I ain't dropping no friends over politics.

[txaslftist]

It's just politics.

Come on, folks, we all blog like this is important and earth shaking, but the really bad stuff we don't really talk about much. Like the war.

Our little dustup in Afghanistan has gone on longer than any war we've ever been in, and shows no sign of easing up. Where are all the antiwar people who supported Obama and got him into the White House? Well, he's in there, it ain't like he promised them nothing, and they already voted for him and paid money and put his bumper sticker on they cars, right? They say, "well, what about us?"

"I don't know you people. I didn't promise you nothing." And rightly so. They was what you call 'friends of convenience.'

So what about the federal debt?

Oh, it's real bad, real reckless. We gotta have some fiscal discipline. Them Pubbies spend like reckless drunken sailors using someone else's credit card. We gotta vote for some Democrats. Well, did the Democrats promise debt reduction? Did they? No. Them fiscal hawks wasn't promised nothing. That was one of them 'expedient political alliances,' and now that alliance ain't necessary no more.

And what about civil rights?

Them Pubbies was real bad, wrecking the constitution and all, invading our constitutional rights, taking away our freedom of speech with that patriot act, singling out people so they could be persecuted without no trials, dong searches without warrants...

So? Was you promised that your civil liberties would be restored? Did someone promise you that the President wouldn't assume the right to kill people without trials? Was you, personally, promised that the TSA wouldn't look at naked pictures of you at the airport? Was you? I don't recollect it, do you? Okay, then. That respect for civil liberties thing, well, that was one of them friendships for the sake of an objective, which was an election, and now the election is over, the objective was achieved, and now we ain't that good of friends no more.

How about single payer health care? That there was a biggie, right?

Well, was you, personally, ever promised that your insurance premiums wouldn't go up? Was you, personally, promised that the bill that got through wouldn't make more money for the insurance companies than it produced in coverage? Was you promised that? Did someone promise you 'single payer'? I didn't think so. You see, we was never really friends. We was more like "allies of the moment".

I got friends. They gonna love me no matter how I vote. I'm gonna love them no matter how they vote. I don't care about their politics. They don't care about mine. But if I lose my job, I can bunk at their house, and so can my kids. They're loyal. They do what they promise to me, because we are friends.

I don't have no friends in Washington.

[txaslftist]

1. ... and that is crickets...

[Nuclear Unicorn]

17. My lover boy/hubby is conservative

I know he adores me, would do anything for me and expects me to be my own person even if that means we vote differently.

I wouldn't give him up for anything.

I'm certainly not giving him up over politicians who take my contributions and then make excuses why they don't follow through.

Someone down-thread said politics is a moral and ethical choice. I suppose that is true but I think we haven't really found moral and ethical politicians so, like you, I will stay with the people who love me and support who I am as a person.

And we have a lot of fun too!

[Bigmack]

2. I've tried to answer this post with something that ...

doesn't insult the OPer.

Difficult.

This shit is serious now, and getting more serious.... war, economy, jobs, military spending, the poor.... The direction this country is headed is down, and the government actions will either mitigate the effects on the vast majority of Americans, or make a few even richer at the expense of all of us.

I can't even pretend it doesn't make a huge difference to me.

If a friend is a Republibagger, I have no time for them. I have none of those people around me. A Republican? Our world views are totally at odds. What do we have in common?

We can go fishing together or something, but I don't talk politics with them, and if they insist.... we're done entirely.

It's a matter of values, and since values are important to me, I don't hang out with people whose values are the opposite of mine.

[txaslftist]

3. Insults are cool.

I don't mind.

But I live in a red, red place. Lubbock.

1) If I limited my friends to Democrats, I wouldn't have many at all.

2) The Democrats I have sent money to and voted for haven't exactly turned things around. I know that the pubbies have filibustered us 100 times or so, and it ain't exactly fair to say the Dems haven't been working for us, but with a dem house and senate and white house, I shouldn't be driving to Dallas because the thought of naked pictures of my wife being passed around by TSA goons makes me, literally, sick, so I can't fly. That shit is ALL executive branch.

3) People change their views. And maybe you have spent too much time here, among the idealogically similar. Maybe you should talk to some of your neighbors, even the Red ones, see where they are coming from.

4) We really are about to go through the worst economic crisis our nation has seen since the Great Depression. There really is nothing left the government can do to avoid it. Really. Take a look at the economic collapse blog. It's alarmist, but it's also all true. You are going to need friends, and most of them pubbies keep a lot of fresh meat in their freezers.

You might think that's specious. It might be. Let's hope so.

[AndrewP]

23. Same here

But I am lucky in that my immediate family are Democrats/Liberals and my close friends are as well. So I don't have to "make a choice". Perhaps I don't get close to people who are raging Republicans because of their politics, but that's alright with me. So be it.

[trayfoot]

4. I have lost friends because of my politics.......

as has my husband. In our cases, we begged our friends to not send "those" emails and "don't discuss politics". They could not leave it alone. After awhile it became so bad that we finally just blocked their emails and calls. I live in a very red area, too. But I refuse to allow myself to be harrassed by reTHUGs! If they had truly been friends, they would have "ceased and desisted", as was aked of them. Since they couldn't do that, they can go to hell as far as we are concerned.

[XanaDUer]

7. Done the same, and they *can't* drop it, can they?

nt.

[txaslftist]

9. Those weren't friends. More like "obnoxious acquaintances"

[AlinPA]

11. That happened to us. In one case though I managed to preserve the friendship. I called

the woman who was sending the emails and told her how I felt about it and told her our friendship was too valuable to lose over this. She stopped the emails entirely and apologized profusely. I know she has tea bagger sentiments (but doesn't go to their rallies).

Two other people with the racist "jokes" about the President- I just told them to remove me from their mailing lists altogether and I never copy them on any emails about anything. We haven't asked them to come over anymore either. I don't need those kind of "friends".

[ScreamingMeemie]

5. Sorry, I disagree. When I ask someone to stop posting R spam on my

wall he's no family/friend of mine. When he is gleeful that I can no longer get health coverage, regardless of my wish to pay for it, he is no friend of mine. :hi:

[XanaDUer]

6. That's fine, unless the insist on discussing politics

which, imh experience, they do.

[txaslftist]

10. nothing wrong with discussing politics with reds...

so long as everyone minds their ps and qs.

hell, you might talk some sense into them or find common ground.

Might even find some arguments that work, like "let's end the war and cut the deficit"

Hell, not many Pubbies can come back on that one. They know the war is over and we're just over there pissing money away. If they say "well, we gotta fix them countries" it's pretty easy to demonstrate that we can't. If they believe in the free market, they gotta believe that if we show up with money, the Saudis will show up with oil, so we got no strategic interest...

That's a Pubbie argument against the war.

[AlinPA]

13. "Pubbie" sounds like a lovable name for them.

[XanaDUer]

19. Naw, not this one

Just take my word for it.

[Jennicut]

8. My parents vote Republican but other then that they are pretty

nice folks. They vote idiotic but have always helped me out (I am a type 1 diabetic, medication costs a lot). I have tried to make them see that voting for Dems would help my situation but no go. I still see no point in cutting them out of my life, they have their ideas and beliefs and I have mine. I think we know we can't change each other.

[RayOfHope]

12. Politics is a moral and ethical choice. I can't be friendly with people who

want to deny other people choices or rank certain people to be second class citizens, deny people access to health care, clean air and water, or just refuse to vote for anything beyond their own pocket or front door.

[AlinPA]

14. Same here. It takes too much energy to "work with them."

[Lilyeye]

15. If they're sexist, racist and homophobic assholes? Damn right I will drop them as friends and have.

I do have other friends who are republican and they're good people. If I see any indication that they're like the ones I dropped...BUH BYE to them to.

[Lisa0825]

24. Exactly! I only have about 3 Republican friends left, and they are only

the type who think Republicans are better for national security and the economy. Yes, they are wrong, but I can accept them being wrong because they don't buy into the social conservatism. Those who showed their true colors to me, who turned out to be bigots, I dumped with no regrets.

[RagAss]

16. Ask yourself how they were friends to begin with ?

[xultar]

18. So, if your friend was calling Mexicans racist names you'd be cool with that?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

20. I have no friends, so tis easy for me.

[ProfessorGAC]

29. Well, This Wins The Personal Honesty Award!

Reminds me of the line in Breakfast Club when Allie Sheety answers A. M. Hall about whether she'd ignore him on Monday, and she says "I don't have any friends, but if i did i wouldn't do that. I think the kind of friends i'd have wouldn't mind."

Great reply, CA.
GAC

[lightningandsnow]

21. I usually can't find common ground with very conservative people.

Libertarian is one thing - I can turn the other way when they start talking about fiscal issues. I just find I have nothing in common with very socially conservative people, no matter which party they vote for.

For one thing, my activism and my politics are a huge part of my life.

For another, I'm a queer, Jewish, polyamorous woman with a disability. To be very socially conservative is usually to be against who I am as a person, and I really can't be friends with people like that.

So, really, in terms of people who are actually my friends and not just facebook friends, "dropping friends" is a non-issue. People like that usually aren't my friends in the first place.

[Swede]

22. I have friends and family that I cannot talk politics with.

So we don't.

[Terra Alta]

25. The key is to not discuss politics.

I have a good friend who is a GOPuke.. we don't discuss politics and we get along just fine. She's a real nice person, just her politics are screwed up.

[lynne]

26. Same here! I won't discuss politics with family/friends for that reason, I come here instead -

- Politics come and go. Family and friends are both precious and few and I'm not willing to lose either over what is usually a matter of opinion. Life's far too short to lose any time with anyone over politics.

[sufrommich]

27. Me neither. Life is too short. nt

[Darth_Kitten]

28. Some "friends" you should and can drop.....

If people are fundamentally different from you, attack your choices, harbour racist/sexist/homophobic views, etc, why be friends with them? (JMO) :)

Slight differences in views I could stand, but somebody fundamentally different? I wouldn't necessarily dislike them, but I would limit my contact with them.

There are happier, more open-minded people out there.