Political Judo for the Strong of Heart

2006-01-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

People who vote against their own best interests out of fear can not be frightened into changing the way they vote. You have to help them see the false elements of their fear as you replace it with clear reality. Ask them why they believe the way they do. If their position is based on a false premise, paraphrase their position so they know you have listened to them. With calm and steady conviction, clarify the reality. Appeal to their sense of decency and fair play and clearly distinguish the differences between Republicans and Democrats with side-by-side comparison.

Following are many of the most common objections that cause swing voters and self identified Democrats not to vote for Democratic candidates. They are false perceptions that are reinforced by extensive conservative marketing. Included are suggested responses that are counter punches, intended to push back the right-wing propaganda. Read and practice and be prepared to deliver a strong counter-point when you hear these false accusations.

The RESPONSE label identifies the short framed response. The MORE labels identify additional responses you can use if necessary. These are just suggestions and you should feel free to use your own words and add or subtract what you want.

Top 3 Common Objections:
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OBJECTION 1: Democrats want unrestricted abortions.

RESPONSE: Pro-life should include all children. Changing the law will only increase infant mortality as it has in every country where abortion is illegal. The problem in the US is the number of unwanted pregnancies. And the way to fight that is to reduce poverty and improve education and health care and that’s why those are core Democratic issues. This is why abortions went down 18% under Bill Clinton and have gone back up under George Bush. Every single Republican platform issue leads to the actual increase of abortions and infant mortality and Republicans fight every effort to make real change.

MORE: Republicans will never change the law because abortion is a big fundraiser for them. Republican Senate Leader Bill Frist and his family own Hospital Corporation of America (also known as TriStar) which performs the largest number of “for profit” abortions in the US. Not only are Republicans hypocrites, they are also profiting from abortions.

MORE: Republicans are using Christians on abortion and gay marriage but will never do anything because they raise so much money and cause so much distraction on those issues. Did you notice how "gay marriage" and terror alerts disappeared after the 2004 election? Republican lobbyist, Jack Abramoff deceived and used Christians to scam Indian tribes out of millions of dollars. Republicans are scamming and scaring people into voting away their way of life.

MORE: Countries where abortion is illegal also have the highest infant mortality rates. Angola, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Liberia, Egypt and Guatemala still have illegal and dangerous abortions as well as the highest infant mortality rates. These countries are also all ruled by distorted fundamentalist theocracy.

Almost every country with low infant mortality, including abortions, offer legal and sometimes free abortions: Sweden, Iceland, Singapore, Finland, Japan, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Canada have the lowest infant mortality rates. All of these countries have lower rates of poverty, and better education and health care than the US and that is what makes the difference. Holland has the lowest abortion rate in the world. Both contraception and abortion are legal and free in Holland and yet the Dutch teenage pregnancy rate is 9 times lower than in the U.S.

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OBJECTION 2: Government run anything (health care) would be inefficient and corrupt.

RESPONSE: Health care should favor sick people, not drug companies. Almost every bit of government waste and corruption is carried out by corporate contractors not government workers. The vast majority of waste and corruption is in defense spending, not social services. Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security all have administrative costs of 2% or less. Most private health care systems have over 20% of administrative overhead.

MORE: Stem cell research is about curing disease which would cut health care costs but it would also cut drug company profits and that's why Republicans are blocking it. As our national public debt sails past 8 trillion dollars and massive tax cuts finance the outsourcing of our own jobs, Republican owned drug companies, defense contractors, energy and big oil are making a fortune. Republicans love deficit spending and keep us in debt because it weakens our government, increases corporate welfare and keeps wages low and corporate profits high.

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OBJECTION 3: Democrats are weak on defense and will not stand up to terrorists.

RESPONSE: Defense spending should favor the troops, not corporate contractors. Republicans throw away billions of our money to defense contractors for technology and equipment that doesn’t work or never gets used, while they leave our troops without body armor and equipment they need to do their job. They also continue cutting pay and benefits for both the troops and our veterans while they pretend to be patriotic.

MORE: Republican foreign policies have created the terrorism we face today. Republicans installed and supported Saddam Hussein and trained and armed Osama bin Laden and his army during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Republicans left bases in Saudi Arabia which were Bin Laden's stated reason for attacking on 9/11. The torture at Abu Grahib prison happened because our kids thought they were protecting us from Weapons of Mass destruction that did not exist. That deception and many other mistakes in Iraq have doomed our children to a lifetime of terrorism. Republicans are digging us deeper and deeper and we have to stop the digging.

MORE: Republicans allow weak enforcement of illegal immigration because it's a windfall for corrupt companies while it brings down wages for all Americans and leaves our own borders unprotected. Rather than invest in renewable fuels, the Republican energy policy has removed decades of environmental protection and pays oil companies to continue drilling for oil. That makes us more dependent on the Middle East and will continue to create more and more terrorism.

Some more common objections:
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OBJECTION: I'm a Christian and Democrats are wrong on abortion and gay marriage.

RESPONSE: Jesus was so concerned about homosexuality he never mentioned it. In his day, people were being crucified but Jesus didn't protest crucifixion. He fed the poor, healed the sick and preached about peace, love and tolerance. That's why Democrats fight to reduce poverty and improve health care and education which happens to be the best way to reduce unwanted pregnancies and abortions. By raising the red flag of abortion and gay marriage Republicans divert attention away from their arrogant and greedy policies which cause the poverty, war and pollution we are facing today.

RESPONSE: Jesus preached but never prayed in public. The one time he prayed with his disciples, Jesus instructed them not to pray in public like the hypocrites but to pray in private:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

-- Matthew 6:5 - Christian New Testament

MORE: "Church and state were separated because the church previously had promoted itself through the agency of the state and to the detriment of the people." and... "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State."

-- Thomas Jefferson - Author of Declaration of Independence, advocate for Bill of Rights and 3rd U.S. President

MORE: "The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries." and... "Religion and Government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together."

-- James Madison - Father of U.S. Constitution, Co-author of Federalist Papers and 4th U.S. President

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OBJECTION: But the economy is doing well?

RESPONSE: The stock markets are doing well because slave labor is cheaper than American labor. Republican policies and tax cuts have financed the outsourcing of our own jobs to slave wage countries. They offshore the profits to avoid US taxes and leave all the tax burden on the rest of us. Are you familiar with the term "bait and switch?" How about "misdirection?" Weak enforcement of immigration is destroying our unions and lowering wages for all of us while corrupt companies make a fortune on it. Republicans complain about taxes but the wealthiest Republicans pay little or no taxes, leaving all the burden on the middle class. Do you think if you win the Lottery tomorrow they'll help you avoid paying taxes? No way, because they need suckers like us to take up their slack. The system is rigged and if you think they're gonna help you, you're a fool.

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OBJECTION: Democrats are anti-business.

RESPONSE: The system is rigged. Honest businesses don't have a chance. Republicans give away hundreds of billions in corporate welfare to companies who outsource our jobs and offshore their profit which means none of that money shows up in our economy. Democrats are fighting for fair trade and ethical business that gives everyone an even break. We all have to fight together against the corporate corruption which is destroying our Democracy!

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OBJECTION: All Democrats want to do is raise taxes.

RESPONSE: Taxes should be fair and simple. All the complicated tax loopholes favor big business and wealthy Republicans, not you and me. Democrats balance budgets and pay down debt because they know it's the only way we can invest in education and renewable energy to make our country stronger. (Examples: Pres. Bill Clinton, Gov. Howard Dean, Gov. Mark Warner) Republicans love deficit spending and keep us in debt because it weakens our government, increases corporate welfare and keeps wages low.

MORE: We're all in the same boat but we've been divided and pitted against each other so we won't notice that a few greedy people are robbing this country blind. Ripping off the American people and passing on massive debt is immoral. It weakens our country and threatens the future of our children and grandchildren.

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OBJECTION: There's no difference between Democrats and Republicans.

RESPONSE: That is just not true. Democrats are undisciplined because we’re the party of the people (smile). Republicans are disciplined because they’re the Party of big business. Democrats fight for fiscal responsibility and balance budgets so we can invest in education, better roads and reduce property taxes. Republicans love deficit spending and keep us in debt because it weakens our government, increases corporate welfare and keeps wages low and corporate profits high.

MORE: Democrats fight to ensure religious freedom for everyone. Republicans fight for one religion. Democrats fight against poverty, war and pollution and to improve health care, education and civil rights. Republicans use gay rights as a political strategy to scare straight people. Did you notice how "gay marriage" and terror alerts disappeared after the 2004 election? Republicans will never do anything about "gay marriage" or abortion because they raise so much money and cause so much distraction on those issues. Republicans are scamming and scaring people into voting away their way of life. Republican lobbyist, Jack Abramoff deceived and used Christians to scam Indian tribes out of millions of dollars.

MORE: Republicans tell us how bad our government is and they run for office so they can prove it. When Republicans say "Smaller Government" they mean pay crony corporate contractors three times what we pay government workers for the same work. Republicans want smaller government like criminals want fewer cops, so they can get away with murder and that’s exactly what’s happening.

MORE: Republicans launched over 125 official congressional investigations against President Clinton including one investigation on the Clinton family cat “Socks” and12 hours of testimony on the use of the White House Christmas card list. Not one official congressional investigation has been started on George W. Bush.

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OBJECTION: Politics isn't important. It doesn't make any difference.

RESPONSE: Why do you think corporations and lobbyists spend hundreds of millions of dollars on politicians? Politics literally means community business. It directly involves everything we do and everything that happens to us. It affects schools, roads, taxes, healthcare, jobs and the price of gas. Politics is everywhere. Your vote is your voice, so speak up.

MORE: We have a window of opportunity now while the many corruption scandals create a vacuum of influence and chilling affect on big money campaign financing. Politicians are more dependent on our support and influence. We have more power right now than we usually do. We need to use it. Now is the time to get involved and make a real difference.

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OBJECTION: There's too much money in politics. Politicians will never reform it.

RESPONSE: Then always vote against the candidate that buys the most TV air time. If enough of us do that, it eliminates the benefit of big money and reforms government without any help from Washington.

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OBJECTION: All politicians lie, they're all corrupt, so what's the point?

RESPONSE: If they were all corrupt none of 'em would get caught. Republicans have suckered people into believing this lie because they know if enough people vote, Republicans would never win. They discourage and suppress the vote as much as they can, they buy some people off with tax cuts and scare the rest into voting against their own interests and that's how they win. Don't fall for it. Don't be suckered by free lunch and fear mongering.

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Compiled, edited and summarized by Todd Smyth

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