re: When did the right stop being about limited government and start peddling conspiracies?

quote:

---

That's a logical fallacy, appeal to hypocrisy

---

Yes, but logical fallacies only apply to substantive arguments. Arguments exist on levels other than substance. Think about court cases.

quote:

---

The problem is that anybody can say "well you have no credibility" as a means of deflecting, regardless of whether or not it's true

---

Given the broad spectrum of information (both legitimate and illegitimate) presented, credibility is an incredibly important filtering tool. You use this everyday; I guarantee it. If I sent you links from Zero Hedge about Pizza Gate, are you going to waste your time arguing substance with me?

Of course not.

quote:

---

You seem to want to be able to avoid addressing legitimate questions and concerns with impunity when it suits your purposes.

---

Its actually the opposite. It's a process of ciphering through the nonsense so that you can get to the substance worth arguing.