How to respond to a non-GOP friend

[Degaston]

I have a friend who is very intelligent and talented. However when it comes to politics he is a diehard Democrat who IMO doesn't seem to look at the whole picture. He likes to refer to Republicans as "Reds". Well judge for yourself as here is something he wrote today.
 
"Reds are upside down on every question. Affordable healthcare is bad, Russia is good, our allies not so much. Cutting taxes and over spending on unnecessary military equipment is a good idea. Civil rights are bad. Reducing the population by 10 percent is a good idea. Launching multiple Trade wars with nations that lend us money is a good idea. The president should tell private enterprise how to run their companies.Its just flat out nuts."
 
Anyone have any suggestions on how to respond? Just a reminder that the last paragraph was his, not mine.

[Degaston]

Excellent thoughts .... thank you :)

[mplsconservative]

My life has been so much better since I ditched the liberals in my life. It is grand!

[Degaston]

Wow .... awesome thoughts .... thank you :)

[Degaston]

I will use your thoughts and those of 2 others to compose a DRAFT reply. Thank you.

[hinckley buzzard]

In all seriousness, someone who espouses this level of BS is beyond rational conversation. He is so ego-involved in his position that literally he loves his hate. Anything other than a narrow, tunnel vision statement of agreement will be distorted away from his beliefs, and he will distort whatever you say, just as his statement is a severe distortion of reality.

Best to avoid the subject, or even, avoid him. He sounds toxic to me.

[tumblindice]

Unfriend? This is Fakebook right?
And unfakebook.

[Degaston]

My response. 1) Let's start with health care. What about Obamacare makes healthcare affordable? Tell me what data you can come up with that shows people are paying less for health care. And what are the total actual numbers of people who didn’t have health insurance in 2008 vs. 2016? Sadly we have seen how an inexperienced, unqualified team of so-called experts with insufficient background in health care came up with a bureaucracy-based system that is collapsing under its own weight. The incoming administration has an opportunity to try to make healthcare affordable, while at the same time reestablishing freedoms within the system.
 
2) Russia. Where to start? I don’t know any conservative who seriously likes Russia. Hillary is the one who came up with the cute little ‘push the reset button’ soundbite regarding our relations with Russia, but her foreign policy expertise appeared to be just as superficial. Under the current administration we lost the Middle East, and let Russia end-run us in Syria. While we are getting the short end of the stick with China, from an economic perspective, Russia is forging diplomatic ties with them. People like Putin understand power and weakness. That's how they view the world. In that context, the last 8 years have played into Russian hands.
 
3) Our Allies. Who do you define as our allies? Israel is an ally, but under the outgoing administration we treated them poorly, and tried to influence their elections. We treated their leaders with disrespect, and we sided with their enemies - preferentially. We have probably helped pave the way for “wipe Israel off the map” Iran to get nuclear weapons to annihilate Israel. So, let me ask you about Crimea? We, as a nation, pledged our protection to the Ukraine, but other than some bold rhetoric condemning Russia's invasion of the Crimea, we didn't do much. How does this square with your comments about Russia, and about our allies? There are many more examples to go along with those.
 
4) Cutting taxes - and thus incentivizing people and corporations to invest and take risks is good. Having a strong military is a deterrent to war, and a very strong tool for effective and peaceful diplomacy. Speak softly and carrying a big stick is a good idea. I do think that Trump has been a big-mouth. I think a lot of it has been that he was so frustrated by how our leaders have kept selling America out. Well he does need some polishing and this campaign has shown him learn the ropes of being a newbie politician. Nevertheless, I think most Americans care more about what a President does than what he says.
 
5) The incoming administration has made it clear that they support Civil Rights, as does the vast majority of the American populace and conservatives. But alas we’ve heard all sorts of “fake news” in the media that Trump is an anti-Semite and that he surrounds himself with anti-Semites. And then we learn that most of his grandkids and his beloved daughter are Jews. He’s having her husband Jared be one of his top advisors too? I personally think that he might be secretly Jewish. In the meantime we see the Democrats considering to put a possibly strong supporter of the Nation of Islam in as their Chairman? I’m speechless as earlier this year I was appalled to hear some of them giving tirades of extreme racism in Harlem, New York City.
 
6) Reducing the population by 10%? Where did you get that one? You know that many conservative families have lots of kids. Well I do know that my Mormon parents claimed they used birth control a lot in their marriage. But they had me and 9 other children; and have 45 grandchildren now. And I know plenty of other conservative families that are having big families. So what is your point?
 
7) Regarding trade wars with countries that lend us money, and the issue of telling private companies how to run their businesses, there are many things to say. First, it doesn’t need to be “trade war” but trade fairness where we have very close to equal levels of trade with other countries and the world. Second, why does the US have to ‘borrow’ money? Why are we a debtor nation? Partially, because we have an unsustainably large government that irresponsibly put into place unsustainable social programs that actually hurt people in the long run, and put our nation’s children and future generations into debt. Third, why shouldn't we protect ourselves and the interests of our citizens when determining trade policy and trade agreements? We've been getting the short end of the stick, and anyone who claims to be a champion of American workers should be in favor of negotiating fair trade agreements. Why do our politicians push for us to allow corporations to have incentives to violate minimum wage laws & environment laws & then be allowed to import goods into the country without any tariffs? That’s what we allowed as we turned our well-paid manufacturers into welfare bums & as a result instead of milking these high incomes with taxes to pay governments’ bills we spend (and run up deficits) to help them eat while we’ve stripped the hopelessly unemployed of their dignity. With regards telling private companies what to do, it has been the Democrats who have pushed policies that tell private companies that they have to bake cakes for occasions that are inconsistent with their personal religious beliefs, and that want to force private Catholic hospitals to provide abortions, etc. Personally I think the federal government has no business controlling doctors’ work, family bedrooms, etc. as they need to stay focused on being able to be fiscally sound, perform their federalism role in the enumerated powers of Congress, and strengthen the union.
 
8) Some other thoughts. I saw Paul Ryan on Sixty Minutes tonight. I’m reminded that he is probably in a more powerful role than Trump now as it’s in the House where the bills to generate revenue must all originate. And due to the fact we have a National Debt & a debt ceiling that’s coming back March 15th its going to be imperative that things get in balance. The federal government will not be bringing in enough revenue the next 4 years to meet all the obligations that have already been spent previously so anything it seeks to spend on must be borrowed. Thus they must be very prudent and drain that swamp 

[RegulatorCountry]

I take issue with qualifying opposition to Trump as “non-GOP.” The GOP has done much to obstruct and little to help.

How do you respond to GOP friend who’s still in a huff? There are plenty. “Butt-hurt Cruzerroid” might be satisfying to say, but it’s not very persuasive.

[Rebelbase]

Get a new friend.

[Maudeen]

IMHO you need to witness to this guy. He probably doesn’t have a true relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise he wouldn’t be voting for the party of “baby killers” and other maladies in society that go against the Bible.

[navymom1]

Sorry I can’t help. Just lost two Facebook friends (one a family member) over my support of Trump. I honestly am beginning to think there is a biological problem with liberals.

[M-cubed]

“Double Tap” to be sure......

[xp38]

Right off the bat anyone who labels the right as Reds is really the one who is upside down.

[M-cubed]

It can’t be done. They have a faulty premise (often more than one) and use faulty thinking to come to the conclusion that they cannot understand how anything would ever, ever work in a way they do not understand. <<<

you nailed it!....Its a mental disease

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

[altura]

You may have a friend, but you do not have a friend who is very intelligent.

[TheWriterTX]

This is nothing but a series of meaningless straw men. I thought you said this person was intelligent? Ask for specifics on any of these alleged points and fight it out from there using logics and facts. Every time he uses a strawman, call him on it and keep hammering the facts. After the fourth or fifth time he purposefully ignores facts that do not fit his narrative, you will realize you are talking to a brainwashed drone. Good luck!

[Brad from Tennessee]

Because the American mass media—news, entertainment, the arts—is 95 percent liberal Democrat, the belief system of the rank-and-file Democrat is constantly reinforced by daily streams of information he absorbs. He generally doesn't question it so has no reason to investigate it. In a debate he recites abbreviated talking points like gospel. He is indoctrinated rather than informed.

[Steve Van Doorn]

If you respond logically to a feeling based argument you will get no place.

Take their argument and twist it back at them.
said, "Affordable healthcare is bad" meaning Affordable healthcare is good. Yes, it is good. Thank you for paying for my healthcare.

You're not going to get anyplace with them anyway. You know the old motto. Garbage in garbage out.

You can make the strongest argument ever made. They will say, "I farted. he he ha ha you're argument stinks."
This is all they need. You have to understand we're evil. If they ever have the chance to exterminate us they will.

[Steve Van Doorn]

One more thing. There are generally two types of leftist. The regressive leftist (your “friend”) and those that can think somewhat rationally(example: Sargon of Akkad. on Youtube)

[Cobra64]

I refuse to have anything to do with liberals. My wife accuses me of being rude to them, but I take that as a compliment, and a badge of honor.