Folks,
I've got a friend. A libertarian, Ron Paul-Loving, Glen Beck-Quoting, Drudge-Reading friend.
As well as being a neighbor (which is how I know her) she has added me to her Facebook friends. I know that Facebook is ridiculous, and uneccessary, and I'm sure there is some way I can block things, but I haven't figured that out yet.
Today I posted a funny video regarding health care, to which she felt compelled to respond. Actually, anything of a political nature that I post gets responded to.
So she says: "Facts are facts. That 80% of people support a public option is a lie. Assertions based on those lies are not facts."
<<Updated to put quotes around the title per suggestion below"</p>
To which I respond: "Most of the data out there states that 77% of people support a public option."
Now, I get the following: "Really? Whose data? Ah there you go quoting half the survey. If you go to the Huffington Post (gag), they say 77% support the "choice" but if you drop "choice" from the poll, it drops to 43%. So, to say 77% or 80% support a public option is a lie. THEN you have to look at who conducted the poll alleging 77% supporting the choice. It was conducted by SurveyUSA - sponsored by MoveOn.org. Wow, you don't get much more of a biased "progressive" entity. I am sure they were totally statistically valid in their choice of who to ask (doubtful). Then, their survey size was 1200 people. Seriously... Read More? We are actually going to say that the opinion of millions and millions of people can be accurately represented by a sample size of 1200. Yeah, I don't think so. AND we can look at a recent Rasmussen poll as of 09/18/09: "Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide now oppose the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the highest level of opposition yet measured and includes 44% who are Strongly Opposed."
I would love to dispute this, but I am tired - tired of the battle, tired of the incivility , and tired of the whole damned argument.
I'm whining, I've whined about my wingnut family and neighbors here before. And I know that there are people more educated, more logical than I am that could make a great response. Or else they just have a better sense of humor and irony for comebacks.
But this is another aspect of what we're up against - it is not just the "morans" and the people who want government out of their medicare and the bellicose townhall-teabaggers. Sometimes they are actually educated and curious people who just believe differently.
I believe that a rising tide raises all ships in the harbor. That's instinctual to me. I don't think I can argue with logic what exists as "truth" to me. So, words of advice are welcome, but mostly, I'm just whining...