So

[prog]

I have five immediate family members who live in a swing state (Maine). They are all highly partisan Republicans and fans of Fox news. (I mean this literally: they watch Fox news and tell me how great it is.) They are highly fiscally conservative, and moderately socially conservative. (Socially, my parents have been slowly drifting towards more libertarian views as they have grown older, mellowed out, and met a wider variety of people... as much as that's possible in Maine, anyway.)

* I think that my parents are not stupid or insane, but instead possess a very different view of the world than you or I, in which the sitting president's actions have been generally justified.

* I think that my two brothers and one sister-in-law are too dopey to hold any political views of their own, and will vote however my parents do.

* If I can somehow sway my parents to vote for !W, I would feel as if I helped cast five ballots in a state whose electoral votes' destination is not predetermined. (My own state is the bluest of of the blues.)

So, then:

* Can I do anything?

Comments

[mangosteen]

Can you come up with some anecdote about how W's policies have directly effected your personal life? A lot of BushCo's justifications for actions is that "only bad people will get folded/spindled/mutilated". Presuming that your family doesn't thing you're Bad People, that may at least get them to listen.

Buh?

[kyroraz.livejournal.com]

Since *when* has Maine been a swing state? Maine's pretty liberal, my friend.

Maine:Liberal::Arizona:Conservative

[dougo.livejournal.com]

Sounds like it's unlikely they'd be convinced to vote for Kerry, so maybe the best you can do is get them to not vote: schedule a family gathering for voting day. (And intercept their mail in case they try to send in absentee ballots.)

Or you could try to convince them to vote for the Libertarian Party candidate, or anyone else more fiscally conservative than Bush (which is not hard to be).

[aspartaimee.livejournal.com]

if they are becoming more libertarian, perhaps discussing the patriot act crapping on first amendment rights? maybe you can recommend "the bush betrayal" by james bovard, prominent libertarian since that book nicely maps out how the current administration tramples everything in its path.

you definitely have your work cut out for you, though. much like nosferatu, fox news is all powerful after dark.

[temvald.livejournal.com]

yeah. i'm in a similar situation--my parents are both loyal republicans of the fiscally conservative/socially moderate-to-liberal stripe. the only ideas that i have are to a) approach through my mother, who is somewhat less partisan (she doesn't read the wall street journal editorial page), and b) go for the 'let's get the christian right out of the republican party' tactic. dunno if either of those will help for you.

if your parents are fiscally conservative in the more traditional view, you might argue against bush's huge deficits. if they're fiscally conservative in the no-taxes-starve-the-beast mold, then that won't work as well.

...of course, if you're like me, then coming up with an argument is the least of your problems. it's more of a question of how to have a political disagreement/discussion with your parents at all.

My reaction.

[xymotik.livejournal.com]

::Reads first 3 lines of this post. Screams. Out loud. Wonders if the jmac was switched at birth::

The above mention of deficits might work, but they might just blame it on Congress (nevermind that it's under Repub control) or use Bush's rationale, his "trifecta" argument. Honestly, dougo's plan sounds like the best. Good luck trying to convince anyone about anything.

luckily

[cthulhia]

nothing my republican family can do in upstate new york will change that state from blue to red.

terrorism might, but only because people are sheep.

(The sibling in colorado, with that state putting a new elector distribution proposal on the same ballot, and the one in florida, for being florida, well, *sigh*)

On the Fox front...

[daerr.livejournal.com]

I'd be happy to lend them my copy of Outfoxed...
:)