Category: Denialists’ Deck of Cards

It’s time to go on the offensive. Call your opponent a ninny! One of the best examples of this comes from–you guessed it–our friend Jack Abramoff. One of Jack Abramoff’s teammembers, Dennis Stephens, once proposed to attack Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert because Ruskin’s group was criticizing “Channel One:” From: Dennis Stephens To: Chad Cowan…

At this point, the denialist must propose “self regulation” to deal with the problem that doesn’t exist. Self-regulation is a set of rules that an industry generates to govern itself. The cool thing about self regulation is that it cannot be enforced, and once the non-existent problem blows over, the denialist can simply scrap the…

Okay, everyone, practice your sneer, because it’s time for the 10 of Diamonds: Bureaucrats! Everyone hates “bureaucrats,” whether they ever met one or not. So, the industry denialist often plays the bureaucrat card in order to denigrate proposals that would vest decisionmaking with those fat cats in Washington (Cato has over

An industry lobbyist can buy time by becoming petulant. After throwing a temper tantrum, the next step is to play the 10 of Hearts. Play this card by saying that your industry is misunderstood. It is a sophisticated, nuanced entity that needs more understanding before any proposals advance.

The denialist is in serious trouble at this point. Whatever problem that didn’t exist has continued to capture regulatory attention. It is time to devote serious resources to fighting the proposal being debated. The denalist should have a fake consumer group or academic group at this point. It will pay off with fake research and…

At this point, the consumer advocate has proceeded far along the path of moving some type of proposal. It’s time to sacrifice a high-value card–the joker. The denialist throws a temper tantrum. This may sound distasteful, but it actually works. There is a certain tone that an industry lobbyist can generate when truly pressed. It…

The 9 of Spades is different than previous confusion tactics. Remember that most legislative staffers handle many different issues, and often are not expert in any one of them. This tactic leverages incomplete information to promote confusion. Here, the denialist simply does not offer information, or allows others to hold misconceptions if it benefits the…

You should all be familiar with this tactic–poisoning the well. You know the trick: provide derogatory information about your opponent to undermine her arguments. And here’s a great example: In defending Channel One, Jack Abramoff’s lobbyist Dennis Stephens proposed that Peter Ferrara pen an oped that “hammered the ‘anti-technology’ crowd:” “When I talked with Peter…

Two more tactics for those of you who want to be an industry lobbyist, or for those who want to recognize their two-bit tactics. With nit picking, the denialist finds one problem with a fact asserted or the proposal for reform, and then harps on the problem incessantly. A variation on the 8 of Clubs…

“Duh!” is one of my favorite lobbyist tactics. I’ve seen it used many times. With “Duh!,” the denalist deliberately misunderstands, misinterprets, or plays dumb when presented with others’ questions or proposals. One is sometimes amazed at how smart an industry lobbyist can be until they’re asked a question they don’t want to answer! In the…