But that approach is less tenable in an era of global communications and an increasingly outspoken public, and the old strategy exploded in their faces.
The assumption that the North American glacial masses grew and declined in tandem is less tenable than it once was.
Consequently, an alternative explanation based on bias having been introduced into sites or hospital selection is less tenable.
Without factual support for their arguments, it is becoming less and less tenable for opponents of same-sex marriage to argue that their positions are not influenced by a dislike of gay people and their intimate relationships.
The very name of the genre became less tenable, for what had once been "the Frontier" - where pioneers, prospectors, hunters, vagrants, outlaws and crazies roamed - now became a land of suburbia, car-lots, and sub-divisions.
In an age in which cynicism is the default setting for much of the public, the belief that a single black spokesperson can offer insulation from charges of racism is less than tenable.
Over time it will also become much less tenable for Hezbollah's leaders to justify maintaining the group's militia.
But gradually this position has begun to look less tenable, for a whole host of reasons.
While these assumptions are tenable in some settings, they are less appropriate for alcohol consumption.
But the idea that a running mate can deliver votes has always been dubious, and it's even less tenable today.
