Kate Starbird: But there’s so much smoke (claims of “illegals” voting), there must be fire (actual incidents of illegal voting by non-citizens) somewhere, right? Says the folks operating the smoke machines.

But there’s so much smoke (claims of “illegals” voting), there must be fire (actual incidents of illegal voting by non-citizens) somewhere, right? Says the folks operating the smoke machines.

Speaker Mike Johnson: "We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections. But it's not been something that's easily provable. We don't have that number." Sounds legit. www.threads.net/@aaron.rupar...

Aaron Rupar (@aaron.rupar) on Threadswww.threads.net Speaker Mike Johnson: "We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections. But it's not been something that's easily provable. We don't have that number." Sounds legit.

one of my colleagues got laughed out of federal court when he tried to make this argument. If only intuition was admissible as evidence.

For all the problems with the courts, their rules of evidence is usually effective enough to keep out fact-free claims, especially intuition, which goes counter to modern Republican ideas and goals.

I remember back in 1996 when Bob Dornan lost reelection and he found dozens of voters with Hispanic names at one location in his district, he screamed that they were illegal immigrants illegally voting. Turned out that they were US Marines stationed at Tustin Air Station. Just saying.

99%of all voter fraud in Florida is by Republicans at the blood red Villages planned retirement community.

"Many people are saying..."

This is a guy who used to provide legal services to young earth creationists. ncse.ngo/how-mike-joh...

"How Mike Johnson Helped Open the Door to Creationism in Louisiana Public Schools" | National Center for Science Educationncse.ngo

If we say it enough times, other people will believe it. If we say it enough times, we'll start to believe it. I wonder if they believe these things themselves or if they know they are spreading manure. Intent is part of the definition of bad faith actors vs unwitting agents in disinfo campaigns.

That’s the thing about true BS. Those spreading it don’t care whether or not it’s true. Veracity doesn’t matter.

They just care that it helps their position. I get that. I know that truth doesn't matter. But I still wonder what they really think sometimes. Does Johnson actually believe, against all evidence, that non-citizens are voting in the US? It doesn't really matter for the BS, but I still wonder.

Don't we know that people tend to align their beliefs with what they profess to believe?

We teach our kids to believe that totally untestable propositions are more true, and more real, than anything they have, or ever will, experience Once you have primed a mind to that model, any sufficiently forceful assertion can hijack it

Yep. You would think I would know better by now. And still I wonder if some of these folks actually believe the stuff they say. I mean, in the same breath Johnson notes there is no evidence, no numbers, but it is intuitive. He is acknowledging heuristic reasoning as why he believes it! Ugh.

Kate, it's really unfair of you to use my own field of study against me like this. Just ouch.

Raising doubts about election results is right out of the fascist playbook. Then come the fraudulent elections…

He should be asked again & again of his nonexistent efforts to find evidence to support his fabulist claim. It is false, he knows it, and is lying. His baseless lies undermine our elections.

It’s actually incredibly easy to track as evidenced by all the conservatives that Red State authorities keep rolling up for voting twice. They let them go, of course, bc they’re the “good ones,” and they’re only doing what the Dems have been getting away with for centuries (evidence schmevidence).

“We all know, intuitively…” That’s adorable.

Perhaps the conservative Mr. Johnson should review the right-wing Heritage Foundation's work on voter fraud. Their conclusion is that voter fraud happens in such small quantities that it is negligible.

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