I think it badly damages the entire argument when a list is presented and some of the things listed are wrong. And it has nothing to do with anything that can't be refuted.
That's just how things work.
If I'm looking at a "Top 10 BBQ Restaurants In The US" list and 2 of the spots listed I know are awful, I discount the entire list and the author of the list loses my trust. I think it's how lists work.
The reality is the author hurt himself. For no other reason than being sloppy. They could have made a much stronger argument cleaning up the list. But when the list is clearly wrong, people lost faith in the entire list. Be it football or politics or movies or whatever.
Comparing one man's attempt at a comprehensive list of disturbing stuff a president has done to a top 10 list of BBQ restaurants is pretty insulting.
For one, a comprehensive list includes everything. Burger King would be listed in a comprehensive list of burger joints. Would you write off that list because you don't consider BK a reputable burger spot? Of course not, because it's a comprehensive list. If this list of 40+ accidentally included one or two non-burger joints would you feel safe writing off ALL the restaurants on the list as non-burger joints? I sure hope not. Is it a little annoying and inconvenient? Yes, but it doesn't make the list useless. It still has utility and valid restaurants for you to choose from.
Two, even if it was a top 10 opinion piece, these are facts. They happened. They can be verified. We can all use our brains to determine if at least one of these is worthy of impeachment. Saying "this one fact is vague, so we can safely throw out ALL the facts" fits the definition of asinine. It actually works the OPPOSITE of that. If 43 of them were vague or wrong or whatever, but only a single one was true, THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO IMPEACH.
Three, it might help to think of this as a trial instead of a top 10 (or top 44) restaurant opinion piece. In a trial when multiple charges are brought, do all of them get dismissed when one is dismissed? Last I checked, no. You throw the book at them and try to get as many to stick as possible. To me, this would be a more apt comparison than a top 10 BBQ opinion piece.
Apologies for the thread necromancy, but I got a month off for calling out the "a couple points are weak, so all the points should be discredited" assertion as asinine. I was in the process of replying to this when I got it.
It's bad enough we live in a time when people will fabricate weak excuses for reprehensible actions of a clearly corrupt, self-serving president, so we don't need any sort of community leaders (including forum mods) giving any credence to these weak and/or bad faith arguments. We need a unified front clearly stating what's going on is not acceptable. And when I say "we" I don't mean any political party (I don't consider myself a Democrat), but merely people who value a functional democracy with some semblance of integrity.
