Answering anti Obama Facebook friends.

[Utah_liberal]

With all the great minds on DU, I wish there were a forum devoted to help countering things we hear from our right wing friends. I don't have the time to research the answers for a great response. I could use help on a comment from a Facebook friend. Here's what he wrote after I posted a comment supporting Obama: sad that u believe in Obama's socialism, spending us into bankruptcy, gov takeover of industries, making sure his cronies get billions of our money with no return, etc.....

[loli phabay]

1. i dont see the point of having flamewars on facebook

anytime someone puts something on it i dont like i just scroll down to the next thing, unless its lolzcats cause i hate them then i get prissy.

[fishwax]

2. at some point, if a guy insists the sky is purple, it isn't worth continuing to argue that it's blue

your facebook friend sounds pretty thoroughly disconnected from reality. Anyone who insists Obama is a socialist who has overseen government takeover of industries isn't likely to be convinced otherwise by anything so pesky as reality.

[dogknob]

3. Cronies?

What cronies do you mean? Names please. "Soros" does not qualify as "names." more than one, please. And don't just list -- what qualifies the people you name as "cronies?"

Make them bring their facts to you. Eventually they will fear you, Facebook Warrior!

[SheilaT]

4. Snopes is your friend.

Chances are, snopes.com can debunk whatever they've said.

Although I'm inclined to agree that there's no point in engaging in "discussions" on FB.

Recently I reconnected with an old friend from many years ago. We're friended on FB, and I'm frequently horrified at the RW anti-Obama stuff she puts up. But I do not bother to engage her. The only reason I haven't actually unfriended her is that I don't want to bring to her attention how very far apart we are on such things. Plus, I almost never post anything myself on FB, so she probably has no real idea of what I think.

[zbdent]

37. I just used that one (snopes is your friend) on a former schoolmate

who brought up they totally debunked "Pepsi didn't put Under God on the can!" bit.

Haven't heard back from him whether he actually researched anything or not.

But then, I friended him back when I first joined FB ... didn't communicate much with him anyway.

[Politicalboi]

5. Find posts here with facts

And links, and like on facebook. Maybe you'll get more friends on your side, or some who never picked sides and is now going to vote.

[Kennah]

6. Although it converts no one ...

... I do take perverse pleasure in debunking RW twittery. Had a coworker from a past gig de-friend me. She was constantly on a tear, and apparently just echoing the Fox Noise machine.

[TheMastersNemesis]

7. That I Why I Am Not On Facebook Because I Believe In The Verbal Torch

I am not on Facebook because I would just verbally torch some of these people and I would inflict as much pain as possible.
I know that many people would not agree with me. However, I have been around for a long time and have watched the RW just smash so many things. Their hatred and viciousness seems to grow every day. I will not let their attacks go unanswered.

They have declared war on everything they do not like. Now that so many of them are saying they won't allow me to exist or have my say on things the gloves come off. There will be a day when we will be forced to fight back we will have no choice. If anyone thinks that these people are not determined to take all your rights away then you are naive about that. You cannot ignore and enemy who is determined to pursue you.

I will tell you why I feel this way. Our local chamber of commerce had a phony candidate forum that had questions that were more like political statements that were verbal traps to make Democractic candidates look bad and favor GOPPERS. Our Democratic senator got sick and had to be taken to the hospital. The only thing her opponent could do was show how furious he was that he could not debate and attack her. He demanded another forum or debate. He showed no signs concern at all.

Fortunately, it was a case of vertigo due to an inner ear infection. But it could have been serious because I believe our senator had passed out or something just before the forum.

That is it for me. I will not be civil or nice because of what these barbarians have become.

[JaneQPublic]

8. Any time you get the urge to debate a Repuke...

...make a donation instead to the Obama campaign.

Since you have no better chance of changing the Repuke's opinion than he/she does of changing yours, making the contribution is at least something productive. It's also a lot better for your blood pressure.

[GoCubsGo]

29. That's an excellent idea, if you have the means to do so.

Even if it's only a few bucks. One can put up all the facts on the planet in front of these idiots, and it still won't change their minds. They'll come back with "Snopes lies.", or claim that the video of their favorite GOPer lying his or her ass off is somehow altered, or some other denial. No point in arguing with them. Better to find more useful ways to spend ones time, like following this suggestion.

[davidpdx]

9. I hear you on this one

Someone posted a picture on their page today of a sign in front of someone's house (I won't post it here, but will describe it. If anyone wants the link to it they can PM me and I'll gladly send it). The top part of the sign had a picture of different politicians including Cheney, Bush, Obama, Pelosi, Clinton (Hillary), Romney and McCain and below that it said, "It's a big club & you ain't in it. Then below that it said Oligarchy (the "O" was painted as the campaign symbol for Obama's campaign and the "R" was painted as the campaign symbol for Romney's campaign.

[bitchkitty]

10. I'm going to close my FB account

until after the election. I not only get the political spam from old friends, but also TONS of Jesus spam. Tired of it.

[ErikJ]

11. Ask him

sad that u believe in Obama's socialism,
Oh is THAT why NONE of his cabinet members or financial advisors were even Progressive?

spending us into bankruptcy,
OH!, is that why Obama new spending is only 1% per year while Reagan and Bush new spending commitments averaged 8% a year?

gov takeover of industries,

Yes, and he saved millions of auto manufacturing related jobs in the midwest, and that's a bad thing?

making sure his cronies get billions of our money with no return, etc.....

So working Americans are considered cronies now?

[Utah_liberal]

13. I love it. Im going to have to use that. Thanks Erik.

[Utah_liberal]

12. thanks for your comments.

I just responded back to him that he is just echoing incorrect information he must have heard from the right wing media machine aka Fox news and that I would gladly debunk his falsehoods if he would like. What I hate about my Facebook account is that I rarely see liberal postings or likes to my liberal comments, yet I'm always seeing anti Obama/ pro Romney crap and I have over 200 friends. I am 50 and from Utah so I suppose that automatically exposes me to a more conservative acquaintaces.

[JoePhilly]

25. I hide the posts from right wingers who happen to be old friends, and I don't discuss politics there

But I did provide a few one line responses in a post down below.

[reformist2]

14. Here's an idea: Ask him/her why Repubs can't even meet Obama halfway on taxes/spending?

You could ask why Repubs are against any tax increases, even with budget deficits over $1 trillion? If they blame Obama for that, you can remind them the deficit was $600 billion even before the Bush financial crisis, and that the deficit would probably be just as big under a Republican president.

[scheming daemons]

15. Here's the answer to any "Obama is anti-business" posts... "DOW 13,000"

[GoCubsGo]

30. Also: "Record corporate profits".

Feel free to list some of them. Or, just provide a link from this "liberal" rag:

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/05/07/the-2011-fortune-500-the-big-boys-rack-up-record-setting-profit/

[Tennessee Gal]

16. Here is some ammo for you.

Spending:



Socialist and takeover of industries:

"Socialism means public ownership of the means of production. Obama does not believe this. Therefore he is not a socialist," conservative economist Bruce Bartlett told PolitiFact in an e-mail. "Although it is true that the federal government did come to own some private businesses as a consequence of bailout policies initiated by the George W. Bush administration such as TARP, the Obama administration sold many of them -- such as its shares in GM -- as quickly as feasible. A true socialist would have held on to them."

Stimulus:

If Republican economic policies were so good, why was there any need for a Stimulus package?

"What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label “Liberal?” If by “Liberal” they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer’s dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of “Liberal.” But if by a “Liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,” then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal.”

John F. Kennedy

[Tennessee Gal]

17. And another:

[Tennessee Gal]

18. Last one:

[Laura PourMeADrink]

19. what I have found is that there is no source that everyone believes as sacrosanct

Everytime I have tried to offer facts, they are usually dismissed as "oh, that's from a leftist org/person" or "you got that on the internet? Oh, then it's probably 'made up'.

We are taking a subset of everything that is going well for Obama, and touting it. The other side is taking everything that is not going well, and focusing on that.

[Tennessee Gal]

20. The ones I posted

are sourced to USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

22. See, that's where you went wrong

JK....the only source they believe is Rush.

I think it's an interesting subject though. I think it has it's roots in non-intellectualism. They like the ease of quoting Rush, they can use his ideas because he is so much smarter than they are in their minds. He spews out "facts" and the repeat. Makes up for not taking the time and effort to look up the real facts. Perhaps they are not even capable of researching, they are that dumb.

If they were capable of absorbing other information and assimilating...they would have done it already. So by showing them something different they just recoil and feel threatened by knowledge that don't have and aren't capable of getting.

that's by 2 cent armchair analysis :&gt

[Utah_liberal]

32. A Dare?

I don't understand what the dare you refer to is. This guy is a buddy of mine who I served with in the U.S. Navy. I only recently found him on FB. He certainly never seemed racist to me when I was in the Navy. He is half Indonesian himself. However, it is my belief he has been hoodwinked by Right wing media.

[MineralMan]

23. I don't do politics on Facebook.

It's for keeping in touch with family and friends. If someone is over-zealous about posting political stuff, I unsubscribe from that person's stuff. It's the same rule that is followed at family gatherings in my family. No politics. No religion. No drama. We have plenty of stuff in common to talk about and those gatherings are always enjoyable.

Other people use Facebook in other ways, though.

[JoePhilly]

24. Ask him how a socialist got the DOW to double in 3 years.

Then ask him to name the companies from the S&P 500 that Obama nationalized.

Then ask him why folks like him think wars are free.

Then ask him how putting money in offshore accounts and shell corporations in the Caymans creates jobs in the US.

Then remind him that Bush was unable to get OBL, but Obama did.

Then suggest that those who voted for Bush twice should sit out a few elections.

[treestar]

26. I'd just state Obama's not a socialist

State is simply and therefore it has a ring of authority. That will confuse them enough to stop the debate. They know you are smarter than they are.

[JoePhilly]

27. Ask why it was OK for Cheney to give Billions in no-bids to Haliburton?

Point out the the UE rate now is 8.3% (down from 10.2%) and that the current rate is lower than it was during Obama's first full month in office Feb 2009 (which was 8.4%).

[cthulu2016]

28. defreind anyone who says such things. Problem solved

[dtmfman]

31. Answering fb rightwing bs...

Greetings everyone...I've been away a while..I had a near death experience..but I'm back...

Hopefully...fb will die like the dot com bubble did a while back...it's stock is worth about a nickel in chinese money now and it's only a matter of time before it too goes the way of the doe doe bird...that being said...most of the right wing rhetoric being spewed on fb can very easily be countered with images...they say a picture says a thousand words....so...feel free to use them...

[The Wielding Truth]

33. There used to be a debunk formun here at DU. I was just looking for it, but I couldn't find it.

Here are some great posts that may help.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002808913
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021148927
http://www.democraticunderground.com/125144097
http://www.democraticunderground.com/125169072


In general George W Bush sent us reeling into bankruptcy after his inept or purposeful misuse of America. He rabidly spent our tax dollars on 2 trumped up wars and the subscription part D of Medicare without including them in a budget. This and his emergency bale out of the economy crippling losses of the most wealthy and corrupt gambler banks.He misplaced billions in Iraq and spent billions on the Iraq embassy that can be seen from space.

[Utah_liberal]

34. Thanks for the great info

Too many great comments to respond to each of you. I did have a couple of weird responses like the one who asked me if I posted this on a dare. I could use more liberal facebook friends, so send me a DU message for my FB info if interested.

[Utah_liberal]

38. :)

[NNN0LHI]

40. When that happens to me I Self-delete my response to those A-holes

Try it lunatica.

Don

[lunatica]

42. Thanks

Sometimes it's just to obvious after a few responses.

[NNN0LHI]

46. Feels better already doesn't it?

Took me a while to figure that one out too.

But after I did I sure felt a lot better.

Take care and see you later.



Don

[NNN0LHI]

39. I don't have any anti Obama friends

Works like a charm for me.

Don

[dtmfman]

41. I don't have any anti Obama friends

Just an fyi...it happens...

http://landwheremyfatherdied.blogspot.com/2011/02/today-is-sad-day-for-mei-had-to-remove.html

[Frustratedlady]

45. Excellent writing.

That is great.

As I've said before, the RW/Pugs of today remind me of the cults of the 60s. Remember when parents had to all but kidnap their young adults and have them deprogrammed?

That daily "drip, drip, drip" of propaganda and hate is so engrained in their brains, it is probably too late to save them.

I probably have a bit of that, as well. I know I will never look at/vote for a Republican because of what I've seen happening with my own eyes...not through propaganda from the Democrats. We must have our brains wired differently, as I could never believe in their wishes for our country. This also goes for religion. It sure isn't how I was taught to conduct my life and to help others.

[sammytko]

43. block or unfriend them. Life is too short.

[LeFleur1]

44. I Agree Facebook is The Wrong Place for Political Talk But...

...when we allow the lies to stand without comment others (friends) read them and assume they are true. If possible just post the truth and it's source. If they choose not to believe it, fine. BUT others reading it have a reason to "think" about it and perhaps check it out. We can hope.