Citing the irrelevant is a sleepy trick

A neat trick in American politics is taking advantage of our collective unwillingness to really pay attention to what’s being said.

So, when they talk about a real problem, attributing it or at least insinuating it’s due to some nefarious plot or stupidity by the other side, we nod our heads and sleepily agree when in the next sentence they offer a solution that is completely unrelated but liked b...