Reply #82: Because they're brainwashed...

[FormerDittoHead]

>The whole "you're poor because you deserve it, and you're rich because you deserve it," falls apart *promptly* when you actually apply it to real people. Why do they not see this?

Because they're brainwashed... I mean that nicely. Hey, what they see on Fox, what they hear on radio, what they read in their Red State local newspapers, the American Spectator and on the Internet, EVERYTHING is telling them this stuff.

They "filter out" the TRUTH because they've been TRAINED to do so (IE: anything that disagrees is part of the "Elite Liberal Media")

Add the subtext of racism, and the picture is complete.

Again, the trick is "framing" the questions, rather than accept THEIR "frames".

The questions you ask a conservative must have something that ALLOWS them to AGREE with you without backing them up against the wall in the first place.

Question: "I've heard from a number of sources that there aren't really any jobs being created in the Inner City (like, they'll disagree?) as it seems all the tax cuts to the wealthy are being funnelled into creeating jobs overseas (this is a sore point for the vast majority of right-wingers) what do you think the Bush administration can do to bring more jobs to the people who need them the most HERE?

Bush has proposed increased training, but that sounds like some kind of government hand out. He certainly hasn't done anything meaningful to curb the tide of illegal immigrants who take our jobs while paying no taxes and then take the money out of the country.

What do you think can be done?

This works on a number of levels. First off, it will *agree* with them that the way out of poverty isn't a handout, but jobs. HOW we get those jobs is the question. The "neat" part of this is that it forces them to think of the ways the Bush administration ISN'T working and also, I'd betcha, they'd agree that private enterprise FAILS to work here because they'd rather seek higher profit opportunities elsewhere (like overseas) and that gov't is really the only tool that we can use.

Something like that.

Again, this is just off the top of my head.