Yea, that would make my head hurt too.

Old people never rationalize what they do or believe.  They're 'set in their ways' which is an excuse to do whatever they feel like and no one calls them on it...like being blatantly racist.

Old age is going to rock so hard for me. I'm just going to mess with everyone all the time.

~Zoo

OMFG! That was how my grandmother was, too. She went ape over Bill Clinton, though when you talked only issues, she was more conservative. I think she voted Democrat because of the Civil Rights movement (as many Southerners did), to be honest. She hated Blacks and Republicans.She was born dirt poor in 1915 Arkansas, and went through much suffering. I can't fault her for that, but I wish she'd been more willing to accept people who were different. She was the product of her upbringing, without a doubt.

I'm not sure who she would've ended up voting for this time around, though. Both tickets hold something she was strongly against. I suspect she would've gone for McCain, but I'll never know for sure..

Why would you try to pigeon hole all liberals as people who know nothing about anything? If your agrument was most voters regardless of ideology can't distinguish the 10 percent of truth from 90 percent of crap they hear from mainstream media and are therefore clueless, I could agree with you on that. My dad loves voting Republican, he always votes for the past 40 something years, he knows very little at the same point. I also know plenty of democrat voters who have just jumped on the hate Goerge Bush bandwagon  and don't know why.  I also Don't know why you say it is a common liberal lie to vote across party lines. Again my dad has voted republican expect for Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton(once). It comes down to wether the vote cast on how someone feels about someone else( most voters) or based on policy, in which if you lean left you vote democrat or if you lean right you vote republican. Thats unfortunately the minorty of voters.

Also what strikes me is the end of the conversation. Speaking off my own experiences, my dad votes religously becuase he believes its important, most likely the reason he voted for Clinton in his first term. It would be sacralige for my dad not to vote. Maybe it's different for your grandmother I don't know. Lastly you don't mention if her vote for Obama is against McCain. Again maybe not the case.

You don't have to hate everyone with a different point of view and call them stupid. I respect libertarians for example whom are much closer to the Republican side of things.  Too much Religion infused in Republican policy for me to fully respect them on social issues. Economically I don't agree but respect the Libertarian and Republican point of view.

I think this was about ONE democrat.  WHy are you extrapolating out to the other 99%+?

no, that's not what I said or meant.  What I meant was that everytime I called her a "die-hard liberal" or "bleeding heart" she'd deny it saying "I voted Republican before so what about that?"  She'd make it clear she was voting for the person not the party but I always knew better by her statements. She was always always making excuses for one side and bashing the other.

 So when she said last week "I had to vote Democrat" it just proved her a liar after all those years I kept calling her a die-hard and she'd deny it.  She absolutely HATES Obama but yet voted for him.  Tell me that's not a die-hard Democrat. 

Also whenever I'd nail a particular subject showing her it was "her side" who instituted a particular program or belief that she didn't like, she'd change the subject.  Big time.  One minute we're talking politics the next she's asking me if I read the latest cookbook recipe printed in the paper.

we agree on this for sure.  Most people vote how they "feel" and not about the issues. 

no, not the case exactly. I think tho she is voting AGAINST Bush not McCain here.  She keeps bringing up Bush in the coversation when McCain gets mentioned lately.   Many on the extreme right have accused McCain of being a closet Democrat so I thought she might even like McCain and I do think she did in the beginning but a very full diet of CNN has I think changed her mind. That's literally the only TV program she watches and I'm saying 24/7 it's on in her house. 

First of all I wasn't calling anybody stupid and I don't hate my own grandmother or any other person who thinks different than me. 

I'm just trying to make them give me something other than "I think" or "I feel" or in many cases make up lies to justify why they believe what they believe.....I don't know how many times I've heard from my grandmother (and other liberals) when their backs are up against the wall..... "you just wait, it'll be coming out in the news soon."  And then it never does.  She said this about Bush and others all thru the years....like there's some big secret that will really show how bad they really are.  At one point the news that was coming out about Bush would be cause for inpeachment.  That was like 7 years ago.  Still waiting. 

and this is what drives me crazy.  I met another older lady who goes to a Conservative Baptist church and she told me she always votes Democrat.  I asked her how she could reconcile some of what the Dems believe with her Christian beliefs and she said not everyone believes in (fill in the blank) but that her daddy and mama were Democrats (long since dead) and so is she. 

I don't think she gets into the issues at all, but thinks the party is the same as it was at the turn of the century when her mama and daddy voted and she doesn't want to go against their wishes. 

On Dr. Guy's reply- The language led me to believe that she was generalising.

And KFC- Sorry about some those comments, probably a just little insomnia crankiness. Reading to much in to semantics, my bad. Your grandmother reminds alot of my dad though, on the opposite of the political specterum. I fairly sure he's only voting for McCain because he was in the military.

-edit opps typo-

JD - Shhhh!  She's a she!

Why do people think that Democrats are not religous?we just differ in opinion

You like McCain:I don't ; You like Dr. Guy:I think he can be  a                                                                                      biased  ass-hole

                                                                                      sometime

YOu like disjointed writing - I think it is just poor communication skills.

You are correct; I do have poor communication skills, but not by choice. Do you know of Asperger's Syndrome?

I think it's kind of mean to bait and argue with a 90 year old woman.  She's old...let her think what she wants!  I intentionally avoid heated discussions with my grandmothers (alzheimers) because I don't think it's fair to get her riled up or upset.  She does say offensive or misguided/wrong things, but I don't think it's kind for me to give her grief about it.

I dunno.  I mean, is it really that important that she explain herself to you satisfactorily? 

Who says I'm giving her grief?  Did I say that? 

If you noticed she was the first to say Palin was mean.  My grandmother lives for heated conversation.  She's home all day by herself and her beloved CNN so she has to vent somehow   Besides I do try somewhat to talk about other subjects but she's the one usually who starts it.  I did this time because I really did think she'd like Palin. 

My grandmother is far from going out the back door to eternity.  She's very strong minded and politics is her favorite subject and she has alot to say.  Her mother lived to 96 and my grandmother is in much better shape than her mother.  Besides although she outlived two husbands she has a brother and a sister still alive and doing well. 

It's not fair TW to compare my experience with my grandmother with yours. 

My apologies if your grandmother is completely sharp-witted at 90 and lives for debate.  I know some older people are mean and do try to start arguments or upset people, but I generally think it's better to let them have their way, LOL, rather than try to sort things out and upset them more. 

I really *was* picturing having this conversation with my Gran-Gran (she's not a Democrat, but she does get stuck on certain topics, including political ones) and thinking...wow, that's mean...I would just drop it. My mom likes to get my grandmother riled up and it annoys me to no end.

Sorry if I got the wrong idea.