How are you responding to this rightist meme?

[Cary]

I don't know if I can express this fully, but it is out there. They have deemed the election to be a resounding repudiation of all things liberal. They have declared our death. Blah, blah.

It is an interesting meme, if nothing else. I have responded by asking them what they think they're doing. Of course, we are still here. We haven't gone away. They can't simply kick us aside although that is clearly what they want to do. We will be there in 2006, and 2008 and we have the advantage of not really being responsible for what happens under their policies.

Of course this is nevertheless combined with their b.s. about how everything bad that is going on is our fault.

It is residual hubris, I know. It is something that will lead to their downfall as they overreach. Maybe we should let it die its own death?

Anyone else noticing this? Any thoughts on how to respond to it?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Let them misunderestimate us.

Then we'll kick them in the teeth.

They seem to forget that 1.5% ain't much of a swing in the grand scheme of things.

[Cary]

3. Ultimately, yes

They think they're pouring salt in our wounds?

So you say lay low and let the hubris die under its own weight?

[fertilizeonarbusto]

2. I tell them barely 51% is not overwhelming

Then I tell them to fuck off. The time for good manners is over.

[Cary]

5. And you say

go nose to nose with them on it?

[fertilizeonarbusto]

10. I say

Go nose to nose with them on EVERYTHING.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. A one percent "mandate". Yeah, liberalism is dead

*lol*


Morons. They have no idea how many of us there are.

------------------------------------------------------
Join the new Boston Tea Party!
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[cheezus]

14. Well, bush has a boy-date

that's what I say, and it really pisses them off

[aden_nak]

4. There are a few ways that I prefer.

1) I remind them that more people voted for John Kerry than for ANY other challenger to an incumbant President.
2) I point out that 51% is a narrow victory, not a mandate.
3) I explain that John Kerry, while certainly a Democrat, is not the embodiment of all things liberal. If anything, his defeat was a repudiation of all things moderate.
4) I spang them over the head with a shovel.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

6. I am particularly interested in your "shovel" method.

Do you prefer a cross-face motion, so as to hopefully extrude some teeth? Or do you prefer a more concussion-delivering downward, club-like blow to the top of the head?

[aden_nak]

8. I find that the back of the head is the most satisfying.

Because everyone else can see the look on their face when it happens. You can even arange to have it video taped. Though barring that, across the side, directly to the temple will allow you to get at least a partial view of their face at the moment of impact.

[atommom]

9. Yes, please expound on the shovel technique!

;)

[Dr Fate]

7. "The party of Jerry Fawell & David Duke always loses in the end..."

"...just look at civil rights & freedom from religion now-a-days as compared to 'the good old days.'"

That outta get their goat.

[LittleClarkie]

11. Did they do this after Dukakis and Mondale too

If we didn't die after those campaigns, I doubt we'll just shrivel up after a 49-51 loss where they had to, if not fraud the vote, then suppress the living hell out of it.

Oh yeah, they should be so proud :eyes:

I think they're like a short guy wearing lifts. They know they're really short underneath, so they're overcompensating by trying to talk big.

[Cary]

13. I would like to see some scholarly thought on this.

[Carolab]

15. Here's how I respond.

Right-wing extremists are domestic terrorists. Any group that will not tolerate the existence of another group and threatens its existence particularly with violence is a terrorist organization.

[PurityOfEssence]

16. take away the Texas gerrymandering, and they LOST GROUND IN THE HOUSE

Their blatant thievery in the Texas redistricting didn't even give them as many seats as they thought, as Chet Edwards can attest. Take away the seats gained in Texas from this illegal defiance of the Federal Courts and a lawful redistricting in '01, and they had a net loss in the House.

Yeah, they took red-state Senate seats, but even through their thievery in Florida and Ohio weren't able to get much more than 2 per cent of an edge in the popular vote. The winner-take-all mentality is disgusting, and fits perfectly with a conservative worldview: others simply shouldn't exist. Whether the field is split or not, the shrieks of the privileged ring loudest.

[Cary]

17. It disgusts me too.

How do we counter it?

On the one hand I say fight like hell. On the other, I think their hubris and their over reaching will be their ultimate undoing.

They are, though, ultimately reactionary. They need to brush up against us to make their case. They will, predictably, find some way to blame their failure on us. We've seen this in so many flavors: 1) it's Clinton's fault; 2) dissenters are traitors, undermining their efforts; 3) Bush isn't really conservative; . . .

By fighting like hell, do we enable them?

[DemGa]

18. I tell them it's not wise to misunderestimate an opponent n/t

[TalkingDog]

19. Liberalism is dead.....Painting is dead

I can only relate this to the idea in the art world that painting is dead. That it has nothing new or interesting to offer. My students will often bring this idea up when they want to be contentious or to show that what they are learning is a waste of time.

Years past I would often use "Buffy" to give them an alternative understanding of what being "dead" actually means.

I would ask them who the most interesting characters on the show were: dead or living?

And which of the two had to work within the constraints of society? In other words, which ones had to follow all the rules: dead or living?

After a series of such questions they would finally begin to see that there was a freedom in being dead and ignored. You could play with the system, play with the ideas within the system and have a better time doing it.

I'm all for being dead. Viva la Mort!

[Bridget Burke]

20. Everything bad going on is THEIR fault.....

They've got all 3 branches of government now. Have had for some time, in fact. 9/11, War in Iraq, struggling economy--all on their heads.

And 51% of the voters who bothered to turn out is not impressive. Especially when you figure in the electronic vote factor.

[Debs]

21. I remind them

That before this presidential election we won the popular vote in THREE presidential elections in a row, then tell them when they win the popular vote in four elections in a row, we can talk

[youngred]

22. 48% and the second most votes for a presidential candidate in history

are signs of life and strong disagreement with Bush...not our death. If we'd actually run a half decent campaign and your side weren't full of ignorant morons (1/2 of Bush's supporters don't know basic facts about his policies) we'd have won handily