Back in 1994, anthropologist Eugenie Scott (founder of the National Center for Science Education) coined a term for a debating technique favored by creationists: the "Gish gallop." That technique, named for creationist Duane Gish, has been used a lot by Christian fundamentalists since then, including those who are prominent figures in the Republican Party.
Writer Madhusudan Katti examines the use of the "Gish gallop" in an article published by Scientific American on August 20, arguing that it has had an extremely negative effect on U.S. politics.
"(Duane Gish's) tactic consisted of talking fast and with confidence, bombarding opponents with falsehoods, non-sequiturs and enough cherry-picked factoids to confuse the audience," Katti explains. "Scientists debating him faced the challenge of sifting half-truths from outright lies and finding the right evidence to refute them systematically, all within the few minutes allowed in response — which effectively meant that when the bell went off, the Gish gallop left the scientist 'stumped' and Gish declaring victory for creationism."
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Katti cites Donald Trump's performance during his debate with President Joe Biden in late June as a prime example of the "Gish gallop" being used on an opponent.
"The migration of the Gish gallop from creationist's patter onto the presidential debate stage, and increasingly onto news opinion pages nationwide, exemplifies a dangerous debasement of honest dialogue in American life," Katti warns. "That both the public and its leaders pass over, or applaud, this kind of dishonesty on the highest political stage shows how integrity has taken a back seat to 'winning' power in politics, business and the so-called 'culture wars,' and now, (is) shrouding us in a fog of disinformation."
Trump, according to Katti, has used the "Gish gallop" repeatedly.
"In politics, the Gish gallop is precisely what Trump deployed in the June debate, putting Joe Biden at a significant disadvantage in attempting to refute even some of the falsehoods in the torrent of lies," Katti observes. "Trump, as anyone even half paying attention to his speeches knows, is an expert at the Gish gallop. He projects the utmost confidence while bombastically repeating lie after lie until it overwhelms his audience into either accepting every word he says as the truth, or walking off in disgust because there is no way to get him to acknowledge any truth."
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Katti argues that when Vice President Kamala Harris debates Trump in September, she will need to "counter Trump's Gish gallop more forcefully" than Biden did in June.
Katti warns, "She will face a well-practiced con artist and loud dissembler who will flood the zone with enough falsehoods to outshout the former prosecutor and senator…. When it's her turn to respond, Harris should turn the tables on Trump by calling him out as a liar without bothering to refute each lie and refocus the audience on her own message."
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Madhusudan Katti's full Scientific American article is available at this link.
