Wow. Is this THE new buzzword since the Arizona shootings? Every politician seems to try to squeeze in some babblings about partisan “rhetoric” into eveyr public appearance. I seriously question whether or not all of these guys even REALLY know what that word means.
Please, stop with the rhetoric about rhetoric.
Thanks.
Rhetoric, in the classical sense (a sense never used in popular culture today), is the art of persuasion, and the devices (usually linguistic, but not always) used to encourage acceptance of a point of view. Classically speaking, it’s morally neutral and used by everyone, since everyone has a POV whether they realize it or not.
Rhetoric, in the popular understanding, means only the most blatant devices, always linguistic, that are used to persuade. In this sense, it’s morally questionable, and the question of whether or not everyone uses it is not asked; the word rhetoric is used only in instances of finger-pointing.
John Boehner does not know what it means.