Surviving the 6-to-8'er
By John David Rose
Carolina Morning News
The autumnal ritual of the 6-to-8 cocktail party is about to renew itself. Well-to-do Hilton Head Islanders are finding their way back from "up North," conservative juices revitalized with lobster and bracing dips in 65-degree water.
Invited to rub elbows with Beaufort County's movers and shakers, you can enjoy your wine and cheese quietly or add a little zest to the evening.
Lean into a gaggle of conservative geese and cluck sympathetically: "Isn't it a shame? Bush's approval rating dropped another six points in just the last two weeks."
While they're choking on their cabernet, you add the coup de grace. "The Sept. 6 Zogsby Poll asked people who they'd vote for in the next presidential election. Forty-nine percent said 'Anybody but Bush.' Only 45 percent said they'd vote for Bush. Tsk, tsk, tsk. What can the American public be thinking?"
Wander over to the next group and drop this little billet-doux. "My son graduated from MIT last year and is still looking for a job. What are we going to do? The economy lost another 93,000 jobs in August."
When someone leaps to the defense of the White House saying that we can't blame the lousy economy on Bush, smile knowingly: "It's hard to find an economic indicator that supports the notion that today's economic troubles can be properly explained as the backwash from 9/11. At least that's what Lee Price, the director of research of the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute wrote."
Twist the knife with: "Price said our depressed economy is the result of rising federal deficits caused by the first tax cut and the anticipated $500 billion to $600 billion deficit caused by Bush's second tax cut. And now there's another $87 billion for Iraq on top of that."
When someone pokes his nose in your face and says, "Whaddya want us to do, kiss Saddam Hussein and make up?"
"Actually," you retort, "that would have made the U.S. safer. After all, Hussein didn't have any weapons of mass destruction now did he? Foreign policy experts such as Ivan Eland, senior fellow of the nonpartisan Independent Institute, say the War on Terrorism has succeeded in only one thing. It's 'drawn a bull's eye on the American people and caused rogue states to speed up their weapons program.'"
Draw them in a little with: "So what would you do if you were the leader of Iran? Iraq didn't have any nuclear weapons and got invaded. North Korea has them and is getting concessions."
Wander over to another group and in the next lull: "Have you ever wondered why Bush is ringing up all those deficits? Is there some sort of secret plan to bankrupt the country so they can finally get rid of Medicare and Social Security?"
Before someone has apoplexy and blames it on you, drop one final bomb and run. "When Bush said the War on Terrorism required sacrifice, you don't suppose he was thinking of asking us to give his tax cuts back?"
Brain-dead conservative fanatics will not awaken quickly. It takes a little jolt or shock to the system. Your objective is to provide a glimmer of reason. Once they question one conservative cliché, they'll start questioning more. Voila! Another independent thinker is born.
John David Rose is a long-time Hilton Head Islander and political observer. |
