Building the Scarecrow

Straw men get built a few reliable ways:

• Exaggeration — turning "some regulation" into "total government control"
• Oversimplification — flattening a nuanced position into a cartoon
• Quoting out of context — using a fragment that flips the original meaning
• Attacking the extreme — treating moderates as if they hold the most radical view possible

It works because audiences rarely remember the original argument precisely enough to catch the switch. The attacker looks like the winner of a debate that never happened.