So I know I didn't write this but it's one of my favorites, unfortunately it's not a 10 second soundbite so it'll never work for actual use.

A Day in the Life of Joe Republican

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.

Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

Very well said.

"Very well said."

If anyone is interested, it was written by John Gray in 2004.

But what happens when Joe's wife goes downtown on a chilly day and some violent animal rights PETA freak throws red paint on her fur coat?

What if he really liked his old Corvair?

What if by commuting via public transport, he spends additional hours away from home thus depriving his children of his time?

Trade offs and choices.... Some worthy some not.
until business realizes responsibility has to be as important as profits then govenment will have to step in. BUSINESS should pay the added cost. Police yourselves or pay the govenment to do it.

right now the people are paying the freight.

First off, if Joe works as a union guy, his wife most likely will not have a fur coat. The intellectual part of the liberal mainstream regards PETA as nutjobs the same way the Mafioso Republicans regard the hardcore evangelicals.

He can like his old Corvair. He can still choose to make the decision to drive an unsafe vehicle. I can think of personal examples on this point where I did choose the less safe vehicle and took responsibility of my action and drove more carefully as a result. However the average consumer is not a structural engineer. Won't know about how airbags, crumple zones and safety belts all improve chances of survival in what at one time was the most lethal activity in America. So someone should look into corporate neglect (like the auto industry had in regards to safety).

So, without a union job, he'd be working three jobs, without benefits, for Walmart, Selectemp, and fill in some other corporate big brand name. He'd be working his butt off for 60+ hours a week just to get by on minimum wage. How is that any different than your question? He's in fact spending more time away from his family in this example. This is absolutely true. Americans have less free time since the Robber-baron days of the late 1800's.

See and without oversight and rules. Big Biz will not be beholden to responsibility. They have one responsibility. To make a profit for their shareholders. Does this mean that I want complete government control of capital? No. That is the far, loony left. I don't want the government making my clothes, my car nor my computer. The Gap, Subaru, and Sony can all do a better job. What I do want my government to provide is all the things listed in Mr. Gray's example. And police and fire services, yes, those should be the commons as well. I don't want to miss my fire company payment one month and then have my house burn down.

Pardon this backhanded comment about the John Gray piece: what a nice piece of political framing this is! Gray presents a simplified scenario with two distinguishable, labeled sides. He implicitly takes one of the sides and then proceeds to portray that side in the best possible light while implicitly using the cherry-picked positives on his side as strikes against the opposing side.

I'm sorry: I just can't take this guy seriously if he gets to hand-pick his "liberals" based on their accomplishments, largely from 70 years ago (rural electrification) to 100 years ago (food safety/truth in packaging laws) while conveniently sweeping under the rug the more militant PETA activists and those who want to use political rhetoric and pressure over sound engineering principles to steer energy policy. Let's not forget the high-density community advocates, while we're at it.

I support a lot of what PETA does. Not all of it, but when they bring attention and alternatives to animal suffering and cruelty (examples: Oregon Primate Research Center and IAMS) and educate people to inhumane practices, we are the better for it.

My child will not be attending any circuses other than Cirque Du Soliel.

"If anyone is interested, it was written by John Gray in 2004."

This piece references the FSLIC (Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation), which was abolished with the collapse of the savings and loan industry in 1989. So it's a bit older than 2004.

I support a lot of what PETA does

Me too. People Eating Tasty Animals!!!

"...it's a bit older than 2004."

It is?

"'...it's a bit older than 2004.'

It is?"

Well, I can't find any internet reference to it before 2004, but that pesky FSLIC non sequitor remains. Possible explanations:

1) It was written before 1989, but John Gray didn't publish it until 2004.

2) John Gray wrote it in 2004 but is clueless about the nonexistence of the FSLIC.

Que sera, sera