"The extent some people will go to in order to avoid facing their own cognitive dissonance can be downright scary." True. Also, when they catch a whiff of this dissonance and panic in response, they tend to flail about and resort to all sorts of self-defeating behaviors. This is especially true during family gatherings. :)
Just as they're about to contradict their own beliefs they suddenly don't have the time and energy to debate with you anymore. But atleast it's a small sign that you made them uncomfortable with their flawed presumptions of govt.