Bill Rusher wrote a book called “How to Win an Argument.”

Even then the idea struck me as a bit childish, though of course I never said so.

If you want something to brag about among the lightweights of National Review, you aim at WINNING.  You end the story triumphantly by saying, “And you should have seen the look on his face!”

Power consists of making points that would never occur to any respectable conservative.

I constantly lost arguments by using the word “all.”

“All Communist countries have armed guards to keep their people in.”

Didn’t mind at all if someone made that point and lost the argument.

My point was made.

On gun control, I would bring up Switzerland.  It has guns in millions of private hands and no more gun crime than other European countries with fanatical gun control.

I didn’t mind the other person thinking they “won” because they listed all the European countries with fanatical gun control and low gun crime.

Despite the fact that my boss was on the NRA Board of Directors and I wrote him at least a dozen speeches on guns in Switzerland, no conservative defending against gun control ever used that example.

No conservative ever whispered about the prison walls around all Communist states.

They were afraid that if they made the point they would lose the argument.

To me they were Losers.

They  probably thought they were Being Shrewd.