It almost makes it worse. These people will never yield to reason. They can't be argued with; the first step is to shame them directly. The softest touch is to criticize their position. They can rally from this easily, and worse, it provides them with the dignity that should only be accorded reasonable interlocutors. Reason is therefore counter-productive, it only strengthens their resolve. A firmer method is to accuse the other party of ignorance of the facts. This is better. This forces more inwardness. With hard case dumbasses, like Ford, the only possibility of victory them is to launch a campaign of full-on stupidity-shaming, abandoning any suggestion that the issues are worth discussing with them.
