What do you do when a family member starts trashing liberals or democrats?

[begin_within]

[Daphne08]

1. I just walk away.

I don't discuss politics with my family (except for my husband).

[noahmijo]

2. Remind them that it's because of liberals and Democrats that

they have a retirement plan with their government job, that they don't have to worry if the food they are eating is poison that they medicine they are taking is safe thanks to liberals sticking their noses where it doesn't belong, that it thanks to liberals that we have civil rights and if they are in a mixed marriage or enjoy shows and movies that contain "subject matter" hehehe..take a guess as to what I say.

[BigBearJohn]

49. I tell them the story my mother once told me:

There once was a young woman walking down the street on spring day
when she came across a little girl holding a basket.

"What's in the basket?" she asked the little girl.
The little girl smiled, opened up the cover on the
basket revealing 6 new born puppies.

"Oh, they're 6 Republicans."

The young republican woman smiled, patted the girl on the head,
and said, "smart little girl."

A week later, the same republican lady was walking
down the street with her republican boyfriend, when she
notices the same little girl holding her basket of puppies.
She whispers into her boyfriend's ear, "wanna see something cute?
Watch this." They walk up to the little girl and the young woman
says to the little girl, "my boyfriend here wants to know what you
have in the basket."

The little girls smiles, lifts the cover off the basket, and the puppies pop out. "Oh, they're 6 Democrats."

Aghast, the young womans says, "DEMOCRATS?! Last week you told
me they were Republicans!" The little girl shrugs her shoulders
and says, "Yeah, but now their eyes are OPEN."

[grannylib]

56. *lol* that's a good one, I like it!!

[bahrbearian]

3. Bawahhhhaaaahha!

[babylonsister]

4. I have 2 family members who are terribly repug. We don't talk...

at all. We've agreed to disagree, since we're all damned stubborn and no one will change their opinions.

[justiceischeap]

5. They don't, they know better. (eom)

[knitter4democracy]

6. I walk away if it's a parent and go ballistic if it's not.

Does that make sense? If it's a parent, then I'm not going to change his or her mind (at least, not the ones in my family). If it's a sibling, then I'm going to try to educate and defend myself and my husband. If they're just being nasty, I leave.

[stepnw1f]

7. I Call Them RIGHTWINGOS to their Faces

They get quiet... ussually. Then then say something to save face.

[mestup]

8. Wait til they say something absurd.

Then pounce with uber-absurdity.

It doesn't take long. You can usually steer them to something like "liberals like abortion." Then you slap 'em with a line similar to Nathan Lane's character in The Bird Cage: "Well, I think we should kill the mothers. I mean, the fetus is going to die anyway, why not let it go down with the ship?"

With a little practice, they won't trash liberals around you anymore.
:-)

[Maggie_May]

9. Ask them what Bush has done for them.

My husband been married for 18 years has been a staunch Republican for years. I of course am not but its the way he has been raise. After I insisted that he stop watching Fox and start watching CSpan. Also reading what his party has turned this country into he has finally come around. He has always been one of those fiscally responsible Republicans and has seen that this party that he once supported has pissed away billions. My response to your question is ask them what has the Republicans done with there tax dollars have they spent them wisely.

[gratuitous]

19. You unspeakably dastard!

A little education, a few facts, some patient and consistent instruction, and your poor husband never stood a chance.

[Maggie_May]

21. No it was more like this

:spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:

[gratuitous]

27. Uh, what two consenting adults do . . .

In the privacy of their own bedroom is none of my business.

Unless I can watch. :evilgrin:

[I Have A Dream]

35. In reference to the tax dollar part, they always say that 9/11 caused...

the deficits we have.

Of course, their TAX CUTS didn't have anything to do with it! :sarcasm:

[The Sushi Bandit]

10. I call them RePUKES

they make me sick

[Syncronaut Seven]

11. In most instances it's like a battle of wits with an unarmed wo/man

Honest inquisitiveness I respect and honor with thoughtful answers.

Spouting RW talking points invites a "shock and awe" response instantly. I take no prisoners. :spank:

[CTyankee]

12. It's very tricky

With my family there is supposed to be a moratorium on any political discussion. But my brother in law has broken that with a few snarky remarks. At first, I remained silent, determined to uphold the honor of the agreement. Then I got angry and told my husband I would not respect an agreement that did not respect ME! I warned him in advance I would defend my point of view. Which is exactly what happened last summer. Now we have a family wedding coming up and we'll be staying at his house. I told my husband, I will not bring anything political up, but if he does, or his law partner (a pernicious repuke) does, I will not be bound by the agreement. Bombs away!!

I'll give DUers a report in December after my return from Wisconsin!

[Finder]

13. I cut off lending them money.

Ironically they are all Dems. I honestly tell them to ask Bush.

[hwmnbn]

14. Not only are my sister and her kids repugs....

they are racists too. We don't do holidays together anymore. Some nieces and grandkids' birthdays are only reason for contact. No politics discussed, I'm in and out in half-hour.

That sucks, we used to be close.

[B Calm]

22. I'm convinced the biggest draw to the GOP is racism.

Every republican I know is a damn racist. Had a republican coworker the other day telling me that Rosa Parks should have gave up her seat on that bus. When I asked why she should have, he just gave me a no-one-home blank stare...

[hwmnbn]

54. You know, you're correct...

underneath all the policy talk and conservative facade is that gnawing poison of racism. The RW media has made it acceptable to hate again by providing code words that are understood by their followers.

There's a meanness and fear that permeates their thinking. It is usually just below the surface and political discussions are a sure way to bring them to the top. It's not pretty.

[0007]

34. Know the feeling! My son that was raised in a hip household

is now a born again and a right wing radio listener of Rush Limbaugh. I'm very uncomfortable with his family.

[Ivan Sputnik]

15. "We'll have to agree to disagree."

Then change the subject.

[dennisnyc]

16. Remind them that we brought the EAGLE back from near extinction!

Recently, my older brother went on a long, illogical rant about how "environmentalists" were the cause of high gas prices.
When he had exhausted himself I said, "well, i really like the bald eagle."
This forced civil discussion about the need for regulation, protection, etc. I felt fantastic. I didn't bother countering all the falsehood in his rant.

[Ezlivin]

17. Grin, then casually reach up and sharpen my teeth

They are prey.

[cmd]

18. Ask them how they like the budget deficit

Then begin my rant on how unconservative this administration is.

[B Calm]

20. I snap right back, they run with their tail between their legs!

[abluelady]

23. I generally ask them a question?

"Why are you saying that?" They generally sputter and I nicely question them a little bit more. Most of them don't have answers that make a lot of sense, which even they realize. I love to force them to try to think. They can't do it.:D

Then I find the more I talk, the more they tend to agree with what I say. So then I end the discussion by saying, "you're not a conservative." They can't stand it.

[unpossibles]

24. like others

I will discuss if done with civility, and defend myself (verbally) if not. It's usually not that hard to do, although sometimes I get tired of them not listening and repeating that same crap, so I just walk away.

One of my favorite things to do with my dad (not too much of a winger, but definitely a conservative Libertarian and hypocritical about it) is to take him to a neighborhood that is in blight because of the deregulation and outsourcing he seems to love (now that he's retired, of course...) - it makes him very nervous and anxious, but I think it's good for him to see poverty first hand. It's harder to be non-empathetic when it surrounds you. Sadly, he still probably thinks it's all their fault, but... one step at a time.

My sister and law gang up on her father (my wife usually stays out of it) when he gets bully about it. We usually point out to him that he had to live on assistance for the good of his own family at one point in his life, and that his parents also helped him out. Usually shuts him up.

[YouthInAsia]

25. i trash republicans

[YouthInAsia]

26. i trash republicans

[Jara sang]

28. kick him in the nuts

j/k

[seabeyond]

29. i get ugly, really really ugly. and since i am the queen bee and

take care of all the males, nephews, brothers, father and sons, they all get quiet pretty fast. nah..... now they dont talk politics in my home when they come over. or. i get really really ugly.

[mzmolly]

30. I engage and make them very very sorry they ever attempted to do so.

:evilgrin:

[Cleita]

31. Tell them that they are bashing fellow Americans who

have a different political ideology than them and that Hitler would have approved. So if they don't want to come across as fascists, they should really be sure of what they are talking about.

[William769]

32. The only one's in my family I talk to are Liberals.

[Sapphocrat]

33. Cut them off...

...at least, after warning them repeatedly not to go there.

When my eldest cousin (Kool-Aid-drinking member of *'s "Rangers" club, keeps a life-size standup of * in his office, etc.) insisted on goading me while standing over my mother's bed in ICU (have these people no respect for anyone or anything at all?), I determined that was the last time we would speak.

That was nearly three years ago.

The repukes and brainwashed fundies in my extended family far outnumber the sane, rational liberals -- so I haven't been to a family function (save for one funeral) in some four years. And I'm much happier without the aggravation.

[nickyt]

38. "my mother's bed in ICU" - unbelievable. I think you may have nailed

a good point here I hadn't snapped to til now, though: an incredible lack of basic human decency and RESPECT seems to characterize these - and I use the term loosely - "people". Sorry you had to go through that, and glad it will never happen again -

[CTyankee]

42. I would kill

I mean, I had a situation with my mother in her last days and it was MY responsibility, as laid out in her trust, in NO UNCERTAIN terms, what she wanted done. NObody, I mean nobody, was gonna tell me what to do. This was in Texas, folks.

Thank god I had an ironclad living trust, made up by a lawyer who knew exactly what she was doing. She wrote it the way my mother told it and that was that. I honored my mother's wishes to the T.

The funny thing was that before this all happened I couldn't understand why my mother wanted the "Advanced directive to physicans," the "medical power of attorney," and my Guardianship over her. I thought it was overkill.

That was right before Terry Schiavo. Now I know.

[Carni]

44. I am dealing with the same thing with inlaws

Right after the first election I got told that I was full of and I quote *internet bullshit* when I dared to point out that Dick Cheney used to be the CEO of Halliburton--when I defended myself I was told that I had *no moral integrity* and a host of other insults (this from an asshole married to my husband's sister--she defended her hubby of course)

[MojoXN]

36. Either refuse to discuss politics with them...

Or cut them out of my life. For me, it's as simple as that. For everyone else, "Simplify!"

MojoXN

[Grillydad]

37. I jump and start (verbally) swinging

I live in a very Republican area. They typically have to look for someone to disagree with. My views are out there (or they assume they know what I believe) so some will seek me out to argue with me in condecending and gloating terms. I find if I hit hard, fast and without a lot of tact I don't have to put up with their brand of idiocy for long. It is rare that they are really trying to engage in any kind of legitamate exchange.

[Jed Dilligan]

39. Tell their kids thinly-veiled socialist fables

loudly and within earshot.

[nickyt]

40. If you handed 'em a copy of the Scanlon memo, might they quiet down?

Consider one memo highlighted in a Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday that Scanlon, a former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Tx., sent the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana to describe his strategy for protecting the tribe's gambling business. In plain terms, Scanlon confessed the source code of recent Republican electoral victories: target religious conservatives, distract everyone else, and then railroad through complex initiatives.


"The wackos get their information through the Christian right, Christian radio, mail, the internet and telephone trees," Scanlon wrote in the memo, which was read into the public record at a hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. "Simply put, we want to bring out the wackos to vote against something and make sure the rest of the public lets the whole thing slip past them." (Oct.2001)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/11/03/abramoff/index_np.html

http://indian.senate.gov/2005hrgs/110205hrg/110205exhibits.pdf

http://www.chris-floyd.com/jack/ page 199 "Mobilization"

[lonestarnot]

41. No one in my family would DARE to do that with me within earshot!

[davsand]

43. I give them a history lesson, THEN I move in for the kill.

I start out by saying that they are espousing an opinion--and that is a good thing in a representative democracy. I then talk about the fact that our nation was founded by a bunch of radical dissidents, and how we owe it to them to continue the debate of issues. I even lay it out that our first amendment rights are supremely important and we owe to any man or woman who ever fought in defense of this country and its ideals to stand and debate.

I start talking about the deficit spending, the exportation of US jobs and the threat it poses to our national security when we no longer have the capacity to produce consumer goods or even produce raw materials.

Then I proceed to chop hell out of whatever right wing crap they spewed in the first place. Gun control is one of my favorites, along with the subject of abortion or gay marriage. Honesty and integrity is getting to be another high point too...

I have a few really right wing family members, and the ones who have been unwise enough to come after me have not made that same mistake twice.



Laura

[DanCa]

45. My dad finally threw my sis out last week. He took her back in with

the following provisions. She isn't allowed to talk about religion or politics with anyone in the family or she will permently be out on her own. He also thank god banned her from watching fox and tbn.

[PassingFair]

50. Glad your family is back together, DanCa....

Where did your sister go before negotiating her way back into the fold?

[DanCa]

51. She stayed over with some friends I guess they wanted her to pay rent.

That straightened her out big time.

[PassingFair]

52. Chalk up one...

for the good guys!

Time for major rehabilitation!

[laureloak]

46. Shake your head and say, "I'll pray for you." Then walk away. nt

[grannylib]

47. Used to try to reason with them, talk factually, have given up since no

one who supports reThuglicans has half the sense God gave a goat, and they are not capable of reason. Facts mean nothing to them if they don't support their sick ideology.
Now I usually just sigh and say, "Boy, Daddy sure would be disappointed in you." or "How do you sleep at night, given the filth that fills your mind? I can't call it your conscience; you clearly don't have one." or "What are you doing in church every Sunday? Don't you think people can see right through your hollow, superficial 'faith'?" or something to that effect.

[Ladyhawk]

48. Lately, I've just started reviewing facts.

While I was simply giving her facts the other day, my mother said, "Are you angry with me?" I said, "No, I'm just telling you some things I've learned."

I don't say a bloody thing unless she brings it up first. At least, I don't think I do. :P I honestly think my family is incurable, so it's a waste of time to try to educate them, but I'm not going to simply shut up anymore.

All this nonsense about the army turning my brother's stepson into a man is getting to me. It's more likely to turn him into a corpse. :(

[YvonneCa]

53. I tell them I am one !

:7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7 :7

[Zhade]

55. Ask them if they're a member of the DLC.

*rimshot*

[politicat]

Self delete

EOM

[politicat]

57. Remind him that we can fire his ass...

The only conservative we really have is a cousin who is technically the point man for the family trust... but he doesn't have to stay in the job. When he gets going, he gets a gentle reminder that he could be out of a job on our whim. He shuts up.

Replacing him wouldn't be that expensive, and he's a good manager, not a stellar one. He also knows that all 5 of the trustees have math and or accounting backgrounds, so making money disappear would be really difficult.

Power can be fun!