Every year I attend a BBQ held by a friend of the family. Her name is Deborah and sadly is a big-time Republican, though oddly enough not so much a conservative (well socially at least). Now her late father and my father go way back, fought together in North Africa in WW2, so these people are practically family. Well, as mentioned, she holds an Independence Day BBQ cook out every year, and my father goes out of respect... and a free meal. Outside of me, sometimes, he's the only other non-Republican at these things.
Now, since 2000, since I started finding myself parting ever farther from Republican politics, my appearances at this cook out have been on and off. The reason being was that many of the folks there are die hard conservatives, and arguments tended to be twenty to one. You can probably guess who was that 'one.' Its a real turn about, considering, that Debbie was the person that got me into politics (particularly the GOP) when I was a young Johnny Venom. The folks at the BBQ were my political kin for a long time, and when I turned the other way, it came to them as a shock.
You'd be amazed, once you change parties, how fast your "friends" can quickly become your enemies. Well, it's not like they wish me ill will, well most of them don't, just that they find it much better if I weren't voting. Anyways, my father goes and gets Debbie's brother a belated birthday gift (his being on the 1st of July), a large set of grilling utensils and stuff. Of course, an 83 year old isn't going to bother with hauling that, no that's apparently were I come in. Reluctantly, or probably I'm just very stupid, I agreed. Ok, I'm gonna skip a whole bunch of boring bits, what with the greetings and such. What I really want to get to is a series of conversations I had with some of these selfish gits.
Now conversations ebb and flow on all sorts of things. So, instead, I'm just gonna break them down by topics. You don't really have to know their names, they're conservatives. And, for the most part, you've probably already got an idea on what they are going say for the most part. Still, allow me to irritate your senses a bit just to show you what kind of assholes we're dealing with who want more power or at least keep what they got. A little reminder to all the factions of the liberal/progressive side and the Democratic Party, why we need to stay unified. Because of folks like PUMA are successful in stopping Barack Obama, we could have what is said below as the mindset for policy!
"Healthcare"
Me: So yes, I'm voting for Barack because as someone on Medicare and now Medicaid, now's the time for universal care. What we have now is not enough, and I would like proper coverage without the current limitations.
Older male conservative engineer: No you don't. Trust me, I've traveled around the world on business. What they have is socialized medicine.
Middle-aged female conservative chimes in: John, do you really want to wait in lines the next time you need surgery?
Older male conservative engineer: Most places, socialized medicine is failing. I've got property in Florida, we got Canadians flocking down there and you know what? They come down here to use our hospitals because they can't wait any longer! No, there's a better way!
Me: Better way? How? (I was curious as to how he would say what I thought he would)
Older male conservative engineer: You need to have real market forces to drive competition to lower prices.
Me: But we have a free market system in healthcare now, and I still can't get coverage!
Older male conservative engineer: No, what we have is half-ass markets in healthcare, but we need to remove the government from it all together.
Me: what about the poor?
Older male conservative engineer: That's what charities and religious organizations are for. Let them run a special hospital for folks like that. Also, we have Stroger Hospital, those people can have access to that.
Now, what I think should be developed, if the government HAS to come in, is to just grant everyone catastrophic care. So if you get a disease or a car accident, then the government comes in.
Me: What about doctors?
Older male conservative engineer: Doctors can be paid with private insurance that will be mad cheaper. They're going to have to compete.
Me: Since when do you ever see a doctor compete in price??
Older male conservative engineer: They will when they have no choice or else they should find another business.
"Jobs and Trade"
We started eating, and I suddenly found myself sitting next to Older Male Conservative and Female Plastics Lady. Female Plastics Lady made her living in some odd fashion being a "middle man" selling plastics to manufacturers around the world. She seemed to be all decked out in patriotic garb, with an armada of political buttons resembling medals on a general's chest. My father made the mistake of bringing up jobs.
Now he's not mister free trader, far from it. He's an old style trade unionist who has been warning about the perils of free trade since God knows when. Unfortunately for him, this wasn't the crowd that would partake kindly to that. So when my father brought up the recent news how we lost 62,000 jobs, one shouldn't be surprised about the reaction.
Female Plastics Lady: It's natural, why complain?
Old Man Lou: But now they have to find work. Where are they going to go?
Old Male Conservative Engineer: Then let them retrain and find a new job.
Me: Natural?? That's just nonsense! C'mon, we'll have nothing at this rate!
Female Plastics Lady: Yes, its the way its always been. We've always gone through periods where people lose jobs but new industries come along.
Old Man Lou: But what if there are no new industries? A man needs to feed his family.
Old Male Conservative Engineer: Then they can get charity, or go on welfare until they find work.
Me: I thought you didn't like the government getting involved?
Old Male Conservative Engineer: I don't, but we're throwing money away on them as it is, and they won't kill it off. So it's here, but they should be forced to find work.
Old Man Lou: I blame free trade, we got all the jobs going for slave wages in China.
Female Plastics Lady: Look, this is a good thing. When you go into a store, like say Walmart, prices are cheap. Americans demand cheaper prices. Well how do you expect that to happen?
Old Male Conservative Engineer: Yes, exactly.
Female Plastics Lady: Globalization, its here. You have to adapt. Look, I could care less if someone loses his job.
Old Man Lou: Oh come on, what if it were you?
Female Plastics Lady: It was me, back 15 years ago. But I decided to educate myself, and now I have my own business and I'm making money. There is nothing stopping anyone from doing this. Its not my problem and it shouldn't be your concern if someone loses their job. People will always find a job in this country.
Old Man Lou: But we need the manufacturing jobs here. We need to protect them.
Female Plastics Lady: So what you want is for someone to take my money and putting it to save companies to protect jobs? That isn't how it works! We shouldn't be subsidizing businesses just to save some work here. You have to be cost effective.
At this point, she takes off her sunglasses and starts waving her right hand in various directions, and then continues on.
Female Plastics Lady: Look, China is now losing jobs to Vietnam because they aren't cost effective in some industries. I know, I deal with them a lot in my business. Companies will go where it is most cost effective, Lou, you just can't change that!
"The Price of Gas"
An hour later we began finishing up our meal, Deb had brought some wine and desert cakes and ice cream. One of the later arrived guests came by our table, with a book, "Hatred's Kingdom" by Dore Gold, a belated birthday gift for Michael. We all said hello, and then the topic got onto gas.
Late Guest: Just filled up my car, Jesus gas was expensive. Ended up filling my tank up for almost $100.
Female Plastics Lady: What kind of car do you have?
Late Guest: Expedition.
The table gives out an "ah".
Late Guest: We need to bring the prices down.
Much at the table agree, well minus a 4 year old in an over sized "God Bless the USA" t-shirt who joins the table to eat a star-shaped cookie.
Middle Age Female Conservative: I hear you. That's why we need to drill more.
Old Male Conservative Engineer: Well, we better move fast. The Chinese are already drilling off of Cuba.
Late Guest: Why should they be getting that oil when it's so close for us to take it?
Me: There are no Chinese oil companies off western Cuba. It's already been proven to be a story cooked up by Cheney.
Female Plastics Lady: Oh get off that, they are drilling off of Cuba. And you know what else, don't be surprised if you find them drilling near California soon!
Old Male Conservative Engineer: Would figure, California hates the US, probably would give the oil to China.
Late Guest: We need to open up new fields.
Middle Age Female Conservative: Like ANWAR! Dammit, I've been saying this for years! Same with off California and Florida! Stupid environmentalists, they are keeping this country back!
"Iraq and terrorism"
By this point, Middle Age Female Conservative had jumped onto Iraq and national security.
Middle Age Female Conservative: Those liberals want to basically keep this country neutered! Limit our energy so that we are incapable of defending ourselves. Hell, this is what the terrorists want, you know!
Me: I highly doubt al Qaeda has infiltrated the environmental movement.
Female Plastics Lady: Pfft..not the way the liberal green wack jobs act. The Democrats think the same way. Bunch of dumb hippies who think we can live in this koom-ba-ya 'oh aren't we all great we get along' commune garbage. No, you watch, your boy steals the White House, and he'll pull our boys from Iraq. You know what that means don't you?
Me: That our friend's wish of having lower gas prices will come true?
Middle Age Female Conservative: Don't be a smart ass. No, and I'll tell you, I would take this as a personal slap in the face of that hoodlum does that. I've got two sons over there! They've worked their butts off over there, and now he (Obama) would just throw all that away?!
Repeatedly pointing her index finger onto the glass top table, her voice now in a slightly higher tone.
Middle Age Female Conservative: You remove those troops from Iraq, and the terrorists are going to be running that place in 24 hours! Then, your good friend, will have to resend the troops!
Old Male Conservative Engineer: He'll be a black Jimmy Carter. Then you watch, America will be pissed again and we'll get a new Ronald Reagan. You know, in a way, I kinda hope he wins this November.
Female Plastics Lady: Gary (that's OMCE's real name) you're nuts! You put that Chicago gangster in the White House, and he and his muslim allies will allow those fanatics to do what they please. Today it's Iraq, but who knows where tomorrow.
Middle Age Female Conservative: Oh, God, I wish this president would just get it done already.
Me: Get what done?
Middle Age Female Conservative: What needs to be done to secure us and our allies. We need to go into Iran, we should have had troops in Pakistan, screw what's his name. McCain gets in, you watch, he'll get the job done!
Me: You're crazy. No way a war with Iran will solve anything! We're already over extended.
Middle Age Female Conservative: You want Iranians getting the bomb, John? Do you want terrorists blowing up Israel? I say let the Israelis get in on this too. If they go, we go.
Late Guest: You don't want Iran to get the bomb. Kiss our cities goodbye.
"Barack Obama"
Deborah finally came to our table. She saw my Obama button (fuck it, I wear that everywhere!) and she gave a sour face to me. Suddenly, she rubbed her forearm and then pointed at my button.
Deborah: You see this John? Whit skin. You think he likes that? No way. I wouldn't vote for an anti-Semite, he hates Jews John. You know he's really a Muslim, don't you?
Me: Deb, that's a bunch of crap, and you know it. There is no way in hell I'm going to believe all that. Besides, the man's half white, for crying out loud!
Female Plastics Lady: But still a Muslim.
Me: No, he's not!
Deborah: How do you know? The media? They want a black person in so they can feel better about themselves.
Me: Because he isn't. And as for the media...huh?
Old Male Conservative Engineer: And how about that reverend? You telling me, for twenty years he didn't know what kind of church that was.
Me: Wait a minute, if you're admitting he went to church, then you are in agreement he isn't a Muslim?
Old Male Conservative Engineer: No, because they can hide their faith very well.
Me: I think you're crazier than Janis (Middle Age Female Conservative)!
The banter went on, topics from Retzko to Indonesia to Michelle came up. "She hates America" basically was the meme when it came to her. These idiots were in total agreement that should Obama win, that the GOP would take the Senate. And that in the following by-election of 2010, retake the House, in the belief that folks wanted gridlock.
I hope you can see why we need to win. You all probably have your own 'Female Plastics Lady' or 'Old Male Conservative Engineer'. These are real people, and sadly, across this country clones of these individuals abound. They vote, and probably would do what they can to get others to go to their side.
We need to stay unified. We can't let people like them win! These individuals posses an almost Dickensian view on the welfare of this nation's citizens. Their psychotic foreign affairs perspective is equally dangerous, if not more than their domestic policies. This is, for the lack of a better set of terms, John Airbus McCain's new base. Do we really want this group setting the nation's agenda?
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