Several weeks ago I was at a non-political function and had, over a period of two hours, formed a fairly comfortable relationship with a gentleman I had met for the fist time earlier that day.  We had discussed various issues, sports, family, cars and even to some extent, the economy.  All was well in the land of OZ.

Until, that is, a long time friend of mine who has a penchant for calling me “Tea Party”, walked by and shouted “Hey, Tea Party, how’s it going?”  After our typical bantering, I returned attention to my new friend, just in time to see the last ounce of blood drain from his face.

His comfortable demeanor had instantly changed.  Looking this way and that for a means of escape, he clearly would have been less uncomfortable if I was a proctologist examining his prostate with an Arizona cactus.  Finding no easy retreat route, he said,

I can’t believe you are “one of them”.

What’s the matter with liberals?

A metaphor for a message to liberals: try a few facts for a change. Graphic: TPATH

Quickly, my thoughts returned to our previously discussed topics of that morning and I thought back on just how full of information and data my soon to be lost, new found friend, was. That is, when the topic of sports was on the table, he knew Yankee batting averages, who was traded to and from the Giants and for whom, what size engine the 1987 Mustang GT came standard with.  But, as I recalled the discussion on the economy was as short lived as a feather in a furnace.

Normally when I find I’m locked in discussion with a wacky liberal, I too would look for the nearest exit.  My experience with them has always proven to be frustrating in that they will refuse to believe or consider facts that do not comply with their ideology.  Understanding them, I had decided years ago, was not my duty.  Defeating them, was.

But this guy seemed a bit too intelligent and a bit too stable to be cast into the that category.  So I looked him in the eye and said, “It appears you have a problem with the Tea Party.  Why?”   He said “The Tea Party are a bunch of radical, rich, fanatics who only care about not paying taxes and stand in the way of America’s progress.”

So rather than deny those accusations he no doubt heard while channel surfing between a baseball game and the Change Your Own Transmission Channel, I asked him to tell me, precisely which position the Tea Party had which he considered to be radical.  While I’m sure he would have much preferred that I ask him Mario Rivera’s ERA in 2007, he thought deeply and said “You guys, – now it was you guys, I had officially become one of them, only care about yourselves and get in the way of the government programs which help the poor.”

Can a liberal understand debt v. deficit?

Of course this did not surprise me and for a second my mind went to the Golf Channel, but I decided to stick with him  a bit longer.  He did seem sincere.  So I asked him if he knew the difference between the National Debt and the annual deficit.  I could see he was trying to decide if that had anything to do with “yards per carry” as related to “passing percentage” so I rescued him and explained it.

After pointing out that the National Debt reflected not the amount of money the government had spent, but the amount they spent that didn’t have, I told him the debt was sitting at almost $17 trillion dollars and asked him if he could comprehend that number.  Although he said he could, I knew he had no clue, so I asked him this question.  “If you laid out $100 bills, end to end, on the ground, how far would $17 trillion dollars extend?”

Box wrench or open-end seemed a bit more comprehensible to him, but he did suggest that it would extend across New Jersey.  So when I told him the line would extend around the earth, over 580 times, the blood once again began retreating from his face.  He spoke the words of denial but clearly he was concerned.  Now, I thought, we are getting someplace.

Explaining to him that the math was correct, it has been checked and double checked by engineers and mathematicians and the simple fact that this is so very hard to believe, should prove just how radical government spending is. So I asked him if he considered adding to this mess was radical, or was it radical to try and stop it?  He actually agreed that stopping it was not radical.

What else isn’t so radical about the Tea Party?

Feeling like the Arizona cactus may have just become his second choice, I pressed on.  I asked him, if he had been  misinformed on this position the Tea Party takes, did he think it was possible, he may have been misled on others too?  I didn’t wait for a response and added this.  As a youngster, if you were told, day in and day out, that Italian food was dangerous, maybe by those who sell Chinese food, and if you never took the time to try it, taste it, and experience it, you would be abetting those who would conspire to confine you.  It may be time to try some fine lasagna.

At this point I suggested he give me his email address, I would include him TPATH’s updates, articles and information.  The cuisine will be an enjoyable experience and egg-drop soup may just fade from memory.  I told him all he needed to do, if he so desired, was send a request to be removed, but just to give it a few days before he did that.

Relating this anecdotal story has a purpose as it reveals that all may not be lost.  There are two categories of liberal and Democratic voters.  The first group is comprised of true leftist ideologues who base their beliefs  on the finer things in life such as envy, covetousness, jealously and resentment based on a narcissistic sloth. This group is lost and can never be found.  They are who real Americans need to defeat.

Then there are those Democratic voters such as my new friend.   A little patience and understanding will awaken them to a world more important than which Frankfurter to get for the tailgate party or how many Majors Tiger Woods has won.  Information and facts, provided in a non aggressive manner by the Tea Party will obscure the subliminal messages implanted by the leftists for those nonchalant channel surfers.

Editor’s Note:  As of this writing, no request to be removed has come from my new friend.

Reprinted from Tea Party Advocacy Tracking Hub

[subscribe2]