Take Back the Meme, Vol. I

Hopefully this can be the first in a series of diaries where we use the collective wisdom of the Dkos community to generate some quick, concise responses to counter what passes as conventional wisdom.  

The inspiration for this first post came from a heated conversation with an old friend of mine from high school about his voting preferences.  He said he doesn't really care much about politics, but voting Republican is better for his wallet, and that's the most important thing to him.  Keep in mind, he's middle class, so he's deluding himself that Bush and his cabal are looking out for him, but it raises a larger issue.  How do we take back the meme that the GOP is the best party for people who see elections strictly in economic terms?  

In my argument I pointed out that the taxes on the cigarettes he buys, the new car he buys, and the highway tolls he pays, all decided by city and state governments, have much more effect on his wallet than any party he supports at the federal level.  He conceded that, but isn't that just all the more reason to vote GOP locally as well?  Then things got a little abstract, as I tried to explain to him how Bush's tax cuts meant less federal revenue, which means less federal funding for roads and schools, ect at the state level, which means state govts have to raise taxes on things like property and cigarettes to keep things running.  He was confused.  Then I went even more abstract and started arguing how Bush's deficits if left unchecked will have devastating effects in world capital markets, potentially devaluing our currency and putting us in a situation down the road not unlike Argentina in 2002.  I was clearly losing him with this stuff.  Any ideas on how I could have sealed the deal and convinced my friend that voting for the GOP for economic reasons is foolish?