for the use of superlatives as he exaggerates . “ The best econooof all time”; “ The most secure border ever “; “The most peaceful in world history “; “ The greatest jobs an lowest inflation”-you get it.

For Joe, Trump declares: “ The most horrible inflation ever”; “ The worst president of all time”; “ The most dangerous border we have ever seen “. Etc. Blow the horn for every exaggerated superlative?

A good debater can counter the bullshit; yet everyone knows, and Trump knows we know, that he’s full of hyperbole and idiotic exaggerations . Perhaps that’s the most frustrating thing- he knows we know he knows etc.

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Jay  Kinard's avatar

I’ll do it! I’m a fair fellow who is already deaf! Have you ever heard those horns??

I will watch the stage and if anyone’s lips move I will trigger the horn!

That’s all people watch a debate for anyway! Now they can watch their candidate for a flinch….

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Morgaan Sinclair, Ph.D.'s avatar

Excellent! I knew I could count on you!!

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Matthew Tedone's avatar

That would be fun. Like the old Amateur Hour on the radio and TV- get the hook!!

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Emmy's avatar

If you cut Trump's mic every time he lies, he might as well not even show up.

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Morgaan Sinclair, Ph.D.'s avatar

I think what would happen is that he would be interrupted almost every time he opened his mouth -- and there are DEFINITELY fact-checkers out there who could do this. A red light goes on, the debate is halted, Trump's mic is cut, and so is everyone else's EXCEPT THE FACT-CHECKER who has the floor for as long as needed to call the lie and clarify it with the truth. Given the way Trump reacts to gag orders -- he has a FIT -- if cutting off his oil pipeline-sized gusher of vitriol, lies, accusations, denigrations, and volcanic rages would send him INTO A FRENZY. And that's what people need to see. What happens when he can't lie and get away with it???? He told more than 30,000 lies while in office for four y ears. That's 20 lines a day. And those are the ones that were recorded, so it's 20 LIES TO THE PUBLIC. Debate monitoring in real time actually works very well, especially in terms of Gish gushers.

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Lori Kotowsky's avatar

Trump doesn't debate. No more debates this cycle. It's just a waste of everyone's energy. We can use that energy elsewhere. Go Joe❣️

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Socratez's avatar

Absolutely!

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HI2thDoc's avatar

For the future of America, and the world, I certainly hope the next debate is run the way you suggest. But will MAGA agree to such rules? Will we actually have moderators who will moderate? And will the Biden campaign and the President be better prepared?

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Sam Mallicoat's avatar

Maybe debates are no longer serving a useful purpose are are becoming irrelevant just like broadcast radio/tv and old school journalism.

Perhaps AI would be able to keep up with the Gishstorm but a real human would fail.

Trump is obviously moving towards a UFC bludgeoning model with participants bearing labels like superheroes and villains.

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Morgaan Sinclair, Ph.D.'s avatar

I think Trump may already have arrived at the place of bludgeoning. God, he's awful. And Gishstorm is a great way to put it. It's incredibly sad, though. One woman overseas said, "I'm so sorry for Biden ... and for America." Me, too.

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