I am totally disillusioned right now

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

So I'm talking with a young coworker this morning about the primary yesterday. We both support and work in the conservation/efficiency/renewable energy field. She's a recent graduate, vegetarian, into non-violence, etc. etc...

So I ask her if she minds telling me who she voted for in the primary yesterday.

She says she didn't vote.

I ask her why not.

She tells me she's planning to vote for Bush in November! I about choke on my bagel...

NOTHING about her says republican! Everything screams liberal democrat?! I just don't get it!! She then left to catch a phone call and I have not had a chance to persue her reasoning.

So much for ASSumptions

She was my last hope here. I'm now officially alone and outnumbered. Sigh...

[phillybri]

1. This makes no sense....

You really need to help this girl!!!

[reprehensor]

2. She clearly doesn't get out much.

Pump her with info. Buy her a copy of 'Uncovered'.

This is your solemn duty.

[zbdent]

13. Better yet, "Blinded by the Right"

That was an eye-opener.

Also explains (one possible reason) why Tucker Carlson wears a bow-tie. Unless it's a code for more than JUST being a "conservative" (can you say Log Cabin?)

[gWbush is Mabus]

3. sheeple

the masses are asses

[BeFree]

28. Get out the shears

Time for a good clipping so that the wool is pulled bck from the dear sheep's eyes.

Make her as naked as is her emperor. Only then can new growth take the place of her terra insulating wool that is obviously so gnarled as to be useless.

[Westegg]

4. Alone AND outnumbered?

My dear, you have a self-esteem problem!

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

7. I mean here at work for 8 hours each day...

x(

[JHB]

5. "WHY?"

A simple question for her.

WHY does she plan to vote for Bush?

[Terwilliger]

6. I think you should ask her

she could be protest voting...or maybe she doesn't like Dems MORE than she does like Repukes

[YNGW]

8. You're not alone.

I've had people tell me that I *know* voted for Gore in 2000 that they're voting for Bush this time. They tell me they like how he took charge after 9/11 and that he's taken the fight to the terrorists. I can't explain it.

Just out of interest, how many people do you or others talk to that consider "terrorism" to be the top of their list of concerns this coming election? If it's not terrorism, what is their biggest concern? and does terrorism even come in as one of their top two or three concerns at all?

Maybe I need to do a new thread on this question, but it might have been done before and I don't wanna dupe.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

9. Sounds like someone who doesn't have a clue...

as to what is really going on with Bush.

Send her to my site and then ask her if she is happy with what she reads.

Most people aren't, even the conservatives.

Hell

[Professor Hoodoo]

11. You might want to fix your page

I'm getting 404 errors after clicking on the topics...

[Hell Hath No Fury]

23. I'll check into that...

thanks for the heads up.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

16. Link?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

25. Here you go...

www.doyouknow.org

No hot rhetoric, no dancing chimp pix, just the facts.

[StClone]

10. Take a deep breath and prepare

For a long line of questions and facts direct her way in a gentle and humorous way. Starting off with what she believes and wants for the world compared to What ChimpCo wants would spark a lively round of denial, ironic comedy and maybe a start on a path of enlightenment...if she can handle it.

[Robbien]

12. Yes, I agree. She should be slow and gentle

Just subtle news items should be discussed especially in the environmental area. There are loads of bad things happening every day that lead back to Bush policies.

She has nine months to sway at least one vote away from Bush. The vote does not have to go to a Dem, just not for Bush.

[The Blue Knight]

14. I grow frustrated too.

I live in Bush country in Ohio. All my teachers are Republicans as well. When political debate heats up, guess who is the only liberal? I am. I do a fairly good job too, because kids my age are just like Bush because their parents do. Let me give you an excerpt:

Girl: Well, I love Bush. He's the bravest President, and he's such a great public speaker!

Me: You're kidding, right? Especially about the "great public speaker" part?

Girl: No, I just LOVE President Bush. I wish he could be our dictator for life.

Me: That seriously scares me. Why do you like Bush?

Girl: Well, both my parents voted for him, and he has the same birthday as me, so he can't be all that bad.

Me: Well, my birthday is the same as Joseph Stalin's, so, would you agree if I said he was a great guy because he was born the same day as me?

Girl: No.

Me: Please find a running woodchipper and throw yourself in it.

===

I am fighting though. I work for the Kucinich campaign, and am in the process of calling Kucinich voters. I also got my friend, who once proclaimed "I about shot myself when Clinton was reelected." I started giving him liberal books to read, Lies of President George W. Bush, Dude Where's My Country?, Lies and the Lying Liars WHo Tell them, and so forth, and I've gotten him on the liberal side. He's now a volunteer in the Kerry campaign.

And for what it's worth, I'm 17 and I can't vote this year, but I've gotten 8 of my friends who don't give a rats ass about politics (working on that too) to vote for Kucinich for me on March 2nd.

Just keep fighting man.

[BillZBubb]

15. Great post Blue Knight!

Keep up the good fight, maybe there's hope after all.

[JHB]

17. Politics makes for strange bedfellows, I guess...

...since it appears Mallar Fillmore agrees with us on this point:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp?date=20040131

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

19. Me: Please find a running woodchipper and throw yourself in it.

HA! :evilgrin:

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

18. OK - here's the scoop

She admits she knows little about the other candidates. She is trying to see where they stand on issues. She has always been a repub because her parents were/are. Her main objection is with taxes. She doenn't believe people who work hard and do well should be penalized by paying more taxes to support those who do not work hard.

I explained there was more to it than just the tax issue.

Q. What about Iraq?

A. They were oppressed people

Q. So are a lot of other countries - but Iraq has oil

A. They do - but until we find a way to reduce our depedence, we need oil

Q. So you support taking (stealing) somethin that you don't own just because you need it?!

A. No! Not stealing - just garaunteeing access (through free trade)

Q. What about AWOL Bush*?

A. Huh? I don't really know much about that.

Q. What!? Have you been in a fucking cave!? (just kidding - but I did WANT to ask this) :evilgrin:

ANYWAY - I said you have to look at the whole package and not just one issue. (I've looked at the entire Bush* package and it was seriously damaged in shipping and is now rotting.) She says she isn't dead set in her ways and will keep studying the issues. Perhaps there's hope...

[Robbien]

24. Sorry, but those are not the issues that will "speak" to her

Talk to her about Healthy Forests Act or the Clean Air Act. Talk to her about how Bush is loosening all the retrictions on polution to the benefit of big industry. Talk to her about how Bush had EPA's annual report changed before it went public. Talk to her about how Bush replaced EPA's head with an anti-environmentalist.

AWOL and Iraq are tired issues where everyone already has their set opinions. Until you get a crack in the armor, Bush supporters just will not listen.

[JHB]

29. Does she really believe that everyone with a lot of money worked hard for

She doenn't believe people who work hard and do well should be penalized by paying more taxes to support those who do not work hard.

So basically she has a sense of fair play, and has fallen for the Republican spin on tax issues. Break it down for her.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

32. If taxes are her SOLE issue...

then it's better she remain a Republican. ;)

Okay, as for being a "repressed" people, is she aware that the new Bush-backed Iraqi governing council is about to make it law that women's rights in that country are about to go back, say a couple of hundred CENTURIES? Sharia (Islamic) law is being introduced to the once secular Iraq.

Is she aware that prosecution of environmental criminals have gone down dramatically under Bush? Does she know that industry is practically writing the new regulations?

And does she know that federal taxes do much more than just "support those who don't work hard"? They catch terrorists, they discover new medicines, they educate our children, they keep our environment safe and clean (well, not so much under Bush), they help Americans start small businesses, they care for those who served our country, they fund our national park "jewels", they help us get from point A to point B via highways/public transportation/airports... I could go on and on, but you get the drift.

I can't stand folks who bitch about taxes but are more than happy to use the services and benefits they provide us ALL.

[qanda]

33. Please do her a favor and buy her a copy of Kevin Phillip's book

"American Dynasty". Perhaps she just needs a little wake up call.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

34. Tell her that Bush is playing a bait and switch on her - he IS

raising her taxes. Her state and local taxes are going to go up if they haven't already. She will be paying for the deficit for years to come. The budget Bush gave doesn't even INCLUDE what he is going to ask for Iraq next, he's waiting until after the election to disclose that.

[mac56]

36. Jane is right.

Her tax burden has gone up, not down, under Chimpy.

Besides, what's her problem with paying her fair share of the dues for living in America?

[rasputin1952]

35. Tackle the first of her reasons, taxes...

Just ask her simply, "How much did you get back on the tax cuts"?

If she makes less than $150,000, she didn't get squat, maybe $10-$50.

She didn't get anything back, yet the tax burden has been shifted to the middle class, (most likely where she's at). Oh, BTW, those unemployed since bush took office, really don't pay much in taxes!

O8)

[truthspeaker]

20. if she votes for * and he wins, I hope she has an unplanned pregnancy

Can't get an abortion, Bush made it illegal.

Prenatal care? Sorry, Bush cut funding for that.

Head Start? Cut that too.

Immunizations and doctor visits for the baby? Can't afford health insurance? Tough luck.

Oh, FYI, the tap water in your house isn't safe for a developing fetus.

Then you can look her up just to say "I told you so."

-------------------
Disclaimer: Just kidding, I don't really wish this kind of misery on people, even people who vote for it.

[loftycity]

21. Maybe a one issue voter..guns or abortion....n/t

[kerouac]

22. Buy her a Valentine's Day Subscription!

Give her a subscription to The Nation, Mother Jones, or BOTH. While you're at it, buy it for your local library, too. The truth shall set them free.

[Ficus]

26. only explaination I can think of

Is that most people tend to pick up the political leanings of their parents. Yes, of course this isn't 100% true all the time, but I'd say it's a fairly accurate statement.

Even if she believes opposite, all of the information she's ever gotten (conciously and uncounciously) at home could have been Republicans = good
Democrats = bad

over and over and over

she needs to become a little more informed!

[calimary]

27. Suggest she check out the following site:

Conservatives Against Bush. I just did - found it in a Yahoo discussion. It'll help perk you back up. Even some of the knuckledraggers are coming around.


http://www.conservativesagainstbush.com/

You might also suggest she visit the Military Families Speak Out site.

[KansDem]

30. Any chance she could be pulling your leg?

I mean, maybe she was all set to give you a great big "GOTCHA!!" when the phone call came in and she had to hurry off...:shrug:

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