My right-wing sister

[salinen]

Just to show you how totally confused a teabagger can be, enter my sis. Background first. Her two most respected people are Dr. Laura & Sara Palin. At the bottom are Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer. She won't admit to watching Fox.

So we're getting into a warm argument about Muslims. She says they all want to cut our heads off. I say what is your source for that info. She says that all the media is saying the same. I say, do you listen to Amy Goodman. She says, what's an Amy Goodman. Duh. I say that the radical element represents about .001 percent of all muslims.

Then we talk economy. I say the Tea Party movement is a stupid attempt to reign in spending when the military accounts for the vast majority of wasted capital. That our military is 1000 times bigger than it needs to be. She says she thinks the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were misguided and we should stop both wars. She says we should use our resources to take care of the elderly, the sick, and improve education.

I accused her then of being a liberal progressive. That upset her greatly. She will vote for Sara in 2012.

How misguided can a person be?

[BolivarianHero]

1. Here's what you do...

Ask her to explain why 75% of Muslims voted for Dumbya in 2000 and why 2/3 voted for Poppy in 1992.

Watch her head explode and pray your parents forgive you.

[RedCloud]

22. or Bush boys and bin ladens have strong economic ties.

[mimitabby]

27. nice

[dennis4868]

2. Yep....

I run into people all the time who vote against their own interest all the time and don't even know it....these people are not informed at all....they either watch FOX News (or listent o hate radio) or base their voting prefecences on things that just dont matter (i.e., who would I rather have a drink with).

[gratuitous]

3. She's your sister, so you have to stay in contact

With that in mind, keep feeding her information. If she thinks the wars need to be stopped, most of your side of the argument is already made. If she goes off on foreign aid, for example, ask her how much of the federal budget goes to that. She won't have a clue, or will assert that it's probably about the same as the defense budget. Go to the federal government website that tracks such things, and show her what a pittance we actually spend on foreign aid.

The more information she has, the more likely she will be to draw a better conclusion. Time and the facts are on your side. Use them.

[Frustratedlady]

4. I have given up on trying to inform them. I think it has gone on so long...

you can't inform or reform, you have to deprogram. The T-baggers and many Repugs have been lied to for so long, it is like they are in a cult.

This last performance by Newt is the final straw. I truly think he is going senile. His off-the-wall accusations rarely make sense but this last one left me with my mouth hanging open in disbelief. I couldn't even figure out what he possibly could have heard that made him say any of that about Sharia law.

They are now in dangerous territory in their way of thinking and inciting.

[salinen]

5. I know

I would be proud of being known as an anti-colonialist.

[Ishoutandscream2]

7. You're right. There's no getting through

My radical right "friends" go on and on about government waste, and how the unemployed are living better than they are. I will then mention, "Okay, you're right, we have too much waste. How about cuts in defense spending?" Either there's complete silence, or they hurriedly go back to attacking poor folks and/or minorities. There's absolutely no way of getting through.

[izquierdista]

20. Dare them to quit their job

"Why are you being such a sucker then? Why should you work when the unemployed have it so good? Think of all that free time you told your boss off and he let you go!"

I'll bet you get the last laugh on them when they find out how far unemployment benefits go. :rofl: :rofl:

[Ishoutandscream2]

24. That's nice. I'll remember that

Yeah, go ahead and quit. And your lifestyle won't change one iota. Great idea, iz.

[izquierdista]

25. Nope, they have to get fired.

Got to burn that bridge to collect unemployment. Them's the rules. Go ahead, tell the boss what you REALLY think of him.

[Bitwit1234]

6. I have three -- three sisters that kiss Rush butt and the only

news they watch is fox...I don't even bother to talk politics with them. If they start and I am on the phone I say GOOD BYE I HAVE TO GO. We live long distance.

[salinen]

15. So sorry X 3

[Ishoutandscream2]

19. Bless your heart

Luckily, my wife, mom and my brother pretty much share the same political beliefs. My wife's family, though, is incredibly right wing. It's not a whole lot of fun when politics are brought up at their reunions.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

8. Your right-wing sister would probably love my right-wing sister

She lives in Colorado Springs. She moved there in 2003 with the money she got from my mother's estate and hasn't spoken to me since. Her daughter (my niece) has never worked a day in her life. She learned how to fill out government forms for fake disabilities, which resulted in steady government checks and a house that doesn't cost her a penny. She's a lesbian, her partner also does not work. In their spare time they do things like tie up the gardener and pee on him and yell at him and call him every four-letter and ten-letter word in the book. It's OK, though, because he likes it. As far as I can tell, her major contributions to society are smoking copious amounts of weed and eating (she's short and wide).

My sister and brother-in-law visited on a number of occasions and decided they wanted to move there because "everyone is white."

The first thing she did when they actually moved is complain about "all the Mexicans."

My sister used to have Fox News on her TV from sunup till sundown and was a big fan of Bill O'Reilly (at one point she sent away for some huge cassette "Best of the O'Reilly Factor" collection he was selling).

So even though we haven't spoken since 2003, I'm gonna take a leap of faith here and say that she is most likely a HUGE Palin fan. Because ultimately, she will think whatever Fox News tells her to think.

[salinen]

11. Sounds like a bad soap opera

they live a lie like they eat an apple.

[Erose999]

12. My Aunt is a teabagger. Real old-south racist. Loves Jesus. Hates everybody else.

Her and my uncle live on Medicare, Social Security, VA and probably food stamps too. They go to the local food bank and get their food sometimes. And then they rant and rave about people "being dependent on the gov't," and the perils of "gov't healthcare" and "taking handouts".

[salinen]

17. Scary!

[donheld]

9. My sister doesn't allow politics to be discussed around her.

Just talk about other things.

[drm604]

10. Very interesting post.

It sounds like she actually agrees with you on the real issues.

This shows why they work so hard to distract people with nonsense about Muslims, Obama's nationality, and "family values". If people would concentrate on the real issues the Republicans wouldn't stand a chance, and they know it.

[salinen]

13. That's the schizophrenic aspect

They have no idea how afflicted they are.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Sounds like what a lot of people call "willful ignorance"..

If actually shown that she is totally misguided, her head might explode..

[salinen]

16. I think people who

have lived a misguided life, have built a protective mechanism that won't allow opposing view. Yes, her head would literally explode.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

18. I feel ya

I have a realtor friend who is delightful in every way except in her political views. She periodically sends me these far-right screeds footnoted with NewsMax, Washington Times, Fox, etc. references. Usually, she starts off with "You gotta read this and remember to VOTE in November." She sent me a pack of lies about health care, tax increases, car czars, but yesterday took the cake. I pointed out to her there is a small, but highly vocal minority who will never get over a black man in the White House and will do everything in their power to discredit him politically and politically. Also sent her the website for factcheck.org. She said she is a "moderate" and is not against a black President, but is really so disappointed that Obama appears to be a Muslim - he is not proud of his country or his flag.

This is an otherwise intelligent woman! Fortunately, there was video of the Obama family walking to church last Sunday. As they exited after the service, there was a clear shot of the CHRISTIAN pastor, complete with vestments greeting them at the door. I sent her the link with the subject line: "No Imam in sight."

[Orsino]

21. Sarah does indeed have a plan to take care of the sick and elderly.

It's called exposure.

[DirkGently]

23. Her heart's in the right place vis a vis the wars. Help her with the Islamaphobia.

It's a tricky proposition, but families *should* be able to talk to each other about these things.

[Warpy]

26. I think you'll find most teabaggers are all over the map like that

They're wildly liberal on a lot of issues, hate Stupid, but it's fashionable for them to hate Muslims and love the Wasilla Grifter, so they obligingly do so.

However, this is why I think the Koch brothers Astroturfing job is only a temporary one. Eventually these people are going to think about a lot of things like extending the ruinously expensive tax cuts to men like the Koch brothers and hedge fund managers who screwed up the economy so thoroughly.

A lot of them have the potential to wake up. The fact that they're angry and they know they've gotten a raw deal is a positive one. All they need to do is realize just who was responsible for giving them that raw deal and they'll dump the Astroturf like the bag of feces it is.

[progressoid]

28. People don't want to admit when they are wrong or worse,

when they have been lied to and abused by the very people they trust.