Interesting discussion with my sister's new boyfriend (R)

[AllyCat]

He's actually quite a nice man and we had an actual discussion about our feelings about the direction of the country with some emphasis on health care reform. No yelling. No argument. Just listening to the other talk and asking questions of the other.

He likes Palin. He asked me what I thought of Obamacare. We talked about HEALTH CARE REFORM and many of the reasons I don't like it, largely that it does not go far enough to help people and hurts quite a few. He used lots of the talking points and probably thought I did too.

I said I felt that most people don't want to sit on unemployment and would like to have a job and are willing to work hard. He disagreed. Part of my argument was that when unemployment numbers were around 5%, the consensus was that most people who wanted a job had one. I reminded him that was during the Clinton years. If one assumed the worst case scenario, that ALL of those 5% just didn't really feel like working, the remaining 95% were working their fool heads off and loving life. That 5% was in all probability not a real number, but I don't know for sure and he admitted neither did he. Now that unemployment is hovering at 10%, depending which figures are used, there are a good number of people who want to work and can't find it. Many more beyond the 10% are taking low wage jobs, just to be doing something and are UNDERemployed. He agreed. We talked about how those people wanting unemployment bennies after 99 months are unable to make ends meet with a job flipping burgers or ringing up gas and ciggies. He finally agreed with me on that.

Then he said the most remarkable thing: I wish the government would just start a jobs program like they did with the CCC in '30s and '40s. I asked him to repeat what he'd said and he stated it again, saying that getting people back to work would be the best way to improve our lot and the economy. I was floored. He was serious.

We found some common ground. Not sure I changed his mind on anything else, but he seemed to agree that people want to work and that is the entrepreneurial spirit of this country.

[Duer 157099]

1. People like him need to reexamine whether they really are Rs

I firmly believe that if people took a quiz that really asked the correct questions in the correct way about their deepest held beliefs, that there would be virtually no actual republicans.

I really believe this. That most republicans honestly do not know what *their* party really stands for.

[AllyCat]

2. They think they are for less government

and don't realize they are actually for more of a different kind.

[freshwest]

3. Correct. Controlled by corporations and churches.

[RKP5637]

12. +1, n/t

[hedgehog]

4. These are the people Obama is trying to reach. Many condemn him

for trying to hard to reach compromise. I think he knows that if he comes across as a Leftie, a lot of people will automatically tune out anything he has to say. If he seems reasonable, they may actually listen.

[RKP5637]

11. I agree with you. I know several republicans that really do not match the

profile of modern republicans, yet they vote republican. In fact for quite a few I think voting republican is more of a reflex than studied choice.

The republicans are masters of deception and hence IMO suck a lot of people into thinking they are republicans. Many republicans vote in their own worst interest and are then proud of their vote. We have a whole state of them.

[progressoid]

5. Here is where our media has completely screwed this country.

People don't know that the "socialism" they've been told is so horrible is the very thing they want. And our media is complicit is the dumbing down of America.

[nevergiveup]

8. You nailed it!

[RKP5637]

13. +1000 +++ n/t

[GoCubsGo]

6. Did you explain to him why we didn't start a jobs program like in the 30s and 40s?

Whose fault is that, Sonny?

[Odin2005]

7. A lot of "conservatives" are actually mostly liberal people that vote right over single issues.

many seem to vote Puke because they think if they vote for "baby killers" they will go to hell, no matter how liberal they are elsewhere.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. And the men are just turned on by Sarah Palin

I'm convinced it's just a sexual thing. She's their pinup girl.

[pansypoo53219]

10. i think clinton's unemployment got down to 2%.

think georgee and the gnews media talked about his 5% as swonderful and made us forget.

[Statistical]

15. No. U-3 hasn't been below 4% since 1965.

It is actually very difficult to sustain U-3 of less than 5% which is my most economists (even liberal ones) consider 5% U-3 to be "full employment".

[MadHound]

14. Keep working on him,

You never know, underneath all that crap from Faux news and such that has encrusted his higher thought process, you might just find a progressive, even liberal person. Truth is like sunshine, the great cleanser. Educate yourself so that you can educate him.

I live out in a very red county, in a red state, and have found that if you make friends with people, talk rationally and truthfully with them, you will have a great chance of swaying them towards the truth, and thus shall set them free.

[AllyCat]

17. Just talked to my sister and he told her that I made him think about some things

that had not occurred to him before now. Here's hoping.

[bvar22]

16. To fully comprehend how pathetic the HCR bill is,

simply compare it to what is taken for granted in the rest of the civilized WORLD.

The most effective arguments I have used when discussing "Health Care" with conservatives is that countries WITH Universal HealthCare pay 1/2 as much for twice the amount of REAL Health Care.

"Big Government" IS very good at some things.
National Insurance is one of those things.

[AllyCat]

18. I mentioned that to him and he said he wasn't sure about those numbers

I'm hoping he'll start looking into them. We pay a fortune for worse care than they have and fewer have access.

[Kablooie]

19. It used to be that conservatives had true beliefs and opinions.

You could discuss issues and disagree but sometime they had valid points.
Your view would get them thinking and their view would get you thinking.
It was a much more productive system.

Now their points are simply lies, hysteria and insanities.
There is nothing left that can be discussed.

There is no conservative viewpoint anymore, just vacuous fantasies.

It's sad.