As we move inside two weeks before the Nov. 8 election, many voters are still wondering exactly how we got here. The barbs and accusations keep flying, mud continues being slung like never before in recent history, and policy discussions remain vague. In our continuing series, our MBU Timeline bloggers write about these “Faulty Arguments” that are too often being sold — or attempted to be sold — as truth to an electorate that needs to be informed like never before.
Graphic by Josh Shands
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2016 Election: Which Side Do You Believe? How about Neither
By JOHN HOUGH
From the Republican point of view, Hillary Clinton is a lying, murdering, corrupt senator who is the epitome of the standard politician Americans despise. The Democrats think Donald Trump is a racist bigot, Islamophobe and wealthy businessman who knows nothing about politics but certainly feels he is above everyone else. On the flip side, many Republicans think of Trump as a man who is against the system and tells it how it is, which is what the United States needs in order to move forward. Clinton supporters believe she is the most qualified because she’s been involved in politics for over 30 years and knows what it’s like to be in the White House. It’s clear to see that both candidates have fewer positives than negatives given the way they have gone about attacking each other. Hillary: You suck! Trump: Well you double suck! We’ve seen plenty of that for over 12 months and I for one have gotten tired of it because this country has grown apart in my opinion. Here’s the current update on where the parties are attacking each other: The Democrats are attacking Trump for his “locker room” talk on women with Billy Bush. Experts claim there’s no way Trump can win the election after his comments from 2005. People can argue that he has changed since then, and that’s what he is claiming, and he has apologized.
So far there’s no evidence to support their claims. Clinton, on the other hand, is dealing with potentially life-ruining material. She’s had scandals in the past about lying and covering up information, and she’s still not out of the woods with the deleted e-mails. Her supporters will tell you the matter should be over because of the FBI’s decision not to bring formal charges, but that’s not stopping truth seekers. Wikileaks is releasing damning information about the Clinton campaign every day and this is material that would just about destroy any other campaign or individual, yet Hillary is getting by at the moment. A couple days ago, Anonymous, a major hacking community group, promised to release information they claim will destroy the Clinton campaign. It’s pretty hard to believe, but we’ve seen what Wikileaks is releasing and it may not be so hard to believe that Anonymous actually will follow through. Meanwhile, major media outlets are denying all the information and are accusing Russia of tampering with the election through hacking and leaking private materials. Depending on what you want to believe in or what your values are, you’ll believe what you want, despite not really knowing the truth. But American citizens deserve the truth. Choose wisely, but that option is probably out the door by now.
Election Year 2016: What In the Nation Is Going On?
By SPENCER RANDOLPH
I try to stay current on what’s going on and make a decision about who to vote for when the time comes, but overall this year’s campaign has been overwhelming for me. From the constant media coverage to the memes and Facebook arguments I see posted daily, there are always two (or more) points of view when it comes to Clinton vs. Trump. This said, ads have been a major part of the promotion of each candidate, and the tearing down of each candidate. Hillary Clinton has sponsored multiple commercial campaigns depicting Trump in a negative light — go figure — as has Trump. Clinton has paid for commercials focusing on Trump’s unfair treatment of veterans and his body shaming antics, to name a couple. Each of these commercials shows clips of Trump speaking in different interviews and saying things like, “John McCain is not a war hero. He was captured. I like people who aren’t captured” (about veterans), and “She’s a slob. She ate like a pig” (in speaking about a woman). The statements in the commercials were what Trump had said at one point in time.
On the flip side, in anti-Clinton ads Trump has conveyed Clinton as dishonest and insensitive when it comes to the well-being of the country. I know I’m not alone when I say these ads and messages muddle my brain to the point of confusion when thinking about who to vote for. On one hand Trump seems to be heartless and disrespectful, but on the other hand, I don’t want a liar leading the nation I call home. These types of ads don’t help me decide on the right choice. They actually distract from the facts of what is really going on across the nation politically. The real, cold, hard facts are what need to be focused on more, not the glamorization or humiliation of either candidate. So to clear things up for anyone else who might also be buried beneath the media’s points of view, Clinton currently has 47 percent of the votes while Trump is close behind with 43 percent. Media power and attack advertising may be the driving forces behind this year’s election, but they cannot be the deciding factors. Vote informed.
Is Trump Validating his Speeches Using Faulty Arguments?
By EDUARDO MAIA
It’s important to check out these fallacies, and, more than that, get familiar with each type of fallacy used in his presidential campaign speeches. Why do so many of the American people seem to support a man who says a bunch of faulty things, and manages to do so in such a convincing manner? One faulty argument is called “straw man,” which is basically a misrepresentation of an argument. In this case, Trump talks about a complicated topic, illegal immigration in America, but not in a complex way; he does not specify a solution such as education, social rights or economic issues in regards to illegal immigrants in the U.S.
He already claimed that, once elected, he would build a wall along the southern U.S. borders to avoid illegal immigrants getting into the country. Is that considered prejudice? Does he really know how helpful and important immigrants are for the U.S. economy? That’s only one of the topics that Trump has been discussing incorrectly with the American citizens. Trump uses several faulty arguments in his campaign speeches, even though some of them are able to convince a large number of people. Is he indeed considered the man who will change the scenario of the United States of America in the next four years?
Triston Buckley 
Emily Retzer