Finding common ground

A man came up to the “Rednecks for Obama” booth today and obviously was looking for a confrontation.  He demanded to know why I thought the Democrats were better than the Republicans.  I said the list was long, but I would mention a few items:  First, I was worried what would happen to our environment if Romney won; second, I was afraid that women would lose their right to have an abortion.  He had no comeback for either of those.

Then I said I was bothered by the Republicans including in their platform that no restrictions should be placed on magazines of the type used in the Colorado movie theater massacre.  He said such magazines were a Second Amendment right.  I noted that individuals are prohibited from possessing RPGs or tanks, and he had to agree. 

Then he talked about the National Defense Authorization Act, which changes the rules on arrest and detention.  I told him that was a bi-partisan effort, one of the few in the past two years.  I noted that the Republicans should not have passed it, and Obama should have vetoed it.  Unfortunately, the Republicans did pass it, and Obama signed it.    While we didn’t exactly embrace and exchange phone numbers, we did agree on that.

As long as you keep the conversation civil and you keep talking, you may find at least one or two items on which you might come to an understanding.  Or so I hope.