How to talk to a Right Winger

[KurtNYC]

Hello right wing person... You guys control the government. Are you happy with the way things are going?

You wanted smaller government - B*sh tripled it.
You wanted to cut social programs -- your congress created "No child left behind" and a huge medicare giveaway for drug companies (which will cost $1 trillion over 40 years).
You wanted to end "Nation Building" -- you're building 2 nations (albeit very very slowly) Iraq and Afghanistan
You wanted to chase bin Laden down (we all did) -- Rumsfailed disbanded the team assigned to look for him months ago.
You believe, like Reagan, that the 'government which governs best is the government which governs least' -- but your government is bigger and more totalitarian than ever.
You hate Iraqis -- your party spends mega tax dollars on them.
You hate Democrats -- yet Steele is running as one and your party is funding one (Lieberman)

How's that working for you?

[LiberalEsto]

1. Totalitarian is too big a word

for those pathetic dim brains.

Try substituting "controlling" or "intrusive."

[IMAMiscreant]

2. Won't work

Too many facts, too little truthiness.

[gorfle]

9. No, it DOES work, I'm proof

I'm an ex-Republican. I've voted Republican or Libertarian my whole life. This November I will be voting Democratic for the first time, and for many of the above reasons.

"You wanted smaller government - B*sh tripled it."

Like many Republicans, I've always been leary of "social programs", viewing them largely as welfare that I don't get to benefit from. But the Republican party has demonstrated that they are equally as willing to blow billions to benefit rich people. I figure if we are going to have a government blowing billions, let's help the little guys, not the fat cats. I'm not interested in blowing billions on policing the world's hell holes. I'd rather thave socialized medicine or social security.

"You wanted to cut social programs -- your congress created "No child left behind" and a huge medicare giveaway for drug companies (which will cost $1 trillion over 40 years)."

See above. Many Republicans are now seeing that the social welfare we wanted to avoid has instead gone to corporate welfare and imperialism. We'd rather spend money on America and Americans.

"You wanted to end "Nation Building" -- you're building 2 nations (albeit very very slowly) Iraq and Afghanistan"

Again, this isn't lost on many of us (ex)Republicans. Even the pro-war republicans wanted to /bomb/ Iraq and Afghanistan - not police them perpetually for trillions of dollars and thousands of lives.

"You wanted to chase bin Laden down (we all did) -- Rumsfailed disbanded the team assigned to look for him months ago."

Even the most die-hard Republican is having a hard time clinging to the original reasons given for this war. It was all crap and only the most deluded or embarrased cling to rationalizations. Most Americans now know this war was crap - hence the low approval ratings.

"You believe, like Reagan, that the 'government which governs best is the government which governs least' -- but your government is bigger and more totalitarian than ever."

We see it. Even the pro-war Republicans want war that penalizes our /enemies/ not our own people and our own liberties.

"You hate Iraqis -- your party spends mega tax dollars on them."

Ding!

"You hate Democrats"

Not anymore.

Voted Bush in '04 - Republican no more.

[whistle]

3. Fascism is never easy as long as one f*cking liberal still stands

...up to these RW bastards: :bounce: :toast: :kick: :woohoo: :rofl: :spray: :patriot: :hide: :yoiks:

[Ediacara]

4. Well... in all honesty

I don't think they're actually trying to build Iraq and Afghanistan, so it's hardly fair to call that nation building.

[KurtNYC]

6. Iraq is big time nation building

even if nothing is getting built. It is the worst kind of nation building.

I have tested some of these on Republicans. When they answer that the the Dems would be worse, I count that as an admission of dis-satisfaction.

In fact I got about half of those items from Andrew Sullivan (R).

[theoldman]

5. When you talk to a Right winger you have to remember that they

will tell you 5 to 10 lies in a row. You cannot argue all of them at once. Just pick one lie and disprove it with facts. Don't move on until you have cut them down on this one issue. I have found that they generally give up after you disprove the second lie.

[beltanefauve]

7. They'll give up

usually by way of name-calling. It's all about fear and smear with them. Facts are for intellectuals!

[tblue]

8. Sad to say most of them aren't interested in facts

And they get a deluge of false 'facts' from r/w media, so they are dead certain that they are right and you are either nuts, evil or confused. We can't win the argument based on facts or logic. Most of them will not listen.

IMHO, they're more likely to respond favorably to personality, machismo, and patriotic fluff, with a hat tip to Jesus to seal the deal. We are dealing with congenital followers who want to be told what to think. Or NOT to think.

That is why they so often vote against their own best interests. Weird, huh?

Don't ask me why. George Lakoff explains it better than I ever could if you want to research how to talk sense to Republican voters.

[unpossibles]

10. yeah, sadly many of them think that everything is going well

or claim to. I can't decide if they are liars, stupid, or both.

The economy? It's going great! Iraq? Swimmingly! etc., etc.