oops

almost forgot to recommend!

Done!

I always try to throw a few facts about costs to the Republican members of my family. I've never met a Republican yet who liked to pay taxes and few are naive enough to believe all this imperial war making is free.

I enjoyed it immensely.

This is the first time in my life time I can remember having in depth conversations with my mother about politics. This campaign so far has been in many ways and on many levels gut wrenching and rewarding at the same time.

LisB, you just keep being you; it's the best any of us can do, and it sounds like you do it well.

I think discussing politics is good but arguing about politics hardly ever does any good. It is deeply disappointing that the issues have almost become beside the point. We talk more about flag pins than we do the deficit. We talk more about pantsuits than we do the national embarassment that is Gitmo. Politically it seems like the only thing that matters is avoiding embarassing gotchas. But who gets swayed by these trivial slips? I think the key swing vote everyone is courting are the politically disengaged. The politically disengaged can understand flag pins and racist preachers and teary eyes, but talk about the geneva convention or progressive taxes or the situation in Pakistan and their eyes glaze over. So we are left with inane national political discourse because the engaged voter is already commited one way or the other.

Can you get your family to talk about what they wish the country was doing now and how that fits with the promises of the current bunch of candidates?

I think you're right that it can do mostly harm to try and change their minds, as in trying to talk them into voting differently.

The important thing is what you are doing. Articulating your opinions and showing them that they are well-founded and worth respecting. They may not vote for the person you wish they would, but through your good example, they probably won't "hate" that candidate either, and that's a huge step forward.

I'm from Texas, and have seen many people turn from red to purple, but it's a slow slow thing that begins by learning not to hate the blue.

Thanks Lis - for a refreshingly different kind of post.

Lis,

A big chunk of my family is Republican too, though they are very much in the deep end.

Interestingly, Obama doesn't seem to rile them, the way the Clintons do, a good sign for Obama's ability to govern successfully, once he's elected.

Obama's book, the Audacity of Hope is a good start for those on the fence. He genuinely gets, the oppositions concerns about a lot of issues and deals with them in a wise and inclusive way. Folks who don't agree with him, are not made out to be wrong, he patiently explains his position, without diminishing anyone.

I'm thinking of giving a copy to my father, but haven't quite gotten up the nerve.

LisB, I really love your post and your story of the drive. It was as welcome as a soft fresh breeze on my cheek on a hot day.

My parents were lifelong republicans, but both switched to become democrats after they reached their fifties. My older brother from Texas, a big GWB fan, and I got into some strong verbal exchanges about the time of the Iraq war drumming.....so much so that a new rule was instituted for gatherings- NO POLITICS ALLOWED. In the past few years, that brother has grown very quiet and obviously changed his mind about GWB, but I have had the grace to not put him on the spot with any 'I told you so' stuff.

It has been challenging that I am very pro-Obama and another sibling is very pro-Clinton during this primary cycle. Sort of makes my mom nervous for sure, probably remembering that earlier arguing between my older brother and I. But my pro-Clinton sibling and I do quite well with it, speaking to each other a lot over recent months from our prospective positions, each of us respecting the other's preference. We each will vote for whomever gets the nomination. Now that Hillary seems to be out of chances for the nomination , there's developed a certain new silence between us, and that is fine as it feels like a healthy respectful interim.

Ironically enough, what put Obama in the realm of possibility for me was a comment that the husband of my wife's cousin made about two years ago. This guy is a Virginia born, raised and educated devout Catholic, and a red to the bone conservative like his wife's family, who have a picture of Robert E. Lee in their dining room.
Anyway, here we are having brunch and some in the northern branch of the family (which includes me, a black Cuban, and my wife's aunt's husband, an Israeli) are stating our preference for Hillary, given that if she was elected, Bill would be part of the package deal. This was a long time ago, people.
So out of the blue this guy comes out with a "you know who I like?, This guy Obama. He's young, energetic, and I get him" Get him?, I thought, he's got to be joking. But no, he was serious.
On the drive back to NYC I was thinking that Obama must have been doing something singular to attract some sympathy from someone like this guy. I decided then to really start paying attention to the skinny guy from Illinois.

Lis-

Btw, and off-topic (sorry)--I wanted to say that it was not my intent to scold you on a blogpost you wrote a day or two ago. I was just doing some rambling about my own feelings. But I wasn't feeling judgmental about the anger you were expressing, though it probably sounded that way. I'm sorry about that. I was just spooked by the a-word and fretting about the angry interactions the whole mess was creating in the TPM blogspace.

I don't want you to worry too much about blogging while you're in the middle of feeling whatever you're feeling. I've read enough of your posts to know that you wear your heart on your sleeve! That's not a bad thing! You can do that because you are honest about your thoughts and feelings (you don't try to manipulate) and you are humble enough to admit mistakes. As long as you have those things going for you, I think it's perfectly safe for you to blog while you're in the moment.