MY DEBATE WITH A REPUBLICAN

I was chatting with a guy at a bar, and from out of the blue, he steered the conversation to the subject of politics and how much he hated Obama.

The following is a paraphrased account of what happened.



HIM: Things are only going to get worse with Obama in charge. Obama is an Obamination (i.e. abomination). I cant stand that guy.

ME: Why do you hate Obama so much? Because he wants you to have healthcare?

HIM: Forcing people to have healthcare is wrong.

ME: The government can force young men of a certain age to be drafted into the army. How is that any different?

HIM: Well. . . yeah, but . . . only in a war.

ME: Yeah, so? We are in a healthcare crisis. Even the people who COULD afford the corporate-care were going bankrupt and dying. The corporate system was corrupt.

HIM: [makes a sour face] Eh. . .

ME: Well something needed to be done; that is the bottom line. It was a system that was designed to make the fat-cats at the top, loads of money, at the expense of innocent people. It was wrong, and the Republicans, who were taking kickback shut-up money from these companies, weren't doing anything about it. At least the Democrats are trying to reform it. Also, if we Progressives had gotten what we wanted, there wouldn't have been any individual mandates! What should have happened was single-payer universal healthcare. What we got was actually the Mitt Romney healthcare plan! [laughter]

HIM: Raising my taxes in order to pay for it isn't right!

ME: [laughing] Your taxes were not raised!

HIM: Yes they were!

ME: [laughing harder] What are you talking about?! Obama actually LOWERED your taxes!

HIM: Bullshit. It is a fact that Obama raised taxes. That's what Democrats do!

ME: [At this point, I looked him in the eye and calmly said:] Sir. . . you have been misinformed. Obama actually lowered your taxes.

HIM: [smiles]

ME: The problem with you guys is that you watch too much Fox News and listen to too much Rush Limbaugh. You aren't getting the facts! You are getting brainwashed into believing things that are not true! Snap out of it!

HIM: I'm not brainwashed. The rest of the news channels, like CNN and all the rest, are all just a bunch of liberals! I cant watch that crap. Maybe YOU are the one who is brainwashed.

ME: So just because they are not propaganda tools for the Republican party they are liberal?

HIM: No. Not at all. You know what I mean. They have a liberal bias.

ME: There is no way that you can compare those radical cartoon characters on Fox, to legitimate mainstream news media. No frik'n way! The only news channel that really has a liberal bias is MSNBC.

HIM: I don't know about MSNBC. I only watch Fox News. It's is the only channel that is fair.

ME: [laughing hysterically. By now, everyone in the bar is looking at us] You mean to tell me that you don't know that Fox News is a Republican propaganda machine? [more laughter.] You mean you don't know that they outright lie! You should watch Jon Stewart's show. He is always exposing their lies

HIM: Oh come on. Fox has liberals on it too.

ME: Yeah, like one girly-man in a room full of bully Republicans. Come on.

HIM: [He goes back to his beer. Thinking a little more, then turns back to me an says] All I know is, that Obama is an anti-American socialist, and as far as I am concerned, he is one of he worst presidents this country has ever had.

ME: Better than Bush.

HIM: Obama said that he would reduce the deficit, but now he is spending MORE than Bush.

ME: That's not true! A majority of the debt occurred under Bush. Obama is now forced to prevent a full scale economic collapse by keeping the pillars of the economy intact by spending. This was not his economic policy to begin with, but he was forced into it. If a company is "too big to fail" then it is TOO BIG! We need regulation to prevent Too Big Too Fail, but Republicans are against regulation! Oh, and by the way. . . Obama's getting all of his bailout ideas from Bush's guy, Ben Bernake. That's why all I see when I look at the Tea Party, is hypocrites. Where was the outrage when Bush was handing out checks?

HIM: So where are you getting all of your information from? The liberal media?

ME: Oh no, not this again [laughter]. Two of the sources that I check is FactCheck.org and Politifact.com. Those are NON PARTISAN sites who call out anyone who does not get their facts straight; both Republican and Democrat. A good site to check is also MediaMatters.org. They are constantly exposing FoxNews and Rush Limbaugh's lies.

HIM: MediaMatters is a liberal site!

ME: That's true, but you should check it out anyway. You should hear the other side of the story sometimes. You know. . . to make sure that you are not getting brainwashed.

HIM: Oh yeah. So what about you? Do you listen to the other side of the story?

ME: I am an ex Republican. I know all of their points. I know all of their stories. I know all of their tricks. I used to be a big Rush Limbaugh fan. Every now and then I still try to tune into Fox and those radio clowns, just to see what they are up to. I just cant take it anymore. I end up yelling at the TV and radio. The hypocrisy and the lying has gotten out of control.

HIM: Lying huh? Yeah right. So I guess liberals never lie, right? Okay, so what made you change sides?

ME: I saw that the Republicans were nothing more than tools of the corporate wealthy elite, and the so-called 'conservatives' who were on their side were some of the most narrow-minded, ignorant, and mean-spirited I have ever come across. I have no respect for people like that.

HIM: Oh come on. Like the Democrats don't take corporate money too.

ME: That's true. They do. But they are still more likely to regulate and tax them fairly anyway. Look at the record. Everything that is related to human rights and fairness has been brought to us by the Dems . Everything that is related to corporate kickbacks and pollution has been brought to us by the Republicans.

HIM: Democrats got dirt on their hands too. Don't fool yourself.

ME: Well, I'm not saying their perfect, but at least they are making more of an effort to care about their fellow man, the hard working middle-class, and the environment.

HIM: Don't even start with that environmental global warming crap. That's a proven hoax.

ME: You say that you aren't brainwashed but everything you are saying is right out of the Republican playbook. They want people to disbelieve the overwhelming scientific evidence so that they can keep the factories running and keep the money rolling into their bank accounts. Its all about the money. Not the truth.

HIM: Oh please, Al Gore is in it for the money. He is so self-serving. He is a tool of Green industry. Give me a break.

ME: [laughing] Ohhhh, So it is Al Gore who is in it for the money! So it is Al Gore who is a self-serving tool! So what about the Big Oil companies and the tree choppers? They aren't self-servers who are in it for the money? There is no way that you can compare tiny green industry with the giant industrial monster that is Big Oil and the rest. No frick'n way! Maybe it is YOU who should give ME a break!

HIM: [Laughs a little.]

ME: But let me ask you this., in regards to pollution and global warming. . . what is the harm in being safe rather than sorry?

HIM: Uh. . . . well. . . I guess because it hurts the economy.

ME: Where there is a will there is a way. Green energy could become a huge and profitable industry if the corrupt powers that are holding it back were put in jail where they belong. Ever hear of that documentary: Who Killed the Electric Car?

HIM: No.

ME: Check that out.

HIM: I have to admit, I wouldn't mind seeing us get off of oil. If everything could run on corn or something, that would be fine with me.

ME: Hey! We agree on something!

HIM: [Nods]


We continued talking for a little more until he excuses himself. It was getting late and he needed to get back home; but, not before we shook hands.

FRANK LUNTZ AND NEWT GINGRICH: BRAINWASHERS FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

To win votes the Republicans needed to win minds. What they came to realize is that they needed to reframe the debate.

One of the secret weapons in this war of minds is a man named Frank Luntz, an American political consultant, pollster, focus group analyst, and commentator and analyst for the Fox News Channel. Luntz's specialty is “testing language and finding words that will help his clients sell their product, or turn public opinion on an issue or a candidate." His stated intention is to cause audiences to react based on emotion rather than thought. It was Luntz who changed estate tax to "death tax," oil drilling to "energy exploration," and tax cuts to "tax relief." He was also awarded the 2010 Politifact.com Lie of the Year award for his promotion of the phrase "government takeover" to refer to healthcare reform.

However, Luntz was not the only one who was interested in using words to influence hearts and minds. In 1994, Congressman Newt Gingrich wrote and distributed a memorandum (the “GOPAC Memo”) titled "Language: A Key Mechanism of Control.” In it, Republican candidates were instructed what words to use when defining their opponents. For instance: the word liberal is to be associated with bureaucracy, red tape, and traitors. While the word conservative is to be related to freedom, crusade, and pride. These connotations not only resonate in both the conscious and the subconscious mind, but more importantly, evoke emotion, which, according to Luntz, is the most important influencing factor of all—especially when pertaining to voters who are not well-informed on the issues.

Republicans have successfully turned the word liberal into a bad word, even though the original definition corresponds with the principles of freedom of speech, equality, fairness, and separation of church and state that the United States of America was founded upon.

A WARNING FROM HENRY WALLACE ABOUT FACISTS WHO MASQUARADE AS AMERICAN PATRIOTS

In 1944, FDR’s Vice President (from 1941 to 1945), Henry Wallace, wrote an article in the New York Times about the dangers of American Fascism. The following passages are excerpts from this article, in which he describes the wealthy corporate elite as "fascists."

"The American fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in the common front against fascism."

"They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection."

"But always and everywhere they can be identified by their appeal to prejudice and by the desire to play upon the fears and vanities of different groups in order to gain power."

"Still another danger is represented by those who, paying lip service to democracy and the common welfare, in their insatiable greed for money and the power which money gives, do not hesitate surreptitiously to evade the laws designed to safeguard the public from monopolistic extortion."

REPUBLICAN DIRTY TRICKS

Alright! Just discovered this site. Check it out.

http://republicandirtytricks.com/

THE REAL WISCONSIN PROBLEM

The Wisconsin situation has nothing to do with "balancing the budget." When Walker came in he actually helped make the situation worse with his tax cuts for the rich.

Walker is using a technique called "defund the left."
Here is how it works:

1- Give huge tax cuts to the wealthy elite who helped put you into office.

2- Use the budget deficit as an excuse to cut programs that help the workers - In this case, the unions.

3- Once the unions no longer have collective bargaining power, membership drops.

4- Once membership drops, the hard working middle-class no longer have power to prevent themselves from being taken advantage of. But more importantly, they no longer have the ability to donate money to the Democrats.

This is a political move. Not a budgetary one. Dont be fooled.

Why doesnt Walker care that polls show that a majority of people disagree with what he is doing? Because its all about the money, not the people. Walker knows that he is going to have a well paying job waiting for him as a reward for being the lap-dog of Koch Industries.

If this is about the budget then why didnt walker go after the police and fire unions too? Because they paid him off in campaign contributions.

You want to know the truth? Follow the money.

THE DIABOLICAL KOCH BROTHERS. THE NEW ROBBER BARONS.

David and Charles Koch, co-owners of Koch Industries and primary financiers of the Tea Party, have amassed one of the world’s largest private fortunes and Koch Industries is the second largest privately held company in America.

Are they using that money to help cure the world's problems and help people, like the 22,000 children die each day due to poverty? HECK NO!

As ThinkProgress.org has documented over the last three years, Koch groups have spent tens of millions to influence government policy — from financing the Tea Parties, to funding junk academic studies, to undisclosed attack ads against Democrats, to groups promoting climate change denial (so that they can continue to make a fortune polluting the planet.)

Koch political donations have helped the company escape serious prosecution for their toxic pollution crimes. Their underhanded dealings and bribery of Republican politicians is just too long to even list.

The Koch brothers have claimed that they oppose government intervention in the market, but Koch Industries lobbies aggressively for taxpayer handouts,
Koch also benefits directly from billions in taxpayer subsidies for oil companies and ethanol production. They sure love Big Government when they can use it for their own advantage.

They will not stop until they replace our Democratic Republic with a corporate Plutocracy (rule of the rich). And so far, they are winning.

Help put a dent in Koch bros. profits.
Here is a list of Koch Industries products to boycott:

Anything That Georgia-Pacific Produces:
Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, and Soft n Gentle toilet paper; Brawny paper towels; any of the Dixie plates, bowls and napkins; Sparkle, Vanity Fair and Zee napkins.