“The northwest might burn to the ground, people may die or be displaced, but god dammit we simply cannot give that political party a win (even if we win too).”

Yep, that attitude that makes perfect sense for society.

Downvoting someone on HN for arguing in bad faith isn't keeping "a political party" from having "a win", much less determining whether or not the PNW is going to burn down.

I am a pragmatist so I am “results oriented” instead of “intention oriented”. But if you feel the need to try and suppress comments on here because it creates suspicion in you around the intentions of the commenter that’s your thing. For what it’s worth, I won’t downvote anyone on here for anything or any opinion whether I agree with the opinion or the commenter’s intention.

How do you know someone "arguing in bad faith"?

They might have different views from you, that you are certain are wrong, but they might be entirely sincere.

Describing it as "an experiment" to see how people would respond to it is one tip-off.