I was taking out the garbage a little while ago, and one of my neighbors called me over. There were six of them, and they were all republicans chatting about the elections. I suppose I was called over because they knew that I went canvassing the last few weekends with Democrats. They aren't the brightest people, but they are nice neighbors.
The little old lady that called me over though, after the basic pleasantries, asked me how I could vote for a Democrat like 'that Nancy Pelosi.' I wasn't quite sure what to say. Before I could say anything though, she started on about how Nancy Pelosi is the worst 'Speaker of the House' we've ever had, and that she should be ashamed of herself for not disciplining Mark Foley.
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Obviously, I was really confused. I told her that Nancy Pelosi wasn't the 'Speaker of the House.' She insisted that she was, and offered to prove it to me. She invited me and the others inside. I was a little cautious because this little old lady is one of those 'Grandma' types that you just don't talk back to, let alone prove wrong. I'm a glutton for punishment though. I followed her and the others inside.
Apparently, her grandson had sent her the 'GOP.COM' link in an email, and so I watched her navigate there. She then clicked on an image there called 'America Weakly.' It redirected her to another website called 'AmericaWeakly.' She pointed to a picture of Nancy Pelosi that identified her as 'Speaker of the House.' She also pointed out another headline that said: 'Just Say NO: Dems End Security Measures.'
I had an almost overwhelming urge to laugh, but I'm not stupid. Little old ladies scare me worse than global warming does. All I could say was: "They lied to you." Of course she didn't believe it, so I helped her navigate to the website of the real 'Speaker of the House.' She couldn't believe it, and she didn't know what to say. I went on to explain that the GOP she's been loyal to all her life has changed over the years. I told her: "They are just trying to scare you out of your vote." This is something that I take for granted, but it really upset her.
I decided to go for the jugular though... and I began with the GOP's 'America Weakly' website. I told her that it was the Democrats that really wanted good security. I explained that it was the 'New Republicans' that didn't care about security, and I proved it to her by helping her google the fiasco about Bush trying to sell off american ports to foreigners. I explained that Republicans had spent billions on missle defense shields that don't work, and bridges to nowhere... but refused to invest in scanners to detect WMD's in shipping containers.
I moved on to the Nancy Pelosi thing, and asked why she didn't like her. She didn't know why, which is what I expected. She did point out that the article quoted Nancy Pelosi as saying: "I don't really consider ourselves at war." I wasn't sure about the legitimacy of the quote, so I helped her backtrack it. The site the Republicans gave no longer had the article. She didn't really appreciate that either.
I helped her dig up some of Nancy Pelosi's comments about the war in Iraq not being a legitimate part of the war on terror though. We talked about how the war in Iraq was premised on WMD's, and that turned out to be a lie. I managed to google the video with Bush snarking about it. I told her that Bush was joking about it, and she proceeded to lecture me about how inappropriate it was to joke about a war. Good point, Grandma!
We went on to discuss the real reasons for the war in Iraq, and although some may disagree with me on it, I told her it was the oil and nothing but the oil. I showed her the CIA reports that detailed how Iraq is falling into a civil war and that it was breeding more terrorists. I thought she was going to hit me because she got up from her chair without saying a word, and went into the kitchen.
One of the six ladies there was the little old ladies daughter. She told me that everything I've been saying made sense, but that she knew that if she voted for a Democrat, they would raise her taxes in order to pay for 'Universal Health Care.' If I had to give a name to the look she gave me after she said that, it would probably be: "Go ahead and deny it, I dare you.'
I didn't deny it though. I told her that her taxes would be raised. Then I took her to 'AmericanProgress.Org' I pulled the PDF from the site on 'Universal Health Care.' I asked her what percentage she pays in health care premiums now. She said about 14% of her wages. She has a couple kids on her plan too. I then showed her in the PDF the proposed cap on health care premiums at 5%, and asked her what would she prefer 14% or 5%. I explained that the real revenue for the plan would come from a 'Value Added Tax' which would effect people differently depending on their wealth. I didn't want to pry into her financial affairs, but I also pointed out that the VAT trigger really wouldn't effect many people with income less that $225,000.
By this time, 'Grandma' came back from the kitchen with a glass of Hot Cocoa for me. I don't ever turn down Hot Cocoa. Grnadma's daughter was telling 'Grandma' about what we were discussing, and how seeing the numbers for herself was changing her mind about the way she was going to vote tomorrow. 'Grandma' told her daughter that she wasn't going to vote for those 'Lying Sons of Bitches.' I almost choked on my Hot Cocoa, but I just nodded and continued sipping.
This talk went on for about another hour, and we discussed privatizing social security, gay rights, more about the war, more about taxes, and abortion. I also got a refill of Hot Cocoa.
I had hoped that they wouldn't bring up the abortion debate, because I figured Democrat's couldn't win a debate on that with a Republican. It went better than expected though. I told the ladies that I wasn't for abortion either. I said that I was for a womans right to choose, and that this did not translate into free wheeling damn the consequences of my actions type excuse. I told them that women and men should show some responsibility for their actions, and that if they choose to have sex without protection, they should live up to those responsibilities. One of the ladies joked about a man talking about 'Responsibility.' Of course, I replied as any man would under the circumstances. I went back to sipping my Hot Cocoa!
The best part of the story is that I offered to drive them all to the polls tomorrow. Four of the ladies accepted, and told me that they were going to vote Democrat. The other ladies told me that they would probably still vote for the Republican, and declined my offer. I had the feeling that they misunderstood my offer though. I told them that I wasn't offering the ride in exchange for voting Democrat, and that I expected them to vote their conscience. They looked at me as if I had said something odd. "Why would you drive someone to vote for a Republican?" I replied that I would drive someone to the polls for the same reason 'Grandma' gave me Hot Cocoa. It's just the neighborly thing to do.
Needless to say, all six have accepted my offer for the ride tomorrow. Four committed to voting Democrat, one on the fence, and the other a likely Republican vote. However, peer pressure from 'Grandma' could be a bitch.
Anyhow, thought you might all enjoy a GOTV diary today. You might also grab a laugh or two at that www.americaweakly.com site. Check out the horoscopes. They made me laugh, and hopefully, will do the same for you. Peace.