# The Smug Style in American Liberalism and the 2016 Election **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 23, 2016, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-and-the-2016-election/752877 "2016-04-23T05:54:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-and-the-2016-election/752877/61 "2016-04-25T18:22:17Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > What American liberalism needs is less of a smug style and more of an **angry** style. Liberals, you are quite literally confronting the Forces of Evil – not just the Forces of Stupid, but the Forces of Evil – and you have been at least since 1980; act like you know it. That’s actually more in line with Rensin’s argument. Stop treating your political opponents as if they are dumb, but rather realize there are differences in morality and policy preferences. That may manifest itself in anger and outrage (as it does on the right when they think about those on the left). It may manifest itself in other ways. I think there is something important in realizing that smugness tends to hurt any persuasion attempts. People may feel that folks are just blinkered by their own side, and to a certain extent that may be true, but you’ll also find that people tend to vote against things that poll numbers say they support (expanding Medicaid, background checks for guns) - it is my opinion that they do so because they don’t trust who is proposing those things they may express support for. If those people belong to a group that is smug to them and treats them like idiots, they may wonder what exactly is said group hiding. I think fighting for what’s right, without thinking the white working class is stupid, using anger or whatever, may work better - people generally react VERY strongly against someone who thinks they are stupid. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-and-the-2016-election/752877/62 "2016-04-25T18:39:14Z")
There’s no shortage of smugness and condescension among the conservatives, either. They act like it’s self-evident that raising taxes necessarily increases unemployment and that lowering taxes reduces it. Not only that, but you’re an imbecile if you don’t buy it. Doesn’t matter that it’s dead wrong. Or “It’s cold today, OBVIOUSLY global warming is a hoax!” The trouble isn’t that only one side is capable of smugness, since it isn’t so. The trouble is that only one side has facts on its side. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-and-the-2016-election/752877/63 "2016-04-25T18:47:40Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Republicans assume minorities are voting against their self interest. No, they don’t. They say it, but they don’t assume it. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-and-the-2016-election/752877/64 "2016-04-26T06:55:01Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > Is it really smug if what they say is real? > Before any conservatives or their apologists object, consider the question. What if everything liberals say is basically true and these people just don’t like being talked down to? What can liberals say better than “this is actually reality” to people who have purposefully turned a blind eye to it? Are we supposed to coddle them, tell them their viewpoints matter even if its completely illogical and doesn’t make sense? Or do liberals try to explain reality to them in an obvious way. Will they listen? > > Tell me, conservatives, if you were wrong, how would you best want liberals to explain to you why you are wrong? The problem with arrogance comes when you’re not always right. I’ve said before and I’ll reiterate that yes, liberals have more facts and are more intellectual about politics than conservatives. But sometimes liberals think themselves into intellectual ditches. Take a recent Vox article on transgenders and bathrooms: > **[Even a Fox News host says anti-transgender bathroom bills are built on a myth](https://www.vox.com/2016/4/25/11502428/fox-news-north-carolina-transgender-bathroom)** > > Vox is a general interest news site for the 21st century. Its mission: to help everyone understand our complicated world, so that we can all help shape it. In text, video and audio, our reporters explain politics, policy, world affairs, technology,... This is a classic example of getting the right answer by asking the wrong question. There is not a woman on Earth that cares about whether attacks on women in bathrooms can be blamed on transgender liberalization laws. What is actually important is how often men attack women in bathrooms, and if widespread knowledge that men can freely enter women’s bathrooms will lead to more predators using that tactic. That is still unknown. Funny thing is, when I opened the article, I was hoping that they were going to say that attacks on women in bathrooms by men was an urban myth, like razorblades in apples on Halloween. But they didn’t say that. They just said that attacks on women by men in bathrooms wasn’t related to transgender laws. Which is something a really smart person could argue even if attacks skyrocketed. Another thing liberals do to often is to decide that something is a fact when it isn’t. predictions of the future are NEVER “facts”, yet liberals used expert projections to support the passage of ACA and treated any questioning of those “facts” as conservative lies. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-and-the-2016-election/752877/65 "2016-04-26T14:30:15Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No, it’s not. At most you could argue that calling people stupid is bullying–though I’d argue it depends on the circumstance. But calling an idea stupid? That’s not abusive, it’s just stating an opinion. Indeed, but just because people hold some ideas you deem stupid doesn’t mean they are stupid. You are extrapolating from the specific to the general, and en masse that is bullying. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-and-the-2016-election/752877/66 "2016-04-26T15:50:08Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > There is not a woman on Earth that cares about whether attacks on women in bathrooms can be blamed on transgender liberalization laws. What is actually important is how often men attack women in bathrooms, and if widespread knowledge that men can freely enter women’s bathrooms will lead to more predators using that tactic. That is still unknown. Bullshit it’s unknown. Any man inclined to assault women in ladies’ rooms will not be restrained by any “bathroom bill” – because a man who does not care about the laws that say he may not enter a woman’s body without her permission is not going to care about rules or laws that say he may not enter a public restroom reserved for women. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-and-the-2016-election/752877/67 "2016-04-26T20:42:47Z")
The difference is that now if he goes in and someone sees, it’s something that is noted and treated with suspicion by witnesses. And of course there are issues beyond just attacks: [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/02/17/transgender-rule-washington-state-man-undresses-locker-room/80501904/](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/02/17/transgender-rule-washington-state-man-undresses-locker-room/80501904/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-and-the-2016-election/752877.md?page=3)