Help responding to my very liberal father

[livianne]

Hey all,

I need some assistance putting together a well thought out response to my VERY liberal father's email. He had mentioned how much he liked hillary's response to criticisms of what she said in Iraq (which personally I wasn't all that excited about - she is what she is) because she pinned it on a "Right wing apparatus" and responded just by saying "I am not going to lie to American troops" (nope - no subtle reference THERE!)

Ok - so this was my response, which is followed by his. I know what my gut reaction to this was, and it involves something about feces from some sort of charging animal. But i'd like to come up with a better response, based on intelligent comments and even some backup. And since I know people here are VERY well read on such things, I thought maybe you could give me a hand.

My email:

a "right wing apparatus" sounds suspiciously like the "right wing conspiracy" that was out to destroy her husband. When a number of left-wing (how come you never hear THAT term?) commentators and politicians find a statement of a republican offensive and all come out to criticize it, is that just a symptom of the "left-wing apparatus"? I noticed she also made a DISTINCT point that the unit she was talking to was based in NY....

and his email to me:

No mention of "left-wing conspiracies?". Come now. For decades, the right has been crying wolf, particularly with respect to claims of liberalism in the press, IN ORDER TO marginalize any liberal content without serious discussion. Attacking the messenger has been a tactic of the right at least since the Nixon days, and it is being refined to Orwellian proportions today. (The right's idea of a liberal press is one that tells people what they -- the right -- don't want them to know or think. On reflection, I don't think I've ever lived in a time when there was a truly liberal press -- however the press was once less tightly controlled by its publishers. Further, what is the proportion of liberal to conservative talk shows today -- or historically?) I don't guess that this strategy was arrived at during some convention of rightist bigwigs at an airport Hilton, but the strategy has become very broadly adopted and seems to be the preferred mode of dealing with any opposition. One major manifestation of this is a tendency of right-oriented pundits to respond to left-oriented comments or criticisms with ad hominem attack, rather than with policy discussion. Hillary Clinton's response was slick precisely because she effectively responded to ad-hominem criticism at it's own level, without taking a defensive position. The criticism leveled against her was not about what she said -- rather it was an attack on her "patriotism." Her response hit the same emotional point effectively, neutralizing the ad hominem attack. This is clearly what other centrist and liberal figures have to do -- if effective, it will stop this type of illogical verbal warfare that is so counterproductive to effective governing.

[livianne]

any ideas would be definitely appreciated. when i was a teenager he loved to pin me in bad arguments as though out debating a 17 year old was a big victory. At 26 i'm not letting him get away with it.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Here's one:

Dad, I love you no matter what you believe. Merry Christmas.

[HarleyD]

All my brothers are liberals and, trust me, know matter how well you show them their arguments are stupid you will never be able to convince them. They need to "run to the light" themselves. It's best just to smile and nod your head.

[Coop]

No liberal bias? Ask your father to do a search on the terms "right-wing extremist" and "left-wing extremist." Then ask your father about the scope of coverage of the CIA/Joe Wilson "scandal." Then ask him how much he knows about the recent Democrat intel memos interfering with court cases and the war effort.

[livianne]

Here's one: Dad, I love you no matter what you believe. Merry Christmas.

He knows i love him no matter what, and i know he loves me no matter what. That doesn't mean I don't want to respond to the kind of arguments he's been making for as long as i can rememeber.

also, we're jewish so i don't know how well Merry Christmas would go over :)

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Well, "Merry Christmas" would definitely change the subject.

I tried what I suggested and it changed their angle of attack and made them pause. Liberals don't debate, they argue.

[John O]

reading his emnail I'd say he's trapped in liberal delusion and will never listen to anything you say. The best you can hope for is that he'll be able to function well enough to live but not well enough to care to vote.

Wish him a happy hannakah and let him spout.

[livianne]

reading his emnail I'd say he's trapped in liberal delusion and will never listen to anything you say. The best you can hope for is that he'll be able to function well enough to live but not well enough to care to vote.

oh he votes - he and my mother are supporting dean. they're probably throwing a party about gore's endorsement - they were all for him as president. i suppose my desire to respond in a well thought out way has less to do with expecting to change his mind (i don't) and more to do with finally being at a point in my political awareness, interest and involvement to be able to hear his arguments for what they are and not letting him pin me into a corner like he used to. I'm the sole conservative in the family (though all my inlaws are conservative) and I just get so fed up with the garbage I hear.

for the record, i am actually very close with my parents despite our ideological differences. we can totally separate our disagreements in these areas from our relationship as family.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Try this one then -


Nyah, nyah! Sez you!