For Carson K:
Root is a financial predator, who understands how to play to the vulnerabilities of crowds, including actually seeding those crowds before the fleece. As noted already in this thread he made a lot of money through exploitation as a sports tout (including that episode of creating a public offering, which did well for his pockets but depleted those of just about everyone else involved); then he became a Wall Street tout; and over time he veered off into the arena of political fund-raising. Similar target audiences throughout, and he plays that crowd well.
His take on this election is filled with bullshit, but he does it as an expert craftsman, and in truth I admire some of the technique. Here is how it works –
1. Scare the audience to get their attention, in order to establish engagement and begin to render them vulnerable. So note the early language – “nightmare”, “exploding”, “Armageddon”. In the opening paragraph. That draws in the attention of the reader.
2. Lie through exaggeration, to further sell the shell game forthcoming. Job gains are “only” for low-wage menial job for the uneducated or illegal aliens. Which of course means no one else, but only them. The middle class is being “destroyed”. Not damaged, not having their earnings lowered, but downright destruction. That technique plays directly upon the fears of the audience to make them even more scared – when folks are scared they don’t read carefully, and can gloss right over exaggerations. And that continues on ad nauseum – “No one” wants to hire, pay bills, has any idea how to pay for… etc. It isn’t 60%, 75% or an actual researched number that he presents but “no one”, which is how manipulations work. If someone hears a number it is tangible, they can relate to it, their mind is activated and the pulse remains stable. But if it is “no one”, the fear rises. Mental sleight of hand at work.
3. Create empathy. Republicans and Democrats live in different worlds. Some might say “we” live on different planets. See, he wants you to believe that he is one of you, he feels your fears, and that is the con’s next step step towards getting your trust. This is where he digs in the claws. As noted already he knows that the very people who are convinced of the language used above are also those that are not likely to look things up. So they might not be aware, from his own web-site, that – “Wayne was not only on the Libertarian Presidential ticket in 2008, but the elected Chairman of the Libertarian National Campaign Committee and a twice- elected member of the Libertarian National Committee.” Instead, he wants a Republican audience to believe that he has been one of them all along.
And so follows the usual pattern – scare the audience with extreme language; load them up with takes on issues that are carefully devoid of specifics (he goes on to that #1 - #4 of “the vast majority of Obama, Hillary and Bernie supporters” without using a single verifiable number, which again is classic technique); attempt to get their empathy; and then offer a solution to the whole mess.
And he does this under what role? After the various shenanigans of his business career - “Today he serves as Chairman of the National Campaign Committee for the Republican Liberty Caucus.”
This is all textbook stuff because this is what Root has been doing for decades. If you could find some old sports tout fliers of his, the shell game would match up to much of this technique (you are a losing bettor, you are afraid of losing again, I feel your pain – come with me because I have the winners!). Do you want something priceless? Try the second paragraph from his prediction of that Romney landslide in 2012 –
I believe both Republicans and Democrats have destroyed the U.S. economy and brought us to the edge of economic disaster. My vote will go to Libertarian Presidential candidate Gary Johnson in November.
But again, what a con is looking for in their “mark” is someone that will not be detail oriented enough to go back and look things up. So Root does not have to concern himself with those that will see through the charade, knowing that there are just enough that won’t to keep him in play. Root has built a legacy of doing this, and he recognizes that there is an audience out there that will buy into what he is selling. For someone using anything that he writes as a basis for making a wager on this election, be very, very careful.