Peaceful looking Thanksgiving dinner
Each Thanksgiving, we see tips for Democrats on how to react to conservative Uncle Charlie when he starts raising his Republican Fox News talking points at the holiday meal. However, most such tips are reactive, and assume that our conservative relatives get to set the table first by initiating the conversation based on their talking points. We know that it’s tougher to prevail in political discussions that are framed by your opponent. Instead, how about going on offense and bringing up your points first, thereby tilting the field of debate in your favor? Here are some possible points to bring up at the Thanksgiving dinner table tomorrow:
—Stock Market and Finances: Donald Trump has tried to take credit for the stock market, which had been on a bull run since March 2009 (thanks Obama!). Well guess what? The stock market is down for the year in 2018. All gains made earlier in the year have now been wiped out. That’s even after Trump and the Republicans artificially pumped up the stock market by giving corporations a big tax cut they didn’t need, which they used to buy back shares of their own stocks. This is an important attack on Trump, because it goes to an area where he claims strength and expertise. By extension, you could also bring up that Trump’s experience is in going bankrupt, which he has done 6 times, and that he and the Republicans are steering America toward the same fate, by exploding our deficit and debt with their revenue-losing tax cuts, and raising the price of many items with Trump’s disastrous tariffs. Remember when Republicans said debt was a bad thing during Barack Obama‘s presidency? Or how about Republican efforts to take away affordable healthcare, including pre-existing conditions coverage? Everything the Republicans touch that affects your finances, they make worse.
—Democratic Election Victories: The Blue Wave or Blue Tsunami indeed did occur this past Election Day. Most importantly, Democrats won back control of the U.S. House of Representatives, with at least 39 seats flipped from red to blue, and still counting. Democrats also won many other victories, including state governorships, state legislatures, minimum wage increases, marijuana decriminalization, and even an offshore oil drilling ban in Florida, which is crucial not just for the environment but for Florida’s all-important tourism and fishing industries. Now, if you want to sound non-confrontational, you could point out that Democratic control of the House will place some reasonable checks and balances on Donald Trump, as the framers of the Constitution intended, and will restore stability to the country, making it harder for any party to do anything too extreme. You could also sound a bipartisan note and express optimism that both parties could find common ground on things that are important for America, such as repairing our crumbling roads and bridges, which will help everyone from commuters, to companies like Amazon and their customers, to emergency responders.
—Foreign Policy: Donald Trump has made a mess of America’s foreign relations and our reputation around the world. One thing Trump keeps doing is siding with the bad guys. For example, after American citizen and journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Turkey last month, and our own CIA concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was behind the murder, Trump reiterated his full support for Saudi Arabia. Trump also provides support to Saudi Arabia in its war on civilians in Yemen, which the UN calls “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” Trump’s rationale for supporting the murderous Saudi regime is “oil.” That’s precisely why, when Democrats are in power, they seek to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by promoting clean American energy such as solar and wind power. Republicans, however, try to quash the development of clean energy in order to placate their oil and gas corporate overlords.
Likewise, Trump kowtows to Mafia state Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin, even though Russia committed cyber warfare against the U.S. and interfered in our 2016 presidential election. Such Russian interference is the principal basis for Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation. That investigation must therefore go forward unimpeded, in order to protect America’s democracy.
These are a few suggested topics for you to initiate tomorrow, to beat conservative family members to the punch. Of course, you could always just try to keep your family Thanksgiving dinner politics-free, and instead wax eloquently about the sweet potato pie.
Photo by UrbanPromise, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/UjYRmQ
