Reaching the Audience
Comparison of Rhetorical Appeals made by Jared Polis and Walker Stapleton
When politicians are faced with controversial issues, it is important for them to maximize their use of rhetoric to sway the audience to one particular side of the issue. Jared Polis and Walker Stapleton are both running as candidates of opposing parties for the Governor position in Colorado. When comparing the two candidates side by side and the appeals they make to various audiences, a lot can be found by looking at the approaches they take when presenting certain issues. Jared Polis did a good job at gaining support from his audiences through the use of rhetoric, but Walker Stapleton’s use of rhetoric is exceptional when looking at how the issues he speaks on is perceived by his audiences. Whether Stapleton is speaking to his pro-gun audience, or citizens concerned with paying too much for healthcare, Walker Stapleton presents his issues in a way that his audiences can rally behind.
When addressing the gun control debate, Walker Stapleton creates a “we versus them” atmosphere that effectively turns the debate over guns into a battle. By referring to this topic as the “Second Amendment debate” Walker inserts American history into his argument, which reminds his audiences that this historically has been a right held by American citizens since the creation of the constitution. This is effective at appealing to his audience because it paints the picture that anyone opposing guns isn’t patriotic, and that the removal of guns is unconstitutional. This brings his audience together and further strengthens their beliefs. Jared Polis also does a good job at approaching this issue by introducing pathos to the debate. Polis references crimes committed with guns as a way to tell his audience that these crimes cannot be committed if there is a push against guns. This is effective, however what makes his argument very striking to his audiences, is the emotion that he introduces. By painting guns as the enemy and referring to them as the tools to commit crimes with, he is effectively doing the same thing as Stapleton and creating a two sided battle.
The healthcare debate is a very important topic that is brought up frequently to both candidates. The way that Stapleton approaches it is by telling his audiences that the government is making everyone pay too much for healthcare, and it shouldn’t be negatively affecting people who aren’t going to use it. When looking at conservative views, generally they believe that the government holds too much power. By creating this argument, Stapleton is effectively feeding to this belief, that being in this situation that the government’s power is being used to take money from citizens. Jared Polis approaches this argument by stating that healthcare is a fundamental right. This evokes emotion in the audience, and does a good job at getting people more invested in the idea that if they were in a situation where they needed medical attention but they couldn’t afford it, they could always be helped.
Overall, both candidates used rhetoric effectively to get their arguments across to their audiences and gain their support. When comparing these two political issues side by side and looking at the rhetorical use within both arguments, the more effective arguments tended to use emotion and the “we versus them” structures to gain support from the audience. Walker Stapleton did an excellent job at using these rhetorical appeals and as a result was able to reach his audience and gain their support.
