My friend said something that really pissed me off tonight.

[rep the dems]

A couple friends and I were walking around the fair, which seems to have become a breeding ground for moronic conservatives. Balloons reading "Vote Republican" and stickers featuring names like Lynn Swann, and Rick Santorum are now all too common. As we walked past the tent featuring all the Republican crap I said something like "God I hate those candidates" to which my friend replied, "It's not like the democrats are any less full of shit."

For those of you wondering, this friend of mine is pro choice, against the Iraq War, Pro same sex marriage, and adamantly against Bush. But still, he has bought into the idea that "Both parties are exactly the same."

I tried not to make too big a deal about it, but this really bothered me. I'm not saying every democrat is great, certainly that's not true, but there are plenty of hard working democrats who stand up for our beliefs. But he doesn't care.

My friends, this is the kind of person who, when old enough to vote will either vote for some 3rd party candidate he has never heard of, or just not vote at all. And that is what really bothered me. How can we get people to support our candidates and vote democratic if people keep up this belief that we're no different from the republicans?

[freeplessinseattle]

1. for starters

show him the breakdown of House and Senate votes on issues that matter to him, while our leaders can certainly do better they are definitely different than the repugs.

[uberblonde]

2. Here's my stock reply.

"Let's say you're right, and both parties are crooks. At least the Democrats throw the working people a bone instead of stealing it all."

[grasswire]

3. call him on it

That's ridiculous. Point out the history of the Democratic Party.

[rurallib]

4. I hear that all the time and have yet to come up with a good response

I usually say that you only say that because it's what you hear on TV and the Republicans own the media so they can undermine Democrats and good indys with that crap. If you do some reading I think you'd change.
Sadly when I challenge them on getting their views from TV I lose them. Of course they do and they will continue to do so forever. And they will never read.

[rep the dems]

10. I told him he was just following the hippie philosophy.

Not that I hate hippies or anything, but I don't like the fact that many of them seemed to hate pretty much every politician.

[bananas]

14. Do you consider Willie Nelson a hippie? He campaigned for Dennis Kucinich

[rep the dems]

24. I don't mean all hippies, but from what I've seen it seems that many

of them just hate the government, and think that all politicians are the same. There are probably many people who were hippies who have now changed their minds about them, but since the friend of mine has had a growing interest in the hippie culture, I think it may be what led him to his disliking of both parties.

[MadMaddie]

5. Somehow we have to get them educated...

yes there are bad apples in both parties...

But we need to ask them what have the Repugs done for you lately? Higher gas prices, higher grocery bills, unending war....rampant stupidity....

Ask him who has had control of Congress for the last 12 years? Then ask him the big whopper if there is a war with Iran or whomever the next country is...is he willing to get drafted? That is what is going to happen....He is going to have to make an educated choice for his life and for the countries well being.

[Robbien]

6. At least the Dems aren't digging in your pocket to give tax cuts to the

rich.

Which would have been my response.

[billbuckhead]

8. Agree, but say the Dems are a little bit better & democracy demands change

It's the truth afterall.

[Cha]

7. This needs to be explained calmly

that..there are dino dems like lieberman who promote the republicon agenda and there are Dems like Lamont who is actually trying to do something about the direction of our Country.

And surely there's a damn republican out there who isn't in for greed, oil, and power? I think I remember some who actually changed their party recently because they didn't like what they stood for anymore..sorry no links.

[rep the dems]

11. He used Hillary Clinton as an example of why our party sucks,

and I told him he probably couldn't name any other democrats in the senate, to which he admitted with the exception of John Kerry (whom he claims also sucks).

[Cha]

17. He should read some of Kerry's

speeches lately..be hard pressed to say he "sucks"!

[rep the dems]

25. It's just more of the same crap that people were saying in 2004:

"I hate Bush, but Kerry is still an idiot. I mean just listen to the way he talks and how weird looking he is." One moron starts saying that shit and a chain reaction starts, with everyone saying how bad a candidate Kerry is, without a single real reason. One thing I've noticed about people my age is the more unique they try to be, the more they sound like everybody else.

[tblue37]

21. What a well-informed, detailed, and

cogent argument, "So and so sucks." How can you argue against such brilliant analysis?

[midnight]

9. Democrats and Republicans are different.

Economically Dems. put more money into the economy,eduction, health care, and that in turn gives us stability. The Republicans sneak about taking no bid contracts, spy on us all illegally, slash grants,and other resources to provide training for jobs, and they love to find ways to put money into the pockets of those that already have pockets that are overflowing. The Republicans take away stability.

[madeline_con]

22. Yep, and sick as it is....

that gives them even more power in some circles, because it helps feed their "fear as a way of life" policy. They can blame the "axis of evil" for every woe in the U.S. :puke:

[Ravy]

12. See pretty much the same thing on DU occasionally....

I don't understand it, either.

[EFerrari]

13. Me, me! There are some voters who wil always get more upset

when one of their own fails them than when the enemy does the expected larceny.

I'm not saying it's a particularly productive way to be, but some of us seem to be like that.


As we crawl to political maturity, we begin to notice that negotiation plays a bigger role than we thought, bigger than we'd like and not as big as we'd hope.

[abluelady]

15. These Are The Same People

Who sit home on their behinds and do nothing to help make America a better place. They are negative and cynical. They just talk sound bites. There isn't much you can say to them, except a sound bite that they might respond to. We don't cut taxes for the rich might be a good one. It is very frustrating. Personally, I try to stay away from those types.

[rep the dems]

26. It is frustrating, but he's been my friend for quite a while.

And we both have 2 years before we can vote, so maybe I can get him to see the light by 2008.

[ComerPerro]

16. Would Democratic control have given us nothing but

tax cuts for the wealthy, a vetoed stem-cell research bill, a failed flag-burning amendment, and a failed gay marriage amendment (twice)????

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[EC]

19. I usually just ask them

"and which way would you like all that graft to work? For us - the ordinary working stiff, or for the super-rich 1%?"

[hedgehog]

20. This is Reagan's big lie - that the government is the enemy and

all politicians are crooks. If all politicians are crooks, it doesn't matter who gets elected. To be a politician is a noble calling. Trying to solve the problems of your society by coming up with a fair compromise that everyone can live with, what could be more honorable than that? Selling your country to the highest bidder; that's not politics, that criminal.

[Dhalgren]

23. My reply to this stuff is usually something like this:

It is true that Democrats and Republicans are very close on many issues and it is true that the two parties differ a good deal on policies and implementations, but the big difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that with Democrats you will have the freedom to affect those changes in the culture and the society, in the government and politics that you are capable of changing; with the Republicans you're just marking time till the camps are ready...

[seabeyond]

27. i don't let any republican get away with that anymore. they are NOT

the same. this administration and republican party as a whole is far beyond what the dems do. i dont let it stand. my hubby use to say the same. he doesnt say it anymore but i know he feels that way. though he does recognize this party is uniquely bad, first time ever he voted democrat, and walked from repug party. iraq got him to vote kerry. katrina disgusted him with his old party. NOT the same

[TahitiNut]

28. Maybe it's actually true FOR YOUR FRIEND.

Maybe your friend doesn't have the option of voting for Feingold, since he doesn't live in Wisconsin. Maybe your friend doesn't have the option of voting for Boxer, since he doesn't live in California. Maybe your friend doesn't have the option of voting for Conyers, since he doesn't live in Michigan's 14th Congressional District.

The point I'm making is that partisans take a perspective from the point of view of the political party but many voters merely look at the choices available to them, on the ballot they receive. How the fuck is a non-partisan in Nebraska supposed to vote for Senator?