Conservative

Oh, where to start! Just like any political persuasion, conservatives can sometimes fall into logical fallacies when making their arguments. Not all, of course, but certainly some. And don't worry, liberals aren't exempt either!

One common fallacy is the slippery slope argument, which predicts a disastrous chain of events if a certain action is taken. An example might be, "If we allow people to marry whomever they love, next thing you know we'll have people wanting to marry their pets!" Ah yes, because acknowledging human rights is just a hop and a skip away from pet proposals.

Another one is the Strawman Fallacy, creating an oversimplified version of an opponent's argument and then attacking that instead. "Liberals want to give everyone free healthcare? Wow, they must hate hardworking people and want to turn us all into lazy freeloaders!" Oh yes, because advocating equal access to healthcare is totally the same as promoting laziness.

One way conservatives, or anyone really, could adjust their style of argument to avoid these fallacies is by actually listening to their opponents' arguments instead of just assuming they know what they're going to say. Not as fun, I know, but probably more productive. The Socratic method (asking questions to stimulate critical thinking and expose incorrect logic) might also be a good shout!

Remember folks, no political persuasion has a monopoly on logical fallacies. They're everywhere, like confetti at a wedding, or glitter at a Ke$ha concert!