Pinko Magazine Hedonism + Activism

Ed. Note: This post is cross-posted at HuffingtonPost.com, who we’re shamelessly utilizing for redirected website traffic it’s robust community of thoughtful commenters. The version here at Pinko has some additional text and details.

Years ago I tried to “swing” my handsome friend Matthew, who I had a substantial crush on. He wasn’t willing to go my way, but my heart fluttered just a bit when he said to me earlier this month “Ben! We have to swing my cousin. He’s in Ohio.” Woof! Then I realized he wasn’t talking about that kind of swinging. He was talking about our Pinko Magazine/HuffPo series highlighting efforts to swing our McCain-leaning or fence-sitting relatives around the country.

All month we have been tracking Claire’s effort to swing her grandmother. As we reported on Wednesday there is good news … Claire’s grandmother is voting Obama! So today it’s on to our new challenge: With 5 days to go, can we swing Matthew’s cousin?

THE VOICE OF REASON: PinkoMatthew, 31, founder of a creative strategy and web/graphic design firm for non-profits based in Brooklyn.

THE NOT-YET-BELIEVER: Matthew’s cousin “Brian”, 28, Cleveland, OH. (name contrived to protect his identity!) “Brian” is married with a new baby, used to work for a Cancer-related non-profit and is a fan of socialist musicians like Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. He’s the son of a carpenter. “He’s not socially conservative,” Matthew told me. “I enter this conversation knowing he’s a good guy.”

HOW IT CAME UP: Matthew noticed ”Brian” joined the “Nobama ‘08″ Facebook group. Putting aside the silly branding (is that the best they can do? Take the candidates name and put a “no” in front of it?) this was disconcerting to Matthew, especially given where ”Brian” is voting next Tuesday.

THE CHALLENGE: Armed with the knowledge that his cousin was about to vote for endless war a candidate he didn’t believe shared his values, how far is Matthew willing to go to convince a relative he doesn’t speak with very often to change his vote?

THE APPROACH: Matthew went right after him, diving in with a respectful but direct Facebook message. Here’s their first conversation:

matthew: “hey ”Brian”, are you really against the idea of Obama as president? just out of curiousity, why?”

cousin”Brian”: “He would certainly not be my candidate of choice… I am not a right wing nut-job who is all about the Republican party … I’m strongly independent … I don’t believe the free market is the only answer, but I just cannot justify a society that mirrors the socialist politics of Western Europe. There needs to be a balance and Obama is way too left for me.”

Matthew’s initial response was sincere and earnest. (”I always cheer for the underdog,” he wrote, “whether it’s poor people, the Cleveland Indians, or John Cusak. I will always support whoever best represents working families.”) The sports metaphor was a nice touch. The Say Anything reference was equally inspired. But Matthew hadn’t addressed the “too left” argument directly or firmly enough. He needed another chance.

THE OPPORTUNITY: Two Sundays ago, Matthew got his opening.

cousin”Brian”: “Matt, I will say, Powell’s endorsement of Obama has shifted my opinion some. I have great respect for that man, and have grown to hate Gov. Palin. With those two elements in mind, I now feel it is not right for me to campaign against Obama. As an independent, I am discouraged by both parties, but do not want to put myself in the libertarian or anarchist category. Tough place to be as an independent, even tougher when you have two candidates who represent their parties with total disregard for bipartisan common ground for the people. Convince me otherwise, I’m open minded.”

THE DISCUSSION: Taking up his offer, Matthew made a detailed case to his cousin that Obama is no radical, no socialist, and sadly for us that he wouldn’t turn the country into Sweden. (We will post the full emails below. The exchange is long: this stuff is hard work.) He went especially hard on health care, writing that even if Obama wanted to revolutionize health care, Congress would water it down anyway. His goal was to assuage cousin”Brian”’s fears. It was a depressing argument in some ways, arguing that ”Brian” shouldn’t fear Obama because Obama will ultimately disappoint the left, but it was honest and possibly true.

More inspiring was Matthew’s defense of liberalism, and his challenge of ”Brian”’s notions of what socialism and capitalism really are.

“We don’t live in a free market. We have private colleges that work well mixed with a huge system of state universities. Would we be better off without one or the other? Our economy balances market freedom with market regulation. It enables us to build airports and bridges that take us to National Parks and public beaches. The battle in Washington is not between capitalism and socialism, it’s between slightly more public and slightly more private.”

Still, ”Brian” wasn’t convinced. “You make some good points,” he wrote, “and I do actually favor Obama’s current approach to healthcare. But we’ll see if he sticks to the plan he has proposed.”

“Brian”’s issue, then, isn’t the issues. He’s just sick of being lied to. He went on to tell Matthew that Obama is pushing “a utopia,” raising hopes and making promises he can’t keep.

“I would have respected Obama more if he had said, “look, we’ll and do the best we can to protect you and balance the budget, but the government cannot help you live your life and bring happiness’ Sure, that is political suicide, but that is who I would vote for. “I need a perfect mix of JFK and Regan! Scary thought, but both parties have lost their integrity.”

THE VERDICT: Matthew made some final points about Sarah Palin and her readiness. He artfully brought up John McCain’s significant chances of dying in office. But as of last weekend Cousin ”Brian” remains moved but not yet swung:

Great points …thank you. Very thoughtful and engaging conversation, I will take everything into account. I must admit, your arguments are the best non-biased and thought provoking I have heard yet. Most people just assume I have lost my marbles and have no soul!

Unfortunately the McCain campaign has launched an all-out barrage on Obama focused on the ridiculous “socialism” argument, and making a case that we need a “divided government.” They have been speaking right into ”Brian”’s concerns about Obama. Have we lost ground?

WHAT NOW?: Matthew has made a strong case. He has been respectful and smart in a very difficult conversation. But 5 days out who is Brian voting for? Will the new attacks work? Is it appropriate for Matthew to go back in one more time and ask? If so, what arguments should he use? Matthew could reinforce his own support for Obama, or address the narrative of the past two weeks. Ohio, as that clever MoveOn ad tells us, could hang in the balance.

Leave your ideas and strategies in the comments or email us: ben@pinkomag.com. On Monday we’ll report back on Matthew’s progress. We’ll also share some of your last weekend efforts to push friends and relatives off the fence. With early voting underway and the election so close are you calling it a day? Or are you still working on that last undecided Aunt in Phoenix?

# # # # #

Want more? Here is a longer transcript of Matthew’s emails with his cousins.

Background: I noticed my cousin ”Brian” joined the nobama in 08 facebook group. He’s about 28, recently married, with a new baby. He lives in Cleveland again after a few years in Denver. He’s the son of carpenter and graduated from Ohio State. Looking again at Facebook, I’m reminded that he’s a fan of Dylan, Wilco, and Paul Simon. He’s a movie buff and lover of the 80s classics. I enter this conversation knowing he’s a good guy and not socially conservative.

[ these are excerpts. Ellipses are added by me. ]

me: “hey brian, are you really against the idea of Obama as president? just out of curiousity, why?”

cousin: “He would certainly not be my candidate of choice. I’m aware it puts me far in the minority for my age group, but that is just where I stand.”

cousin: “I think I should also clarify that I am not a right wing nut-job who is all about McAin and the Republican party. I’m strongly independent, … I don’t believe the free market is the only answer, but I just cannot justify a society that mirrors the socialistic politics of western europe. There needs to be a balance and Obama is way too left for me. …”

me: “…For me, I always cheer for the underdog. Whether it’s poor people, the Cleveland Indians, or John Cusak. Republicans have been voted least likely to be underdogs. They’ve got a fear of god on their side. They’ve got Wallstreet on their side. I’m no Democrat and never will be a Democrat. But I will always support whoever best represents working families.”

cousin: “Matt, I will say, Powell’s endorsement of Obama has shifted my opinion some at the last minute. I have great respect for that man, and have grown to hate Gov. Palin. With those two elements in mind, I now feel it is not right for me to campaign against Obama. … I have conservative financial viewpoints and liberal social viewpoints. As an independent, I am discouraged by both parties, but do not want to put myself in the libertarian or anarchist category. Tough place to be as an independent, even tougher when you have two candidates who represent their parties with total disregard for bipartisan common ground for the people. … Convince me otherwise, I’m open minded.”

Alright, he’s vulnerable, ripe for a change of mind. I dive in to kick this by any means necessary.

me: “1) the far Left will be disappointed in Obama. 2) we live in something that merely resembles a free market. 3) Healthcare will not change radically.”

me: “Obama isn’t radical: … Nobody rises to the Senate without being certified middle of the road. And nobody makes a serious presidential bid without the favors they need from hundreds of businesses, politicians, and special interest groups. And those businesses and politicians need to protect their own asses. They are not going to support someone who isn’t safe and somewhat close to the middle of the road. Obama and McCain are very different, no doubt. But both would be shackled by all the favors they’ve received so far. Obama will disappoint any Lefty who thinks he’ll march into the Whitehouse and paint it Red. Or even a Paris Hilton shade of Pink. The Right would like you to think that Obama will topple capitalism because he’s not their man, but it simply isn’t true.”

me: “We don’t live in a free market: … We have private colleges that work well mixed with a huge system of state universities. Would we be better off without one or the other? Our economy balances market freedom with market regulation. This balance prevents jobs from moving overseas too quickly and monopolies and utilities from bleeding us dry. It enables us to build airports and bridges that take us to National Parks and public beaches. The battle in Washington is not between capitalism and socialism, it’s between slightly more public and slightly more private.”

me: “Health care: … I believe his system can be a balanced mix of public and private, just like our colleges and universities. I believe it will be imperfect, but as you enlarge the system and include more doctors and companies in the system, it will be better than Medicaid and better than what other fully socialized countries can do. Why? Because we have more resources and scientific innovation than those countries. Lastly, I believe you can rest assured that trillions of dollars will be spent to resist any health care plan by Obama. If anything passes, it will be so watered down that it won’t resemble anything that you fear.

my last email gave you his basic demographics.

he’s how the conversation continued. ellipses added by me…

cousin: “I think you make some good points, and I do actually favor Obama’s current approach to healthcare. But, we’ll see if he sticks to the plan he has proposed.”

cousin: “…I think Obama is pushing the idea of Utopia to some degree, by actually making people believe their problems will go away if he is president. This is not fair, and dishonest. Presidents do not create jobs, presidents do not keep a father from walking out on his family, presidents do not engage innovation, etc. McCain does it too, so it is politics in general. But, I would have respected Obama more if he had said, “look, we’ll and do the best we can to protect you and balance the budget, but the government cannot help you live your life and bring happiness’ Sure, that is political suicide, but that is who I would vote for.”

cousin: “I think of all the groups that make an impact after national disasters, and everyday actually, and they are not government groups. They are run by the people, and they work! … I am also embarrassed by the lefts fear of nationalism, they are often hostile to overt displays of patriotism. I understand this is the left, but Obama is their candidate and he may be guilty by association…. Now, I am more turned off by the religious right, but I feel we have seen the worst of that. I don’t feel McCain will subscribe to that, but I fear Palin will. … I struggle to decide if the religious right is more of a threat that Obama’s desire to subscribe the principles of the French Revolution, ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’ He does not seem to subscribe to ‘life, liberty and pursuit of happiness’ .”

cousin: “I need a perfect mix of JFK and Regan! Scary thought, but both parties have lost their integrity.”

About The Author - Ben Wyskida is a writer, activist, conscientious hedonist and political communications strategist living in Brooklyn. - Visit Ben's site.