Slogans
Slogans: a catchy phrase in place of an argument.
How to spot it
A short, catchy phrase standing where an argument should be: "build the wall", "defund the police", "drain the swamp", "abolish ICE". It packs a whole position into a few words with a rhythm that is easy to chant and hard to question, and it gives you nothing to check.
Ask what the phrase would mean as a policy: what changes, for whom, and at what cost. If the text around it never says, the slogan is the argument. Slogans travel, so the same few words turn up in ads, speeches and posts, and the repeating is part of how they work.
What doesn't count
A campaign's name for itself, or a tagline at the end of an ad, isn't the technique on its own. Every campaign has one. It becomes Slogans when the phrase stands in for the case: when it is the answer to a question, or the only reason given.
A short phrase that names a specific policy isn't a slogan in this sense either. "Raise the minimum wage to $15" says what would change, and you can weigh it. The technique is the phrase that sounds like a plan but isn't one.
Real examples
Each was flagged by Semblen's model, then chosen to stay on this page, so the examples don't change from day to day. A quote in a news article may be the outlet reporting what someone else said, and an ad may be quoting its opponent. Follow each link to check it in context.
In 2026 campaign ads
“has a plan: clean energy made in Michigan, at a price a family can afford”
“Your paycheck is not Annapolis' blank check.”
In government statements
“build it here, power it here, and put paychecks back in the communities Washington left behind”
“American energy dominance and peace through strength”
“a contrast between common sense and crazy, and now common sense and communism”
Related techniques
Something wrong or unclear on this page?
Tell us. A person reads every note. Use Yes / No under any example if it isn't really slogans: two readers saying no takes it off the page.
Check something yourself
Paste an article, a speech or a video link into the analyzer and Semblen marks the words that use slogans or any other technique, and says why. It flags rhetorical techniques, not political tilt.