The 50.1% Doctrine vs. The Value of a Solid Majority
Democracy's incentives are structured to encourage triangulation toward winning the most votes. The conventional rules say that if you can identify the policies that are most popular and get behind them more effectively than your opponent you'll end up winning. Both candidates compete to win as much support as possible and the person who wins the
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Well ... no.
Sometimes fearmongers are just plain wrong. When someone says that Barack Obama is an Arab Muslim they're not using "a different risk assessment". They are factually incorrect. They are mongering fear from total lies.
Sometimes fearmongers are not liars. Sometimes they are right - but still wrong. When someone says that Obama "pals around with terrorists" the are technically correct, inasmuch as a Distinguished Professor at the University of Chicago who turned himself into the authorities 18 years ago is a "terrorist" and serving on the same Republican board is "palling around". But they're still not using "a differing risk assessment". They're not assessing any risks at all. They're just saying something that sounds scary and letting everyone come to their own conclusions ( ... )
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