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"I’m sure there’s a name for this in the annals of propaganda, but the mechanism is something like this. One statement, factual or otherwise, is made. Then another statement, a magnetic statement the audience agrees with and loves to hear, is delivered—in this case, ”Our nation, this great nation, was founded on Judeo-Christian values.” People nod and make approving noises over the magnetic statement. In this receptive moment, she says the next unrelated thing. Some people might not see the connection, but their neighbors are still nodding, so they follow along or at least keep quiet. The logical connection isn’t needed because the magnetic statement holds the unrelated ideas together."

This made me think of when I had the interesting (and vastly undesired) position of making phone calls to registered republicans? inviting them to take Trump's "Make America Great Again" survey some years ago.

Basically, it wasn't a survey at all, no data collected whatsoever of donors' answers, just a ploy to get receptive listeners into what we were told was "yes mode" so that when we went in for a fundraising ask, about 10ish yes/no questions in, they would almost always without fail agree to the algorithm-populated ask amount, and wow! some of those asks were wild 😳

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Hey Elizabeth!!! Yep, that sounds about like the process!

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