Had a brief conversation with a friendly, informed Republican today.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

I was waiting for my car to finish getting smog checked when another customer (a middle-aged woman like me) approached me. She had spotted my Bernie sticker on my back bumper.

She likes Bernie a lot and is horrified at Trump. She wanted to know how Bernie planned to pay for all that free stuff he's proposing. I honestly didn't know, but I had some little cards with the high points of his campaign outlined.

I dug one out of my purse and gave it to her.

We agreed that Trump had to be stopped! Then our cars were ready and we parted ways.

One voter at a time, folks...

[HumanityExperiment]

1. Nice...

[Zira]

2. The answer is by cutting the war budget.

Still, good job.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Thanks! I'll remember that next time...

[corkhead]

4. Unfortunately that "free stuff" meme is deeply ingrained. My answers to them are as follows:

"Skimming just a little from the Military Industrial Complex would pay for a lot of free stuff."
"Taxing Wall St., millionaires, and billionaires fairly would pay for a lot of free stuff."
"Fixing our roads and bridges would create a lot of jobs and new taxpayers to pay for that free stuff."
"Diverting the money we spend on health insurance, deductibles and co-pays would more than pay for that health related free stuff".

I like to hit them with simple bites like this because we don't always have time to go into nuanced detail and often times their brains have been softened by too much Rush or Fox.

[Gwhittey]

9. Taxing Wall St., millionaires, and billionaires fairly would pay for a lot of free stuff."

But if we do that then we are taxing the jobs makers and they will stop making jobs....

[corkhead]

15. not if paying employees is deductable on their taxes.

[amborin]

5. Dear CP, Here is a post re: that issue:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511595310

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. Thanks! :)

[amborin]

11. I've been in the same situation! :)

[Angry Dragon]

6. Cruz scares me more than trump

[HughLefty1]

10. Me too...

Cruz even looks creepy and i hate that fake holy roller act.
The DNC has issues but those GOP elite types (Rove, etc) are the scum of the earth.

[TalkingDog]

8. Here's another bumper sticker for the Free Stuff question

Taxing trades on Wall Street (a fraction of a cent for each stock traded, was bandied about as I recall, though don't quote me) would be more than enough to pay for everything Sanders has promised.

http://www.zazzle.com/democratic_socialism_is_not_free_stuff_bumper_sticker-128864257289173321?rf=238589910366818801

[shanti]

12. i had a bernie moment too

a handman came to my house to install something. started yakking, and he hesitatingly brought up politics. "oh you're going to go there?", i said. then he said, you're not voting for trump are you?" i said BERNIE!! he gave me a double fist pump!

he also gave me a deal on the job, heh! i'm finding that this election is bringing a lot of people out of the woodwork, just to talk about the candidates, moreso than previous years. people are definitely stirred up!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. Very cool, my dear shanti!

What a great story!

[Jefferson23]

14. See that, placing his bumper sticker on your car coupled with your info..awesome response.

Very cool. +1

One voter at a time, indeed.

[sofa king]

16. You can say, "same way Ronald Reagan paid for all his free stuff.."

"... only Bernie won't cut taxes for the rich, so they'll help pay for it this time, too."

[VulgarPoet]

17. They do exist; just few and far between.

[pinebox]

18. Isn't it funny "free stuff" is not only asked by Republicans

but many on here who support Hillary and call themselves supposed "Democrats"?

[Ron Green]

19. Thanks, Peggy. I answer the "promising free stuff" meme with

"He's not really promising anything, he's describing things we ought to do." The obvious follow-up to that is a discussion of: Why aren't we doing what most people want, and how do we start?