Political discussion at the workplace

[Systematic Chaos]

I work with somebody who is a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, who truly believes that Kerry is a loser and * is our best choice. I get along with him otherwise because he's a nice enough person, but I do try and spend a little time each day giving him a reason to consider where he's coming from.

The other day we were talking about the support * is getting from the military. He tells me that two out of three servicemen and women are in support of *. I then reminded him that 2/3 support from the MILITARY is actually very weak considering that they are supposed to by supportive of and loyal to the Commander-in-Chief. For a full THIRD of that demographic to state publicly that they don't support * is a real sign of trouble.

He thought about that for a couple minutes and was uncharacteristically quiet afterwards. :)

[Blue Gardener]

1. You shouldn't make him think so hard

They just aren't used to it. He might burst a blood vessel.

[Mz Pip]

2. The American Conservative

magazine had an editorial endorsing Kerry and gave quite a laundry list of Bush's conservative failings. Pretty scathing stuff. A true dyed in the wool conservative should be very unhappy with Bush.

I sent the article to my dyed-in-the-wool conservative cousin. I eagerly await his response. :-)

MzPip
:dem:

[Coyote_Bandit]

3. Do you have a link please? n/t

[Mz Pip]

5. Here's the link

THere was a thread about it yesterday. Scroll down for the link.


"American Conservative" Magazine Endorses Kerry


"Bush has behaved like a caricature of what a right-wing president is supposed to be, and his continuation in office will discredit any sort of conservatism for generations. The launching of an invasion against a country that posed no threat to the U.S., the doling out of war profits and concessions to politically favored corporations, the financing of the war by ballooning the deficit to be passed on to the nation’s children, the ceaseless drive to cut taxes for those outside the middle class and working poor: it is as if Bush sought to resurrect every false 1960s-era left-wing cliché about predatory imperialism and turn it into administration policy. Add to this his nation-breaking immigration proposal—Bush has laid out a mad scheme to import immigrants to fill any job where the wage is so low that an American can’t be found to do it—and you have a presidency that combines imperialist Right and open-borders Left in a uniquely noxious cocktail." <...>

"George W. Bush has come to embody a politics that is antithetical to almost any kind of thoughtful conservatism. His international policies have been based on the hopelessly naïve belief that foreign peoples are eager to be liberated by American armies—a notion more grounded in Leon Trotsky’s concept of global revolution than any sort of conservative statecraft. His immigration policies—temporarily put on hold while he runs for re-election—are just as extreme. A re-elected President Bush would be committed to bringing in millions of low-wage immigrants to do jobs Americans 'won’t do.' This election is all about George W. Bush, and those issues are enough to render him unworthy of any conservative support."

Link to the magazine:

http://www.amconmag.com/2004_11_08/cover1.html

MzPip
:dem:

[Coyote_Bandit]

9. Thanks!

I will forward to some conservative independents I know.

[neebob]

10. Interesting articles

For those who haven't clicked the link, this magazine asked its editors and contributors to make a conservative case for their favored presidential candidate. The one by Pat Buchanan ("Coming Home"), making the case for Bush, is predictably insane.

[Wright Patman]

7. * has a cult of personality

augmented by the deluded Christians who believe it when he tells them God speaks through him.

We are indeed fortunate he is not a charismatic figure or it never could have gotten to the point where only 46 percent of the electorate approve of his presidency.

True conservatives have never been for *. Neoconservatives are actually born-again warmongering Trotskyites. It's as if former revolutionaries decided to follow the radical tenets of the late Leo Strauss and even "accepted" Jesus to some extent, but they remade Jesus in an Old Testament image. That Prince of Peace bit just doesn't fly with them.

Now is * personally a deep enough thinker to have gone through this sort of intellectual transformation? No, he just likes killing people. Make sure you're not in the room when he points at you and calls you an "evildoer." He will then have to kill you and will say he's doing God's work.

Of course, a man with B-2 bombers at his disposal can call the whole world his "room."

[Kanary]

4. Can you get a tape of the PrimeTime program about the lack of

support for the troops, once they come home injured and disabled?

It was a very damming report, and if he is concerned about the military, this could really shake him up.

The RW is NOT supporting the troops: what they are doing to them is criminal. Voters should know this before casting their ballot!

Kanary

[Skittles]

6. imagine if everyone you worked with was like that

now you're in Skittles' hell.

[Rainbowreflect]

8. I don't believe the 2/3 is even true.

At my local Dem meeting last week a guy that recently returned from Iraq stated that while the upper brass may support bush the troops on the ground do not.
When the "military" is polled it is the brass or at least in front of the brass.
I think there will be a bit of a shock at how the military ballots swing for Kerry.