This Obama Speech Was The Tipping Point For My RW Parents

[no limit]

My parents have always been very right wing, my dad more so than my mom. Both were exclusive Fox News viewers and strong McCain supporters last year. The only issue they agreed with me on was healthcare as they came here from Europe and they fully understand how absurd our healthcare system is.

Well I was out to dinner with them over the weekend and we started talking politics again which usually ends in a heated argument and everyone being pissed off. This time my parents were telling me how ashamed they are of supporting the republican party last year and the years before. The reason for this? The outrage by Fox news and other republicans over Obama's speech to our children. My parents asked me if the republicans were always this batshit crazy and if they just couldn't see it before.

Don't get me wrong, they are still conservative on virtually anything aside from the healthcare issue so it's not a full victory for me yet. But they made clear to me they will never support republicans again and even suggested they'd rather vote democratic so atleast they could try to get healthcare reform passed. But I can tell you that if the democrats fold on this health care issue their view will probably change again, hopefully that won't happen.

[pleah]

1. K& R

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. Great! When I saw the OP title, expected it to tip the "bad" way...but it was a "good" tip!

Hope is a wonderful thing. And sometimes change happens a little at a time, an issue at a time.

[Lorien]

3. Have your parents been here for a couple of decades or more?

If so then they can take comfort in knowing that modern Democrats are nearly indistinguishable from Republicans of the '70's and '80's. A Left Wing doesn't really exist in D.C. anymore. "The Left has moved to the Right and the Right has moved into a mental hospital". At least your folks finally are seeing the truth of that!

[no limit]

7. They've been here since 1994. We moved here from Poland when I was 8

and I totally agree with you.

[AzNick]

30. Being from a former Eastern Block nation...

they are probably more likely to be Republican.

In France I am a conservative. In America I am a liberal.

[RaleighNCDUer]

32. Being from an Eastern Block nation

they have first-hand experience with socialism gone wrong. But they should also recognize that what the republicans are calling socialism, isn't.

Good luck, with their journey into the light.

[vadawg]

40. were in poland are you from, i was sent to family there for a few years when i was a kid

fecking beautiful forests :)

[liberal N proud]

4. This uproar of the speech could be a clue to a great many

who realize they are being dragged down the road by a bunch of racist crazies.

[DireStrike]

6. dragged

a drug is a psychoactive substance.

See also swum/swam and snuck/sneaked, except swum (and more recently snuck) are recognized words.

This message brought to you by Grammar Nazis for a more Punctilious America.

[liberal N proud]

14. What would we do without you grammar nazis?

And just think, my grammar has improved since joining DU.

LOL


Now if only my spelling would improve.


Fixed.

[zogtheobvious]

31. Hmmm

Eye don't sea inneething rong with yor grammer. Wutz the big deel?


-Hukt ahn fonnix werk for mea!

[tblue37]

34. "Swum" is the past participle of "swim."

Today I swim in the river. Yesterday I swam in the river. In the past, I have often swum in the river.

[DireStrike]

39. Yeah, thanks

I knew snuck wasn't, but I thought swum might be. I checked after the post and found to my dismay that both were past participle. Somebody decided "snuck" is now a word. :shrug:

[sce56]

42. Me thinks youd better listen to the Cheif Teacher of this nation he told them younguns today how

important getting a good edumacation was! All pun intended with my bad spelling / grammar but what the heck I was a HS Dropout too and despite that I do pretty damm good now days it just took 20 years in the army to makeup for that lack of a HS Diploma!


"You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job," Obama said. "You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it."

"The future of America depends on you," he said. "What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future."
President Obama

[astral]

44. Nowadays. You just can't makeup for that. ; )

[sce56]

48. That is true but the military will take HS dropouts again as they are scrapping the bottom of the

barrel again! The only problem is just like VietNam those wars are BS same as was Grenada Panama and others since Viet Nam.
As for my dropping out it was a family thing. My father suffered from a brain disorder brought on from his boxing days in the 30's so life was hell when his head hurt and he drank it out. Of course once I was in Germany and the guys I worked for and with had studied to take the GED I was dragged along just to try it and I scored higher than they did despite no test prep we all passed.

[mrsadm]

57. It snuck up on us.....

being sneaky of course

[astral]

43. swammed.

you have swammed in the river before.

Or maybe you swimmed.

But you have never swummed.

[Bluenorthwest]

62. Swum and snuck are both accepted forms, Herr Dire.

Ironic. No comment.

[hypocrisyandlies]

27. I really really hope you are right.

They have to see now that it was all just lies and hearsay. Or maybe I'm giving them too much credit...

[Wounded Bear]

5. Believe it or not...

one can be "conservative" and still be sane. :)

It's just that in the past few years, the Repubs have been steadily weeding all of the sane ones out of their organization.

To your folks, welcome back from the dark side.

[Maru Kitteh]

8. It sounds like a good beginning. I'm happy for you. And you are RIGHT about the Dems.

Healthcare now, or don't even think about asking me to support you next election season.

[redqueen]

9. Nice...

let's hope a lot more people take notice.

[Festivito]

10. Luckily for you, they knew something.

On what conservative points DON'T WE Democrats beat Republicans?

Spending? Rs spent more by going into unnecessary wars incurring what will be decades of future costs. And they took the money by borrowing more, and borrowed so much that Ds are spending now just to correct the borrowing the so-called conservative, ha!, Rs borrowed.

Borrowing? Ds not only balanced the budget, Ds, under Clinton, had a surplus.

Taxes? The percentage was higher under Clinton, BUT WE MADE MORE MONEY AND HAD MORE AFTER TAX MONEY. Only the rich who don't need any more are paying more.

Guns? Only times guns were taken was during the Katrina fiasco. Instead of sending food, water and rescuers, Rs sent troops with armaments.

Abortion? The rate of abortion goes up as people have less money, and under Rs the people get less money. The R plan of abstinence only is shown not to work and Rs keep ignoring the science of that information.

Gay marriage? Some religions allow it, some don't. Are there any things in your religion that others might not like and that you'd like them to tolerate such as not having to wear burkas, not allowing you to eat pork, giving wine to teenagers in small doses despite zero-tolerance rules?

Rs are conservative.. my left butt-cheek.

Rs only want each of US to spend more than necessary in order to receive less of what we want while their buddies collect and live off the difference.

Your folks may not know everything, but at least they're awake. You're lucky.

[Emit]

11. Lucky you - my dad is sending my mother and I info from Beck's website about terrorists in Obama's

administration! I kid you not.

[Cha]

22. ..

:( :pals:

[mwb970]

61. OK, but it's "sending my mother and me info".

sending my mother info
sending me info
sending my mother and me info

It's easy.

[Emit]

67. Correct- grammar is usually one of my best subjects, lol

I was obviously distracted.

[mwb970]

74. I know, it was dumb for me to correct you.

You just happened to hit on one of my "pet peeve" constructions, the "and I" instead of "and me" thing. Nothing personal. Carry on!

[berni_mccoy]

12. B.L.O.W.B.A.C.K.

It's hitting the GOP in the face.

[Swamp Rat]

33. yep

:)

[Beartracks]

37. ROFL at the elephant action shot! n/t

[malaise]

63. Wicked Swamp Rat

:rofl:

[Karenina]

68. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Celebration]

13. Even the CNBC folks

Have been like, "wha.....huh??"

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

15. 'My parents asked me if the republicans were always this batshit crazy & if they just couldn't see

it before'

:rofl:

[Cha]

23. Whoa! That's a good

sign!

[YvonneCa]

16. For some it was Schaivo, for others it was...

...Katrina. It is good to know there was a positive from this lastest incident of craziness. If the Faux watchers are finally waking up, that is a good thing...treat them with kindness and compassion. :patriot:

[spinbaby]

17. On the radio just now

I ran out to do an errand at lunch and, while flipping around the AM dial, heard the local KDKA radio wingnut praising Obama's speech. I would not have believed it had I not heard it with my own ears.

[Hekate]

18. For my daughter's in-laws it was two things: the Swiftboating of Kerry and the selection of Palin...

They couldn't bring themselves to vote for McCain after he picked Palin.

I'd be interested to know what they think at this point. When Mr H and I chat with them we always turn out to have much more in common that you'd think.

But then, they're not crazy wingnuts, just normal old-fashioned conservatives.

Hekate

[YvonneCa]

26. We all have our 'enough is enough'...

...moment. :)

[Withywindle]

47. Those were the turning points for my grandmother, too.

She's 90 years old. She's pretty racist. And she's fanatical about the military - and it was the latter point that really started to drive the wedge, the swiftboating of Kerry. Her late husband was a WWII vet and had a destroyed leg and a Purple Heart. She saw those pictures of the purple-heart bandaids mocking Kerry, and she started to see red and turn blue.

I don't know if she voted for Kerry, but she definitely did for Obama, and was pretty evangelical about her political conversion at her senior's apartment complex. Katrina was a factor too. She's racist, but not so much so that she thinks it's OK to let people die. She's very elderly and lives in a coastal city and has been through her share of disasters in her day - she could relate to the people left behind more than the ones doing the callous abandoning.

[Kolesar]

59. she started to see red and turn blue.

Clever word play :hi:

[LuckyLib]

51. The list is endless. When folks look at the long list of "batshit" crazy behavior

exhibited by the Republicans, a lightbulb appears over their heads. Finally.

[Raschel]

19. I heard a conservative caller on a local radio station commenting on how

ridiculous this is.

Hopefully this will be a tipping point for a lot of people.

[AspenRose]

20. Overreach. The GOP are masters at it.

They always go too far.

[Cha]

21. Wow! Good to hear this personal evidence

story of how the scaredwing overstepped with their hatred once again.

Lots written over in GDP on how the overkill of the President's Education Speech by the republicons is only making them look bad..and here's one important verification.

Thank you, no limit.

[Alameda]

24. where can I see it?

[Alameda]

25. Found it....

[BlancheSplanchnik]

28. Lucky your folks are from Europe, otherwise they wouldn't get the idiocy of the anti-healthcare

screamers.

[Bluerthanblue]

29. this is one of the most encouraging posts i've read in a while- and

it reinforces my belief that eventually the decent people who are caught in the "ideal" of some kind of positive 'republican' party, WILL say- 'enough'- and see it for what it has become. A party of angry, selfish, bigoted followers.


Thank you for sharing this, and I share your hope and deep desire that the Democrats (who share responsibility) don't let America down.

:hi:

[BREMPRO]

35. good work comrade! your secret plan to turn your parents into socialists is working ;)

So good to hear stories of people like your parents waking up to the lies of fox and the right. If more americans would travel to Europe and talk with the people and see the clean streets, well run trains, great hospitals, happy and less stressed lifestyle, they'd realize what an artificial corporate created bubble we live in here, that these countries are NOT socialist, and have a better quality of life in part because they don't have to worry about going bankrupt from health care costs. Keep up the fight!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

36. What wonderful news!

Thank goodness your parents have the wisdom to see the truth!

May there be many more folks just like them...


K&R

[calimary]

38. Yep, all you limbaugh, beck and savage and Pox Noise obsessives.

By thy "friends" art thou known.

You are known by the company you keep (on hate radio and cable TV).

What does that say about YOU?????

[glinda]

41. This is great news! My folks did the exact same thing! They are just sad that

health care reform will not come in enough time to help them as they are in their 80's.

[astral]

45. Umm . . . . The United Nations is about to revise U.S. currency

now, do you think we have the bucks to take care of everybody? Our country isn't exactly standing up straight on its own two feet anymore, you know.

Sorry, probably should start another topic for this.

[AlbertCat]

70. do you think we have the bucks to take care of everybody?

Sure we do! We can bail out banks so they can give big bonuses, continue illegal wars and still build jets to defend us from the USSR... so why not?

Raise taxes. It's how things are paid for. And if we'd tax the churches, or at least the businesses owned by the churches, and make Exxon and the like pay their fair share of taxes, we wouldn't have to raise taxes on individuals, I'll bet.

[femrap]

46. Maybe this will end up biting

the Repugnants in the ass. Good for your parents!

[dhpgetsit]

49. That did my heart a lot of good to read that!

Thank you.

[The Wizard]

50. Obama's speech to America's students didn't cause controversy

The feigned outrage by radical right wing extremists caused the controversy. They can't accept the election results that put a mulatto in the White House. Bigotry by any other name is bigotry. They use the same rhetoric as the 1950s segregationists used. The only things missing are the hoods and burning crosses.
It's time for the disciples of Orville Faubus and Lester Maddox to get over it. The slavery they want to resurrect is on the wrong side of History.

[LuckyLib]

52. Ding, ding, ding! A winner here. It is ALL about racism.

[Golden Raisin]

54. Yes. The root cause, as with so much

in the U.S.A., is racism. And they have the huge advantage of well-funded, organized, corporate rightwing media SCREAMING their propaganda and paranoia 24/7 on TV and radio and passing it off as fact and supposedly legitimate "news" to the fearful, gullible, ignorant and just plain stupid. That said, I'd love to see Obama stop trying to take the high road and expending energy on bipartisanship which will never happen. He needs to start kicking some folks hard in the balls. That's all they understand.

[The Wizard]

73. With pain comes awareness (NT)

[Hamlette]

53. I find these stories fascinating. My dad was a Goldwater republican until Reagan turned him blue.

He voted for him but when his sec'y of defense started talking about limited nuclear war my dad freaked out. He was military (active, then reserves, his civilian job was to work on nuclear submarines) and he believed in a strong defense as a deterrent now here was Reagan talking about them as if dropping a few A-bombs was a good idea.

For Andrew Sullivan it was torture (still drives him nuts)

For John Cole (a great blogger btw) it was was Terry Schiavo mostly but Graeme Frost was the last straw (the kid who testified in Congress about how good SCHIP is and how the right wing went after him saying he's not poor enough because his parents have granite counter tops). Here's his post:

I had meant to re-register independent (or as it is known here in West Virginia, “No Party Affiliation”) for the past two weeks after I had finally had enough of the bullshit during the Graeme Frost escapade, but never got around to it (and it really was not that big of a deal, I had made the mental commitment, which is what matters). I had to pick up a registered letter for an unrelated issue, so I went to the Court House to the Voter Registration Office.

I had intended to register independent, but when I got there to do it, I had a moment of clarity- there seemed to be no point leaving the Republican party in protest and joining the unwashed masses. If I really was going to protest, it made no sense to not commit to the opposition party. Besides, as a Republican all these years, I never had any problem voting for libertarians, Democrats, etc., I don’t see why being a Democrat will change anything. And, the 2008 election really is the most important election of my lifetime- the basic foundation of our country has been under assault for a while, now, and I want to vote in the Democratic primary as a Democrat, not as someone with no party affiliation. I want to send a message, and as small as this gesture (which should appropriately be interpreted as a middle finger to the GOP and not as a sloppy wet kiss to Nancy Pelosi) is, I want it to mean as much as possible. There is now one less Republican in WV, and one more Democrat.

Long story short, I got up there to register as an independent, said “Fuck it,” and now I am a Democrat. I certainly don’t agree with all their positions, but they are not bat-shit crazy like the GOP. That has to count for something. Additionally, I no longer have to read posts by the 24% crowd calling me a “true conservative” with quotes o’sarcasm (you know who they are). Not any more, bitches. I repudiate you, your party, and whatever the fuck it is you are currently pretending is “conservatism.” It isn’t.

Now send me my check from Soros and the 40 virgins.

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=8971

Politics is much like religion, its hard to get people to flip, especially when their social circle is all GOP (like at their church etc). Trust me, you had much to do with it. Just knowing that someone they loved and knew was sane was a democrat helped them see the right wing for what it is.

[Enthusiast]

58. G W Bush was an advocate

of tactical nuclear weapons use during the current Afghanistan War. After his suggestion for this new use for "the bomb' went over like a lead balloon we heard nothing else about it. I feel this is the single most dangerous (insane) idea ever espoused by the neo-cons.

[TommyPaine]

55. Are your folks from one of the former Eastern Bloc nations?

I ask because in my experience immigrants from Poland, former USSR, Romania, etc. tend to be rather conservative, especially those who grew up sometime in the 1950s-1970s. Many embrace Reagan because they believe he personally dismantled Communism and that Republicans are the antithesis of the old Soviet-style political machine. Also, many tend to be socially conservative—old world values, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and so on (though you may well be aware of all this regardless of personal experience).

Of note is a huge influx of Ukranian immigrants in California’s central valley (e.g. Sacramento), who have helped shift anti-gay policy strongly to the right in certain voting districts.

This conservative pattern holds true for Southeast Asian immigrants, namely those from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos (many of whom convert to Christianity). I find these phenomena curious.

[Enthusiast]

56. Your parents are to be commended

for seeing through the M$M smoke screen and distraction. The insurance industry has made every effort to obfuscate the truth, and with the help of bought politicians and media, they have succeeded. Unfortunately objective thinkers like your parents are very rare.

[Douglas Carpenter]

60. there is some thing about this whole matter which reminds me of the Terri Schiavo affair

In an attempt to appeal to extreme elements that pretty much dominate the Republican Party these days - the right-wing of the Republican Party has simply alienated themselves from ordinary people - even many of those who tend somewhat in the conservative direction, but at least have some basic common sense.

[Bluenorthwest]

64. Too on point. You do remember how Senator Obama voted on

the 'Schiavo affair' don't you? He voted with the GOP, with GW who'd flown in to wrangle some votes. Barack Obama voted with the Republicans on Schiavo. He agreed with Frist's video diagnosis, and the need for emergency legislation on this issue. That was his defining vote in the Senate.

[Douglas Carpenter]

65. The Senate voice vote was passed by unanimous consent - Obama since has said that it was a mistake

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s109-686

It was during a primary debate that Senator Obama said that he had made a mistake and that he should have stood up and tried to stop the voice vote which was unfortunately unanimously passed without one single Democratic or Republican Senator objecting. Senator Obama did not, at the time, express any opinion whatsoever regarding Bill Frist's diagnosis or acknowledge either support or objection to the bill. He did acknowledge during the debate that as a Constitutional lawyer, he knew better and that he wishes he had stood up in the Senate and interrupted the process.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6D32fc2q-0

[Historic NY]

66. Sooner or later people realize Democrats care more about people.

Granted there are other issues but for the most part its centers around the person.

[ingac70]

69. So did you tell them Repubs have been like this...

at least since Reagan?

[eagertolearn]

71. The repugs are hanging on to their far right support by using fear

and it continues to work but they are losing many of their "thinkers" because they can see the truth. My in-laws and sister-in-laws were here a year ago and very upset that i had turned my husband into a democrat and then by Nov. they voted for Obama because of bringing Sara Palin on board. That was the first time they had ever voted for a democrat. I think if they had an vote right now that 75% of all voters would vote for a strong health reform like single payer but that news is not being let out. Just the few screamers at the town hall meetings. That must of been a relief for you to have them change. What they said about wondering if their party had always been like that....makes me think that the GOP's are almost brainwashed. I do think that their party has really changed over the last 10 years though.

[ourbluenation]

72. I told all y'all...

this would bite them in the buttocks. Great story - thx for sharing.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6485494&mesg_id=6485494