It’s not that I don’t love him. He’s ok.
But I needed to speak with him on something and, like always, he directed it to politics (he knows I used to cover it).
If Kerry wins:
Buy Euros as the dollar will lose half its value
Sell the house and rent as the real estate market will collapse
Taxes will be doubled or tripled for all levels
Lobbyists will own Washington (like they don’t already)
Discord will run rampant and states will begin to break away from the republic
Agh!
I try not to discuss politics or religion with anyone, especially my parents. And I more or less agree with them politically.
[hijack]Is it Friday yet? I had to look up ‘religion’ :rolleyes:[/hijack]
Wait. Does this mean you are Yancy Fry Jr.?
Quick. Head down to the basement and open Philip’s Ronco[sup]TM[/sup] Record Vault. Check inside the sleeve of the soundtrack from The Breakfast Club. You’ll find something in there that will come in very handy.
Oh, and don’t worry about Philip. He’s going to be fine.
I’m so glad that my parents agree with me on political matters. Too bad I can’t say the same of my sister, but we both know better than to discuss the topic.
And the worst thing is that he’s a REALLY smart guy. Degree from University of Chicago and an MBA from Harvard in 1965. It’s not like he’s dumb or anything…he’s just gotten nuttier and nuttier as he ages.
I sat, match him nut for nut. When he says Kerry will triple taxes, you say that Bush is going to sell off the constitution to the highest corporate bidder! When he says Kerry will make the dollar lose half its value, you say that Bush is going to make to outlaw currency and institute indentured servitude! When he sends one of your guys to the hospital, you send one of his guys to the morgue!
Er, sorry, got a little carried away at the end, there, but you see where I’m going with this.
You should get him to put it in writing and make a formal wager. Might as well get something out of these discussions.
Mom and I get along extremely well - unless we discuss politics. So - we don’t discuss politics. Makes it easier for all involved.
Susan
Your dad forgot that he’ll have to divorce mom and gay marry the next day. It’s in the “new” constitution.
Sounds like my folks. Both of them ex-teachers, very well educated. Both of them rabid Republicans. I can’t say the slightest thing of a questioning nature about the Administration without a lecture on how the World will End if a Democrat gets elected…to anything!
I waffle between keeping my mouth shut, and baiting them mercilessly. I’m a bad son. 
I don’t ever talk politics with my father. He wouldn’t even consider voting for anyone but a republican. He doesn’t care what either candidate says, it’s democrat = bad, republican = good. As a matter of fact, liberal or conservative doesn’t matter to him either, it’s just the party name…
Thank Og!! My husband and I have been trying to buy a home for over 8 months, and with the overinflated housing market driving prices for a measely 2 bedroom home to **over $700,000 ** (yes, you read that right - the cheapest SFH we’ve seen in our neighborhood was nearly three quarters of a million dollars for a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, teeny little house!), we simply haven’t been able to afford to do so. A real estate collapse is exactly what we need! Woo Hoo! Go John Kerry. 
Sounds like my dad. My mom is actually pretty easy to talk to (lifelong Republican who’s decided to vote for Kerry this election), but I swear to God, my dad will puff up like a fish out of water, turn red, and start sputtering. I’ve nicknamed him “Blowfish”.
My mom and I were discussing politics calmly one day on the phone when they were on their way to a vacation (before she changed sides), and my dad’s at the wheel of the car yelling “You don’t need to fucking talk about that right now!”.
I laughed at him when he got on the phone. And normally, my dad’s an awesome kind of guy - this is the ONLY thing that seems to piss him off. He may be lightning up, though, since last time my husband and I visited my parents, he tacked up a signed pic of GWB on the mirror for me to see as I woke up one morning. I drew devil horns and a mustache on the pic. And he found it funny.
I’ve always been the lone Democrat in a family of Republicans. I just married into a seriously liberal family, and I have to admit, I love it. My father-in-law’s offering to take me to the DNC next Presidential election, he put my name on the volunteer list for the local Democratic party - wipes away a tear - it’s like Christmas 365 days a year.
Ava
When I was a kid my dad was a rabid Republican. He voted for Goldwater and Nixon. But sometime in the last twenty years he flipped over to the other side. Now he’s a rabid Democrat (with occasionally very strange views for a democrat). I think he got this from listening to WMNF, which used to be a public radio station but they went private after a war with a Florida Republican (I don’t know which one). He gets a lot of very fringe news from his radio station, lots of exposes on the horrors that Republicans have commited. I like to get him revved up when I’m over to their house but my mom gets very upset with me. I’ll just whisper in his ear about some Bush hijinks that I’ve heard about and he starts to turn red. It’s the one thing I’ll miss if Kerry gets elected.
The real estate out there has been THE BIG THING that has prevented me from considering a move to California. I don’t see how y’all deal with the costs out there. Me? I bought a 3 BR, 2.5 BR 2142 sq-ft house for $126,000 back in 1996, so a move to CA would definitely be a shock.
Recently, I’ve become somewhat of a political TV junkie, watching lots of news analysis shows. To the point that my wife got slightly fed up with it. Fortunately for me, she’s moved to being more politically interested, to the point of volunteering to help with a local campaign.
My mom’s birthday was a couple weeks ago and I put in the requisite call. Politics came up when I was speaking with my dad; he’s a gun nut, and therefore adamantly Republican. As he ranted and raved about what a mistake I was making for voting Democrat, he told me that I should pay more attention to the news. I couldn’t persuade him that I already spent more time following politics than I should - but worse, he wouldn’t believe some of the facts and figures I put forth, spouting the Republican talking points as rejoinders. Our final exchange:
What fun!
It is amazing how polarized our country has become this election year. I have a friend of mine whose debates with his father have become so intense, and their beliefs in what they think are so passionate, that they have fought numerous times and now their relationship is icy.
My friend has literally lost respect for his father because of what he describes as “an ignorant refusal to recognize basic truths”. Mind you, neither of these individuals are what you would typify as one of the “ignorant masses”. Both are highly educated, well read, extensively traveled and nice people. They just so vehemently disagree on the major issues right now that it is actually changing their perceptions of each other.
Personally, I remember old quotes from the 2000 race, “I am uniter, not a divider”. To me that is almost as famous and ironic as “Read my lips, no new taxes”.
Doh!!! “I am a uniter” is how that should read.
Would this be a bad time to mention that dad is semi-retired (after 20+ years as an airline exec with United, Flying Tiger, and Fedex) because he bought two houses in Redondo Beach in 1971 and sold them about 7 or so years ago? Now he just consults and apparently doesn’t get out enough.
I loved growing up in Redondo. I really did.