My idiot uncle in Austin....ugh

[Dem_4_Life]

Here is his text message: Beto seems like s nice guy, and Cruz is a jerk, however,
He is going to win and me and all my
Friends are holding
Their noses and voting for him.
Beto is a Democrat
To bad he is is not an Independent because then we moderates could vote for and He might get elected!
XO from Austin...

I of course pointed out after all the Republicans already volunteering and donating to Beto. So frustrating though.

[beachbum bob]

1. Almost 4 months until election and the stench on republicans and Cruz will

Grow where many can't hold their noses. Especially when the case is made in how can TRUST any republican on trade, on social security, on jobs, on taxes, on accountability....check back in a couple months

[TomSlick]

2. We all have an idiot uncle.

I wish it was just the one.

[donkeypoofed]

3. "Holding his nose and voting Repugnican anyways"....

....is what will ruin this country. How much worse does it have to get before they learn and switch?! It's stupid like that which will end up making things far worse !

[MyOwnPeace]

4. His position again

begs the question:

YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE 1%.
WHY DO YOU VOTE LIKE YOU ARE?

Unless, of course, he IS part of the 1% (thus explaining his voting history) and is actually trying to keep peace in the family (but then he wouldn't be a "crazy uncle," would he?).

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. Most of the repugs I know would rather eat dog shit

mixed with hog manure than vote for a Democrat. That is how much they hate us.

[packman]

6. Yep, have to agree

Once had a nurse in phy. therapy who was working because of a Rep. takeover of her pension, but she still voted for the guy (Florida's Scott) rather than vote Dem.

[Ferrets are Cool]

7. They just don't get it. They have injested the lies from

Faux Snooze for so long, they can't determine the truth any more. It is almost eerily similar to Stockholm Syndrome.

[blue cat]

8. Same here

They would never vote for a dem. Even those who want to legalize pot are too stupid.

[Bob Loblaw]

9. Well, I wouldn't vote for a republican

if he was my child and he was running for hall monitor.

[Ferrets are Cool]

15. Yes, you are correct...and I agree 100%...

and therein lies the issue. Both sides think they are CORRECT in their thinking. The one thing that will change repugs is getting hit in the pocketbook and even then they wont vote for a Democrat. They will just sit home.
Always remember, if Russia had NOT interfered in OUR election process, we would now have a Democratic president.

[Bob Loblaw]

16. Yep

nt

[Whiskeytide]

17. But the over-arching difference is that democratic...

... thinking is generally fact based and rational. (And I know you weren't suggesting otherwise, but it bears pointing out how far off the rails political discourse has gotten).

I have a lot of republican friends here in Alabama. And my political conversations usually start with a disclaimer that I can tolerate their disagreeing - rationally - with a policy position, but no asinine talking points are allowed. For example ...

... you (republican friend) can take the position that there are abuses in the so-called "entitlement" programs, and advocate for reforms to address those abuses. That's fair enough. I disagree with that position generally, and would point out that such abuses are far less frequent than republicans tend to claim, and that corporate entitlement abuses are far more draining on the country's treasury, etc... etc... But we can have that conversation.

... But you may NOT advocate for doing away with all welfare and assistance programs and making people "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and "stop being dependent on the Guvmint" because that shit is absurd and cruel, and is not reality based.

Most of them get it, and we can and often do have good debates about policy positions - often finding some common ground, and generally agreeing to disagree about the rest. But they have to stay real. On the rare occasions I have gotten into such a discussion with a trump loyalist, I shut it down pretty quickly because it is a waste of time. They cannot accept a "keep it real" pre-condition.

And that, in my opinion, is the real problem. trump and his cult - along with right-wing media - have thrust the republican party's mainstream positions well into, and in some cases even beyond (see, e.g., baby concentration camps), the extreme territory. Trumpers can't have a conversation anymore because they hate liberals and progressives more than anyone in the world, and have been brainwashed to see us as the greatest threat to the country. Their politicians either a) believe that as well, or b) tow the line to keep the "cult/base" coming out to the polls. That psychotic, use to be on the fringe shit is now what the party stands for front and center, whether traditional conservatives like it or not. That is the trump effect. He has shifted them not to the right, but to the crazy.

So it's not a "we disagree on policy" thing anymore as it once may have been. It's a "I'm trying to figure out how to run the government in the best way we can, and you're a freakin' dumb-ass, assholish, vindictive little nihilist jagoff who wants to destroy everything good about this nation so you can poke someone in the eye and claim you've won something" thing now.

Let's keep the lines clearly drawn.

[Ferrets are Cool]

18. I, too, live in Alabama...I gave up discussing politics with ANY

repugs long ago. If it begins, I either walk away or, if unable to do so, tell them to STFU.
I will never change their minds and I hate polluting my mind with idiocy.

[Whiskeytide]

19. I understand. I feel the same about trumpers. But...

... I draw a distinction (unpopular on DU sometimes) between trumpers and traditional conservatives. I don't associate with the former. But the latter are often friends. Professional colleagues, parents of my kids friends, people I grew up with, etc...

I'm one of only three democratic parents on my son's baseball team, and as far as I know the only democratic parent on my daughter's softball team. So I spend a lot of time with such folks. It wouldn't benefit anyone to be at war with them all the time. Fully 50% of them are just not into politics at all anyway. They don't watch Fox because they don't watch ANY cable news, and they couldn't participate in a political discussion if they wanted to - and they don't try. I can talk baseball, golf, books, movies, restaurants, kids and - always in Alabama - football, with them all day long.

Of the other half who are politically inclined, I can honestly say that, with only a couple of exceptions, they are very unimpressed with trump and his act. Several (my partner included) didn't vote for him in '16. Some did the nose holding dance. The nose holders have regrets generally, think he's an asshole, and fear he has done substantial damage to conservative politics (I always say "I certainly hope so".) They are almost all well educated (college or post college degrees). None are MAGA hat wearing deplorables. None think we should build a wall, gut the EPA, or pull out of NATO. They all believe Russia is an enemy of the US, and that trump is tied up with Russian money somehow (though we can - and do - debate the extent). Several would support impeachment, but they're no fans of Pence. None are holy rollers in any ultra-devout way. Many are actually pro-choice republicans, but even those who are anti-abortion agree it is a really difficult issue for them and don't refer to PP as "murderers". I don't have a single friend who, to my knowledge, supported Roy Moore over Jones. I don't know how they voted in the booth, obviously, but they hated Moore and most were willing to say so openly to me before the election. A few claim to have voted for Jones because they liked what he had to say.

I can talk with these people. They are not stupid. I perceive them as essentially Eisenhower-esque Republicans. They understand that there is another side to most issues, and are willing to respect that other side even if they disagree with it. I extend them the same courtesy. I have to "be nice" at times, and I'm sure they feel the same toward me. But it works.

I recognize that my experience is somewhat unique in Alabama. I think its a product, to some extent, of the choices I've made as to who I hang out with, and the rules we've set for interaction. I avoid trumpers whenever I can, and I generally avoid the three or four cult members I know of at the ball games - and they seem perfectly happy to sit at the other end of the dugouts from me and limit contact. They know I'm one of "them". I don't hide at all.

I still have a little faith in what's across the isle because of this. I waiver sometimes. Christ, the stupidity is unbearable at times. But I believe there really are still some decent conservatives around. November will tell us a lot. I don't expect democrats to win in Alabama. But it damn well better be closer than in the past, and republican turnout should be down. If not, then I'll eat crow. And probably stop being quite so nice.

[Ferrets are Cool]

20. I understand, too, where you are coming from...

because I run a business, I must keep politics OUT of my life outside of DU. I hate this hypocritical side of me, but I do have to put money in the bank. So, it is better for me to just keep my thoughts to myself and vent here.

As far as a "good" conservative.....in my mind, if you voted for the orange one for president, you are a deplorable and just as responsible for the shape this country is in as the ones who wear maga hats.

Obviously, you are much more forgiving than I. Do I still consider a few republicans as friends? Yes. But only in the smallest sense of the word. Hell, most of them still defend their vote for the war criminal (monkeyboy bush). It's really hard for me to overlook these things.

Which is why, I will never discuss politics with any of them. It would certainly end the friendship.

I do hope your "faith" is well placed. I have pretty much lost mine.

[Dan]

11. Is he open to the idea

Of the nation splitting - seems like he might be happy with that idea, especially since they hate us so much. We apparently have nothing in common anymore - and there does not appear to be a center to keep us together.

[RhodeIslandOne]

10. Texas has a looooong way to go to ever turn blue

Until then, Texas is your drunken uncle....pissing and shitting and Cruzing and Corynholing itself.

[End Of The Road]

12. Sounds like he lives in Tarrytown. eom

[Cosmocat]

13. Decades of hate framing democrats

nm

[Snotcicles]

14. If t-bone steak were labeled dog poo and dog poo were labeled t-bone steak, he'd have bad breath. nt