My Republican father

[BanzaiBonnie]

is reading Lou Dobbs, "Exporting America." I've not read it, but my dad is shocked by the revelations about the power of multi-national corporations, out-sourcing jobs and the destruction of our country.

I've been watching this coming our way for twenty years. What's up with that? Republicans never noticed this before? WTF? He's discovering this as if it's something new. AND, AND, AND he's explaining to me about lobbyists and how much power they have over our elected officials. Aaaaaaaaagh! I want to pull my hair out.

[Drale]

1. Republicans never see anything

until it effects them. Its kind of like celebrities and disease, they don't care about them until it strikes them or their families.

[pacalo]

5. Their brains are wired differently; they lack empathy.

[calimary]

11. Man, THAT'S for sure!!! They lack empathy. No compassion whatsoever.

They're the "tough shit" crowd til something bad happens to them and then MAN do they whine and snivel and complain. And of course then they'll expect plenty of empathy and compassion from everyone else. When they start showing it to others, I'll very likely be able to find some for them.

[pacalo]

12. Right now I'm thinking about those two pictures from Wisconsin's protest last weekend

of the two former Republicans holding signs that said (1) I'm sorry I voted for Walker" & (2) I'll never vote for another Republican. :rofl:

And can't forget about Limpballs running to the ACLU to protect the privacy of his medical records!

:rofl:

[kentauros]

2. Point him to the things that You have been reading.

I would give him a copy of The Nation and when to listen or watch Democracy Now! :)

[EC]

3. Did you tell him that Dems have been saying this for

years and the voters just ignore them? (maybe make him feel a little ashamed)

[Jmaxfie1]

4. My Dad's a Republican also, but he's pretty moderate.

He actually refers to himself as a Liberal Republican like Nelson Rockefeller. We actually agree on a lot of things, particularly about how multi-national companies are ruining this country. I keep trying to explain/convince him that the Liberal/moderate wing of the Republican Party of his youth is gone. It has been high-jacked by extremists. Issue for issue, he is more of a Democrat than a Republican. So yeah, I know how it feels--"Aaaaaaaaagh!".

[Solomon]

6. This is a phenomemon I've seen a lot of.

When a republican administration is in there, they don't even think about most of the things that they do, but when a democratic administration is in there, they start to look for things to criticize not realizing that republicans were doing those things or were the ones who started them. It just didn't matter when a republican was in office. All of a sudden it matters now.

I've seen this a lot with Obama. The yelling about the appointment of "czars" for example. Bush did it, but it didn't matter when he did. It wasn't an issue for them. Now that a democrat is doing it, it's wrong to them all of a sudden.

Or when Reagan skipped some Veteran Affairs thing - no problem. When Obama did it, they thought it was the first time a president "disrespected the veterans" etc. They didn't notice it with Reagan.

There's tons of examples like this.

[SheilaT]

7. Humans are capable of being in denial about

all sorts of things. Like the smokers who are shocked, just shocked to discover there's a connection between smoking and lung cancer, or smoking and heart disease. Or the morbidly obese who are startled to develop type II diabetes. The examples are endless.

[pacalo]

8. I was a babe in the woods before the boy king was handed his throne.

I learned about the media conglomerates that had investments in defense contracts (& their shameless monopoly-building to control the message is even worse). My reaction to that info was like your dad's.

[Drew Richards]

9. want to really get him on board the truth?

Get him to read the shock doctrine...or watch the movie.

[JHB]

10. ...and so, dear Dad, THAT is why I'm such a "radical leftist".

"It's not because I'm actually that radical. It's because the other guys are, they're the ones calling me names, and I'm kind of fed up with people simply taking their word for it."

[butterfly77]

13. K&R..

[Motown_Johnny]

14. Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....

Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....Yes Dad, that is why I am a Democrat....



repeat as needed

[david13]

15. The truth is that many people, maybe most people identify with

one political group or another for the most fickle of reasons. And with little or perhaps no knowledge of the issues, or what the party line is.
I frequently talk to miscellaneous crachpots who, today, all of a sudden have decided they are 'republikens'.
Or worshiping Ronald Reagan without understanding a thing about him.
A lot of it is the talk radio. It's much easier to buy into the propaganda rather than use your brain and think or research an issue. Far more convenient and much faster.
And when they are uneducated people, all the more so.
Without knowing a thing about it.
Now, I don't mean your father.
But I do mean you see how easy it is to be on the wrong side for a long time, and not realize it.
dc

[YellowRubberDuckie]

16. At least you can say there is at least ONE republican reading a book that isn't the bible...

:shrug:

[Auntie Bush]

17. My advice

Pull his hair out instead...if he has any left. Or maybe rent some of Roger Moore's movies.

[Auntie Bush]

18. My advice.....

Pull his hair out instead...if he has any left. Or maybe rent some of Roger Moore's movies.

[MadMaddie]

19. I would suggest buying a follow up book for him

Naomi Klein, "The Shock Doctrine".http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

He will see the paralles of what is happening in the United States. What Lou Dobbs describes is right in line with "The Shock Doctrine".

[pink-o]

20. I have one of those too.

A Republican dad. His "Come to Reality" moment was when he read a book called "No Free Lunch" that pretty well covered the same subject. He kept telling me about outsourcing et al--like I hadn't been screaming about it to him and everyone else for years.

I know you love your dad as much as I love mine, but people you love can drive you CRAZY, can't they? My father spends waaaay too much time in front of Faux; couldn't wait to tell me how great their coverage of the Japan situation was. Yeah, cuz they've done NO real investigative journalism re Wisconsin have they??? Gotta fill those hours up somehow.

I don't know how old your dad is, but mine is 87, and I think he's face-to-face with a world that's changed so much from his youth, he's afraid of his lack of control and that he no longer has the power he once did. Faux appeals to the primitive fear and xenophobia that men of his generation cannot admit. I try to be tolerant, but man! It's not easy sometimes!

[BanzaiBonnie]

23. Exactly, pink-o

My dad is about the same age. A year off maybe. That generation was affected by the Great Depression. I told him yesterday that the Great Depression was manufactured just like the current Great Recession is manufactured. It was all a set-up.

[eridani]

21. It's understandable to be bugged by the fact that he doesn't want to hear that stuff from you--

--however, just be glad he's willing to hear it from SOMEONE.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

22. Getting through to most Repugs requires...

a form of surgical shock treatment, which is necessary to get their heads out of their asses. :evilgrin:

[The Backlash Cometh]

24. "Who Runs Congress?"

Wans't that written in the eighties?