Dealing with Republicans - How do you do it and maintain sanity?

Today has been an interesting day for me. A friend of mine posted a blog today on Facebook concerning the stimulus bill. He's a strong Democrat and obviously is supportive with a few caveats (like most of us here). We debated amongst ourselves the strengths and weaknesses of the plan a bit and overall had a very nice chat.

Flash forward a couple hours later - some Ron Paulian Republican that was on his friends list (for whatever reason) jumps into the fray and starts with the typical right-wing blowhard trash that we have become accustomed to. Such tidbits as "Government bad!", "No more corporate taxes! (don't even close the loopholes)!", "Government programs bad!", "Farm subsidies bad!", "Renewable energy bad!", and of course, the old stand-by "The Free Market Rules! Trickle Down Baby!"

So we bantered back and forth for a while. Until I finally realize just how ludicrous these people are (Republicans in general) in their thinking. They want everything without having to actually DO anything. It grew so frustrating that I finally just had to close down the computer and step away because there is no making any reasonable arguments with these people. The days of honest debate and discussion are long dead and I just haven't realized it completely until today. I can only imagine what being a U.S. Senator is like right now, having to negotiate with these same types of people that are so disconnected with reality and set on themselves that they can't function outside their own little bubble.

So - DU - how do you deal with these people in your life? Any particularly good stories of success or failure with these people? Also, we might also want to list some handy resources for each other to share when we engage these people, as futile an engagement as it is.

Just give them the facts with backup credits and links. Try not to use editorial or opinion articles because that is what they will come back at you with.

I have a pet republican that I have come to enjoy trashing his op-ed hate mail with simple facts.

Facts. They can't stand them.

Works like a charm.

the family keeps me away!

Or ignore them. Some people won't change their mind no matter what you say.
Just like a repuke could never change my mind no matter what.

http://meldroc.com/

I find that it's impossible to argue with the Limbaughtomized - they're impervious to facts, logic and reason. You've got to talk down to them like talking to a six-year-old.

Thanks for the link!

have them play it out.

That's what I do when I debate abortion. So abortion is outlawed. We arrest people and put them on trial... and people can never answer this question: "How long should the women be in prison?"

you always end up in an argument over the facts and since they get all their news from Fox and RW radio you will hear things and think " what the hell are they talking about?"


Once you end up in that type of scenario there is no changing minds.

Save you're sanity ... and group with the like minded.

There is no reasoning with them and at the end of the argument, you end up feeling stupider for having done it in the first place.

Debating amongst Democrats is fun in and of itself. We all (for the most part) have our eyes on the same prize and can work together cohesively. I still feel regretful that there just is no dialogue with the other side at all - mainly because they are brainwashed.

I have several libertarian and republican relatives and friends. I never talk politics with them, even when they try to bring up the subject. But that doesn't work with somebody who breaks into a blog conversation, so in that case I'd do the same as you, step away from the computer

I always ask them what evidence they have that XYZ is true, can they back that up, etc. Generally they cannot.

I have tried disproving some of the GOP talking points with evidence, but it is a waste of time. Besides, it puts me on the defensive against irrational people. I prefer to be on the offensive.

They want the free market to rule all and that no one should be limited in what they can do with their property that they earned due to their hard work, etc. So ask them if there should be any immigration restrictions. Why shouldn't we hire whom we please and the government stay out and just give my employees visas? They twist themselves into pretzels trying to avoid admitting they just want those brown people to stay out. Don't let them get away with "legal immigration," point out to them those laws should be done away with completely or the market is not ruling everything.

Then tell them stories of the Depression and how the New Deal saved some family from starvation. Somebody who worked on the WPA, etc. They cannot admit they believe this person and their family should have starved until the market should bounce back on its own.

When they get on their morality high horse, it is fun to point out how Rush has been married umpteen times and does not walk the walk and that Phalin' did not suceed in getting her offspring to buy into her "values." They have nothing they can say to that.

It is also fun to agree with their most ridiculous positions: Yes, Obama is the Messiah and he will get us out of this with socialism. It is hard for them to come back when they realize their absurd propositions sound so ridiculous.

And you are right, you can sense the uncomfortable shifting in their chairs once you drop that one on them.

In a free market system, why should not the say 200 workers of a factory when they realize the factory can't run without all of them cooperating, organize to improve their bargaining position. Perfectly fair in the capitalist world. They realize their value raises as a group than is needed on the spot, so they take advantage of that to raise their wages. That's just something the wonderfully talented capitalist has to deal with on the free market.

It gets them uncomfortable because they know they don't like unions and that what they really want, which they do not want to admit, is an authoritarian order in which the lower orders know their place.

Or try to exorcise the demons, or use voodoo to make them into zombies. Oops, perhaps they are zombies already.

My then high school niece sent out a mass email about stupid quotes from famous people. I noticed that all the Dan Quayle quotes had been attributed to Al Gore so I replied all - as I am wont to do because as many people as possible should benefit from my wisdom - and I corrected the quotes and then made an offhand remarks that the George W. Bush edition of this was too big to send out - even via email, and that they were working on cutting it down so our computers could handle it.

I got an email back from someone at her school who wasn't on the original list but had my response forwarded to him. This classmate of hers of course spewed out the regular right-wing talking points, called me unAmerican, and told me that he was going to find me and "kick a mudhole in my chest."

So I corresponded with him and basically treated him like a child who didn't understand anything. I wasn't overt or patronizing about it, but from the get-go, I established in no uncertain terms that my views were superior to his and thus I was to him, and I would explain to him - very carefully like he was a child - why he was wrong.

I got the intended response back from him - more yelling, more threats, etc. to which I responded with more of the same. It drove him batshit crazy to the point that he got another friend in on it (who claimed he was a policeman and started making threats against me - I treated him the same), and he started calling everyone with my name (an uncommon one) that he could find listed on the internet (I'm unlisted). Finally, I agreed to meet him at the McDonalds in the town he went to school when I next visited, telling him that I would gladly buy him a Happy Meal, and we could discuss things face-to-face. Of course, I wasn't planning on doing that to beat him up - I was in my mid-30s and he was a junior in high school.

Eventually, I asked my niece about the guy and what was his problem. Apparently he was a moron who liked to smoke pot a lot (must be more of a libertarian) and had been held back a year or two. She went up to him in the lunchroom one day and told him off and said, "Leave my uncle alone! He's 3 times bigger than you, and you're too stupid to be talking with him!" I never heard from him after that. :(

TlalocW

After all, to deal with them, isn't it necessary to get into their mindset?

;-)

and I feel so much better. :toast: :bounce: :hug: :fistbump: ya gotta just try to get through it.....and do whatever you can.

you don't expect that the lions and chimps will behave like civilized human beings. And you won't be disappointed or frustrated by their level of intelligence or etiquette.

Well, when I visit my right-wing brother-in-law's family, I handle it by thinking of it as a trip to the zoo, as opposed to an opportunity for civilized human discourse.

and I don't generally talk to them about politics cause it is crazy making, then I think, how will they ever learn if no one tells them??? Of course, they never hear me when I talk and its back into crazy making again, so I guess the best bet is to not talk at all.....very frustrating!!!!

If that doesn't work: Earplugs and scented hankies.

BTW, I don't buy into everything the Democratic party says, either. IE banning trans fats and the like.