Is my friend a lost cause?

[newportdadde]

Here are some of his emails to me.. So should I just let this all go rather then arguing back and forth because I'm not getting anywhere trying to sway him.

=
Have you noticed that the republicans are winning in the debates? :)
=

=
Yeah, but at least Bush has some passion. He CARES about what he is
doing / saying. Whether it is all crap or not, it seems to matter to
him. Kerry seems like everything is a rehearsed speech.

My prediction is that Bush will win 52% to 48%. :)

I don't like the Democrats changing their mind about this war in the
middle of it. That bothers me. They should stand behind their
decisions.
=

SADDAM was not a threat? Read up.
Saddam always has been a huge threat. The guy is a lunatic. We
definitely have evidence that he was trying to get his weapons program
running again strong.

Sure, if I was Bush, I wouldn't want high causality rates either. That
is just a smart decision. Go back and get them when the risks are less.


Surely dude. . It's ok not to like Bush. . . but there is no way you can
like Kerry for changing his position every week. (he's just a puppet
doing what his advisors tell him to do)

=


Dude, you do know as well as I do that we had to do something at the
time of 9/11. Nobody really knew what to do, so we made the best
educated decision possible at the time. BOTH parties agreed on it.
Saddam has always been a huge threat. (whether or not he had anything
to do with 9/11 or not)

Out of this whole effort, we have cripple Al Qaeda big time. That is a
success in itself.

I just have to stand behind
the republicans, cause that is what I am. We have the republicans and
the free-loaders. . I am a republican. Lol
====

[MsTryska]

1. has your friend done his military duty?nt

nt

[sandnsea]

2. "we had to do something"

Whether it made any sense or not? Oy vey, yes he's a lost cause. Far too many lost causes in this country. They don't want real solutions, they want feel good platitudes. Like guns make me safer. And thank heavens for business who give us jobs. And God loves America so we're always right. Ack, simple mindedness, I hate it.

[MADem]

3. CUT AND PASTE

That WAPO article about the Marines in Iraq. Send it to your friend with the following comment: You may want to stand behind the republicans, but I'd much rather stand FOR the troops. They are telling us that Iraq is a quagmire. We need to listen to them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20794-2004Oct9.html

Here's the link, go to print, cut it out (it will not be there forever, so capture the words, not just the link) and lay this on your friend.

[NYCGirl]

4. Here's a link to the Duelfer Report:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraq_wmd_2004/

Not that your buddy will read it...

[arcane1]

5. he could be saved if he cancelled his cable tv

and stayed away from radios

[KurtNYC]

6. Not a lost cause

He says It's ok not to like Bush ...

So he may start soon. He may be half way there. He just believes a few of the most often repeated lies about Kerry. Clear those up and he is completely in play.

As for his claim of Republicanism: Being in the fan club of the rich is not the same as being rich -- it is the same as being a sucker.

[mitchum]

7. Why do you have such a fucking dumbass for a friend?

I can not be civil to these goddamn pigs. And I don't really feel like trying :)

[ET Awful]

8. What debates did he watch? n/t

[amazona]

9. he's delusional

I would write him off and spend more time on those who don't already have a closed mind.

[in_cog_ni_to]

10. SEND HIM THIS!

http://www.dior.whs.mil/forms/DD0004.pdf

[Warpy]

11. Let's examine passionately sticking to your decisions

You are driving your car and a bridge is out. Do you passionately insist that the road you are on is the best way to get where you are going and keep driving, going over the bridge and into the water, or do you realize your present course of action is leading to disaster and choose a different way to get where you are going?

Bush's passionate insistence that his way is the right way is being shown to be complete folly by multiple disasters here and abroad. Yet he's incapable of realizing he's made any mistakes, and will continue to drive us to worse disaster. Do you want that? Or do you want someone who will see that our present course isn't working, and will try to chart a different course that will lead to a desirable outcome?

We're hiring someone to do a job, not entertain us. We know that Bush can't do the job, he's proven it time and again. We also know that Kerry has a track record of being able to do quite a few jobs.
-----------------

If your friend can't be swayed by the above analogy, then yes, he's hopelessly mired in the cult. Cut your losses and kiss him goodbye.

[newportdadde]

12. Thanks for your feedback all.

I've sent him the WMD info last week. We have been discussing this some more and now its gone into the religion arena. Sounds like his best friend he grew up with is a Republican who is so involved that they even participate regularly in Republican events in our state capital and they are very religious.

I may work on him some more but I'd say its probably a lost cause if there is one thing I have learned in life if your butting heads with fudee type folks your not going to get anywhere.

Last couple of emails:

My main point is this. . . whether going to war was right or wrong. . we did it. And now, I am a firm believer in "UNITED WE STAND", "DIVIDED WE FALL". We have to stick together. My brother has mentioned to me that he doesn't necessarily think we should have gone into IRAQ. But, we made the best decision we could make at the time. Now, we have to work with that decision. It just seems that this debate has come down to a large part of the war. Bush didn't really know what needed to be done at the time. He knew something had to be done, and best intelligence told them it was IRAQ. Everyone agreed, and we proceeded.

I respect Bush a lot because I also know that he is a Christian. That
is something that is important to me.

[saracat]

13. And Kerry isn't a Christian

according to his definition? I am sorry but I hope he and his friends are hit by lightening. Anything to prevent them from voting ! These are the most patronizing shallow people we have ever had voting in this nation. They really make me sick. .He is too stupid to reason with . Flatten his tires on election day. LOL!

[gratuitous]

17. One or two points

If, as your friend says, "Bush didn't really know what needed to be done," why did he choose the most wasteful (of money, prestige AND lives) and least efficient option open to him? And judging by the millions who were marching in the streets between the rollout of the new product line in September 2002 and the launching of the invasion in March 2003, everyone had certainly NOT agreed that invading Iraq was the best thing to do.

Second, Bush as Christian: Didn't Jesus say that we should love our enemies? Now, I'm no biblical scholar, but I feel pretty safe in saying that when Jesus said love your enemies, he probably meant don't kill them. What in the world is "Christian" about indiscriminately bombing a civilian population that can't fight back and can't get away?

[newportdadde]

14. I'm getting closer to the real issue.

His latest exchange...

Even Christians do not Christian things. I don't argue that one bit. I like the fact that Bush is not afraid to say that he is Christian. Right or wrong, he is very passionate about the things that he believes.


You're right about the "just trust me" plan. I don't really like that. But, Kerry acts like he has it all figured out. Every president that is new comes in acting like they have it all figured out. (and usually, most of them don't get a whole lot accomplished) I think both sides need to get off of the war issue, because at this point we should all be behind it, or at least supporting the troops. I just think it is a bad call on the side of the democrats to be saying that they don't support the war now. (I think they would be better off to drop the issue, but I know that Bush only has one thing on the brain. . and that is the war.)

So, the democrats probably know that they had to take some kind of firm stance. (I just think they took the wrong one, that is all).

I don't think Kerry is bad, I just think that Bush has been plugged in
more to what is really going on. It would scare me to switch presidents
right in the middle of this whole thing.

[saracat]

15. I think he is a lost cause per your last quote.

It would scare us not to switch presidents in the middle of the mess this one has caused. We need someone to escort us out of danger! Unbelievable.According to your friend, Bush benesfits from the damage he caused. Of course he is plugged in. He caused this!

[IdaBriggs]

16. Does he know its Bush's fault we were hit on 9/11? nt