Derp: the List So Far

Cutting taxes on the wealthy will increase prosperity.

Immigrants are the basic cause of our troubles.

Government employees don’t produce anything of value.

Blacks and liberals are the real racists.

The deficit is destroying the country.

Policies that bail out the poor or middle class create moral hazard; policies that bail out large corporations or billionaires do not.

Military intervention in [Middle Eastern country] will solve the problem of terrorism.

Unions are bad for working people even though unionized workers make more money and have better benefits.

The ruthless pursuit of self-interest is a virtue in business executives but not in labor leaders.

Outlawing [drug use/abortions/reckless sexual behavior] is a rational policy choice even if it doesn’t reduce the frequency of [drug use/abortions/reckless sexual behavior].

Deregulation won’t lead to a financial panic this time.

Privatizing public infrastructure can be counted on to save money and improve its quality.

You are unnecessarily complicating things; but the ifs, ands, and buts very much matter if my interests are at stake.

The mistakes of the powerful are just another way of being right.

Heavily armed right-wingers in the United States are not similar in any way to the Red, Brown, or Black Shirts of European history. 

America’s economic growth was based on free enterprise. Slavery had nothing or next to nothing to do with it. 

The consensus of scientific opinion is not decisive in favor of [climate change/biological evolution/the safety of vaccines or genetic engineering], but even a single study I read somewhere on the Internet is decisive evidence against [climate change/biological evolution/the safety of vaccines or genetic engineering].

Vitamins and herbs are safe to take in large quantities while drugs and additives are dangerous even in small quantities.

If my economic theory isn’t working, it’s because it isn’t being applied with sufficient purity or vigor.

Policemen can be counted on not to abuse their authority while people in general can only be held in check by universal surveillance and drastic punishments.

It’s not racism if I do it because racists are bad people and I’m not a bad person.

It’s not torture if I favor it because torture is bad and I’m a good person.

If critics of something aren’t saints, there’s no reason to listen to ‘em. 

The United States has (or had before Obamacare) the best health care system in the world despite its high cost and mediocre outcomes.