Doug Wilson is an odd duck. He’s sort of a cross between Hillbilly Elegy and A Beautiful Mind. In many ways, he’s a fundamentalist, but with a classical education and bent. A man of letters, but in a William Jennings Bryan sort of way. He’s a man out of time and yet thoroughly modern in many ways. He seems brighter than most fundamentalists, and yet, as obtuse as the worst.
Anyway, the Trump virus, which turns apparently reasonable and intelligent people into tin-foil hat wearing partially sentient beings, has clearly invaded Wilson’s brain. Here is the evidence.
Where to start? Let’s just make our way through this tangled heap:
He starts off by admitting he was caught sharing false information on social media and then tries to recover by turning serious. Okay. Lets:
He suggests some things that “should go without saying.” Well, they do need to be said. And he fails to, because…he can’t, there’s no evidence or facts to support him—just read on.
“There is a partisanship at all costs contingent out there, on both the Trump side and the Biden side. As I observe this, it seems to me that the Trump partisans will believe anything that promises a win, while the Biden partisans will do anything to get to a win. That is where the evidence points.”
He gives no evidence for the one, but he is right the Trump partisans will believe anything. In fact, he’s proving it as he writes. Indeed, not only can we assume this, but the evidence is all around us (just read the briefs filed by the Kraken handlers or listen to their news conferences).
The fact is that Trump, his supporters, and his legal team are the ones trying to win at all costs, even if it means overthrowing an election in which no rational person or court has found any factual or evidential reason to do so. That is where the evidence points.
Here’s a real beauty:
“If the allegations of electoral fraud have any merit, then obviously the Biden all-costers took some massive initiative in this one, and that is what the debate is about. Did massive fraud, from the Biden side, occur? The answer is yes, but lying is lying, whether it is about the votes or about the fraud. But if you allege fraud, in either direction, you shouldn’t expect anyone to take any action on the basis of the allegation alone. It needs to be proven.”
We are told that massive fraud did occur. Wait, did we miss something? How? Where? We are told this needs to be proven. It hasn’t been. Therefore, how is the answer, “yes” to the massive fraud charge? And that was all in one paragraph folks. Oh, I see, the “massive fraud” is going to be shown to us if we keep reading. Okay, lets:
“You Can Tell the Election was Lopsided Because the Debate About the Election is Lopsided”
What? Let me get this straight: If the conversation about something turns out to be skewered, then that changes the actual facts and truth of the events in question—the events leading to the conversation? Talk about a logic fail (plus I didn’t realize Wilson was so post-modern).
But wait, the logic fail doesn’t end there. Wilson’s example of what he is talking about is the supposed censorship of social media. He gives an example of a person making a perfectly valid point regarding telling lies about the election but then expecting people to believe us when we talk about our faith.
He then, however, asks what the chances are of a point like this being censored. Well, we would reply, none, because it’s not engaging in any lies or conspiracy theories. Wilson counters:
“But let us say that someone else, a responsible somebody, wanted to reply to him. They wanted to engage with Erick, in order to argue that Dominion Voting Systems is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg, and they wanted to cite facts and figures. The chances run from excellent to outstanding that such a person, no matter who they are, would be bound and gagged and summarily dismissed.”
First of all, there are no “facts and figures” to cite showing those voting systems to be any more crooked than a dog’s leg or Wilson’s logic. So far, no one has presented credible evidence those machines were used in a fraudulent manner.
Thus, as long as a person doesn’t traffic in lies and conspiracy theories, they rarely have to fear social media censorship. See how easy that was. Wilson is comparing a person’s actual truth telling with another person’s potential lies and then crying about the fact the liar might be censored.
His basic argument here is that social media is rigged against a fair conversation or debate. There is no evidence for that other than conservatives whining about their lies being taken down or labeled as such. The problem is not censorship. The problem is people spreading lies and falsehoods. Also, has Wilson heard of Parlor or Facebook? There, he can pretty much spread falsehoods as freely as he likes.
And then this:
“Biden campaigned either like he didn’t want to win, or like he knew he had it in the bag. His campaign was the very definition of “dialing it in…” Why did they nominate somebody that they knew they would have to carry across the finish line? Why did it not seem to matter to them that they would have to carry him across the finish line? Because they knew they had the wherewithal to carry him across the finish line. They did have it in the bag. Everything was all lined up beforehand.”
This is unbridled speculation and conspiracy mongering. It’s just question-begging nonsense:
- “Everything was lined up beforehand.” How do you know that? “Because he campaigned like he had it in the bag.”
- Why do you think he campaigned that way? “Because everything was lined up beforehand.” Oh, okay, got it.
Wilson offers no real facts or reasoning except claptrap like this, the sort of bunk you hear bored neighbors tell each other over the fence.
What any rational person knows is that Biden campaigned like someone who knew we were in the midst of a pandemic. So, like any intelligent decent person, he didn’t travel much and didn’t hold super-spreader events in complete disregard of his supporters. And, he still won. That’s how bad his opponent was. If we are going to throw around conspiracy theories, I’m more suspicious of Trump’s 70+ million votes than I am of Biden’s 80+ million.
Next:
“The Coattail Conundrum”
Oh right, so not only was there conspiracy and fraud, but it was of the dumbest sort. They only used it against Trump, but not the entire GOP. Got it. Yep, that sure lends support (?!). I guess, since the GOP is a bastion of ethics and integrity, all the winners will now renounce their winning and say they want a do-over, since only Trump was targeted. We’ll wait. Or, a rational explanation: The election was a repudiation of Trump, but the rest, as Tip O’Neill told us, had to do with all politics being local and the GOP held their own locally.
Oh, and “Benford’s Law” was trotted out. Nope. See here, here, and here.
Finally:
“So I do not accept the hypothesis that I am a lousy Christian because this whole thing seems more than a little fishy to me. If it is bad for our witness to be taken in by a lie, as per Erick’s thesis above, then let us not be taken in by a lie. Are we allowed to check?”
You are not a lousy Christian because the election seems fishy to you. It only seems fishy because of ignorance. Further, you and people smarter than you have checked, raised your concerns, and come up with nothing. Even Trump supporters and partisans, like Barr, have come up with nothing. My goodness, his own people, his own administration, have found nothing that would come close to indicating “massive fraud.” His “elite” legal team is a rolling clown show/moving dumpster fire and has lost almost every single legal effort, because in court you actually have to present evidence.
And by the way Mr. Wilson, we’re all lousy Christians in some form or fashion. But here’s your special lousiness—your grease spot: You keep spreading election/political related falsehoods, lies, and conspiracy theories even after it’s pointed out to you. And in the future, anyone should most definitely take that into consideration when hearing you speak or write of other matters, spiritual or otherwise.
I have a Patreon Page—please consider supporting my writing.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In