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How to Get Your Friends to Go Along With a Bad Idea


Sometimes you have a really bad idea, but you need friends to help you pull it off. Maybe it’s something that will benefit you but not them; or maybe you’ve all talked yourself into believing that this obviously stupid idea has some kind of upside.

For example, if you rely on elections to keep your job, and a bill is up for a vote that only 17 percent of your constituents are okay with, but you really want to pass it so you can cut some rich folks’ taxes, it’s going to take a lot of convincing to get 216 of your friends to vote for it. Fortunately, there are some tactics you can use.

Pump Them Up With Music

Music ties into our emotions: who hasn’t found themselves crying to a sad song or picking up the pace in a workout when a really great tune comes on? Music can pump you up to kick ass with your team, whether you play it in the locker room before a football game, or at a political rally:

The Rocky theme song is a good pick for pretty much any situation.

Downplay the Risks

Sometimes the bad idea is so bad that if you let your friends dwell on it, they will quickly talk themselves out of your plan. So distract them by saying the risk is unimportant; there’s some sort of safety net. Like Medicaid—wait, don’t use that example. Maybe use a work-related analogy, where colleagues will step in and do your job for you.

Plenty of House Republicans don’t like the bill they voted for, according to Politico, but that’s no biggie:

Republicans have been...finding solace in the idea that the legislation won’t be the final product anyway.

Rep. Luke Messer, an Indiana Republican, called it a “green flag” and a “start.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) also pushed the idea that Republicans just need to pull the trigger on this bill because it will change. “This thing is going to go to the United States Senate. It’s going to change in my view,” he said on NPR. “At some point you just have to move, and we think this is it. This will create some momentum.

“Momentum” sounds so much better than “millions of uninsured people,” don’t you think?

Tell Them Somebody Cool Wants Them to Do It

Everybody has somebody they look up to, and that goes double if they’re an insecure person who seeks approval. If you want to sell makeup, put Janelle Monáe in your ads. If you want to get a toddler to put on his socks, tell him these are the same socks the Power Rangers wear. And if you want to get a Republican lawmaker to vote for a bad bill, arrange a personal call from Donald Trump. The AP reports:

Trump got heavily involved in recent days, working the phones and personally agreeing to changes earlier Wednesday that brought two pivotal Republicans back on board. Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan and Billy Long of Missouri emerged from a White House meeting with Trump saying they could now support the bill, thanks to the addition of $8 billion over five years to [sort of in theory but probably actually not] help people with pre-existing conditions.

It’s all about peer pressure.

Promise Them Beer

Sometimes the only thing getting you through a tough time is the promise of a treat. If your friends help you move, you’ll order them pizza. After a tough workout, you can have a shower beer. After voting to take away health care from millions, you can share cases of Bud Light with friends:

The great thing about beer: it’s both a reward your friends will work for, and a tool to help them forget the terrible thing they just did.