Can we talk?

I'm referring to the liberal democrats here. The rest are free to go. But you can stick around if you like.

Can we talk? For the last twenty to twenty five years or so I've been a democratic leaning independent. So we're basically family here. There are some things you need to hear, and it's better coming from a friend. What I'm about to say my not be pleasant, but neither is good medicine. So have a seat. Screw up your courage, and here we go.

This may come as a surprise to you. I know you won't like to hear it. But not exactly every one in this country agrees with your brilliant and stunning positions on all issues. I know, I know. You're not sure how that could be possible. I mean John Kerry agrees with you. So does Al Gore. Molly Ivans. Ellen Goodwin. They all agree with you. Michael Moore agrees with you, so does everyone in the audience when you saw Fahrenheit 9/11. The Dixie Chicks agree with you. Dave Matthews Band. P. Diddy. Cameron Diaz. Natalie Portman. Heck, the Boss agrees with you, and you just know if Bruce Springsteen agrees with you, you have to be absolutely, positively right. But you're not.

Now for some really bad news (I was prepping you in the previous paragraph). The majority of the American people don't agree with you. By a sizeable margin too. Are you going to be okay? Do you need a glass of water, maybe some fresh air? How about smelling salts? I know it hurts, but the last presidential election has shown beyond a doubt that not every one agrees with your positions.

I wish I could stop here, but when you're pulling a band-aid off, its better to just rip away rather than pulling a little bit at a time. So hold on. This is the biggy. This is the money one. This is the part that really seems to escape you. Not all people who don't agree with you are idiots. Easy now, don't get too flustered. I know your position on issues is impeccable. I know all the stars in Hollywood agree with you. Whoopi Goldberg, Babs Streisand, Rosie O'Donnell. Heck, even Madonna agrees with you. How could you possibly be incorrect? Well here's the bitter pill to swallow, people can have different positions than you and not be morons.

I know you've got all that star power, all that democratic liberal brain power on your side. But there are some pretty smart people on the other side who have some pretty good ideas. It might be worth your time to check some of them out. Charles Krauthammer. Walter E. Williams. Thomas Sowell. These are very intelligent people, with very intelligent ideas. I realize they don't carry the same weight as Jane Fonda or Robert Redford. But their ideas are better and more practical than Woodward and Bernstein combined. There, I've said it. You look like you could use a drink.

Unless you've already decided I must be a moron and an idiot for posing the theory that people who don't agree with you can not only be smart, but they also out number you, let us continue. I want this to be a healing, nurturing time together. I want to give you the possibility of growing. Let's continue.

I've already demonstrated you are in the minority. I know exactly why you are in the minority. I can read it like beads of sweat on your forehead. Its because they have ideas, and your side doesn't. Instead your side has campaign rhetoric, protest signs, bumper stickers, insults and oxymoronic logic. There are far too many examples to list here, so I'll just grab some off the top of my head. You complain about high gas prices, you're against drilling for more oil, and you vote for people who ride in the back of stretch limos and fly on private jets. Does any of that make any sense to you at all?

Here's another. You demand the federal government ensure you are 100% safe from terrorists, but then you demand the prison in Guantonamo Bay be closed and the detainees enter the civil judicial system to protect their rights. And then do what with them? Put them in civilian prisons? You want to put Islamic fanatics who want to see everyone in the west killed into a group of men who currently have grudges against America? Think about that for a while. Doesn't that sound like the worst idea you've ever heard? Or perhaps we could ship them to their homes. How many would be welcomed as heroes, free to ply their trade again? To become terrorists. Again, you'll have to explain the logic, because I don't see it. To me it seems more like a terrorist recycling program.

Here's another one. In the 1990's, during the Clinton administration, democratic politicians loved the sound of fixing social security. They rallied around Clinton's proposals, and rightly so. Fast forward to a republican president who's actually willing to try and tackle the problem, and all the democratic politicians cry there's absolutely nothing wrong with social security. It may need a tweak here or there, but its completely financially sound. Can anyone point out any kind of logic here? The only logical answer would be the social security fairy paid the treasury a visit one night and sprinkled magic dust on the lock box. Now does that sound like a grown up, well thought out position? To me it sounds like a group of power hungry politicians who will do and say anything to seize and keep power. And they would be the guys you vote for.

Are you starting to get my drift here? You see where this is heading? My advice, and I give this in hopes of helping you - not to be a smart ass - I strongly suggest that you take a hard, honest look at the issues. I suggest you do some book work, study up on them. Then chose a position that makes sense, is logical, a position that has a plan for solving these issues. And then I strongly suggest, and this is the tricky part, I strongly suggest you stick with it. Don't get me wrong now, if some one comes along with a better plan, give them a fair hearing, and if they make more sense than your current beliefs, feel free to change. There is one hitch here, and it is critical to holding this entire thing together. Their plan needs to be superior to the one you currently hold. If you change just because the party in White House does, you will have accomplished nothing. If you change your well thought out position because Madonna says to, then you're defeating the entire purpose.

Now I've told you all that for a specific reason. And here's the real painful lesson. When you refuse to accept common, basic logic, when your positions are dictated by some one in Hollywood who's job is to spend 3 minutes a day in front of a camera pretending to be some one else, when your entire political philosophy fits on a bumper sticker, it's not your opponent who looks stupid. It's you.

I hope it was easier coming from a friend.