Democrat brilliance
On a reoccurring basis, liberals characterize conservatives and their Republican, Tea Party, and Libertarian cohorts as intellectually challenged, inbred, hayseeds who have never been anywhere or done anything. They are disparaged for watching Fox News to their intellectual detriment, as opposed to listening to the enlightened, unbiased, erudite reportage on government-sponsored National Public Radio.
Let’s put this assessment to the test. Recently Newsweek administered a citizenship test to 1000 Americans. Overall 38% of participants failed. But when the sample was broken into party affiliation the result was that 70% of Republicans passed versus 62% of Democrats. Independents (that part of the voting public which is routinely lauded as contemplative, knowledgeable, and less subject to the seductions of Glen Beck) scored worse than the Democrats. At a 62% passing rate, Democrats emerged as average. How appropriate for a bunch of people who usually support the most mediocre candidates.
It could be argued that the sample was small, or that the test was weighted against people who believe that the Constitution is a living document which lacks any permanent meaning, or that Democrats don’t really have to know anything about government, history, or economics to be informed voters. Possibly the Democrat sampling of test takers was composed of government bureaucrats, tort lawyers, university professors, journalists, or movie, TV and music celebrities. That would explain a lot.
Examples of liberal intellectual superiority abound. Let’s sample some Democrat brilliance. Representative Hank Johnson thought putting too many Marines on Guam might cause the island to “tip over.” (Huh?) Al Gore, climate change expert and head of the “Chicken Little” wing of the progressive movement, declared on Conan Obrien’s show that the center of the earth is “several million degrees.” (Al, try 6,000 to 12,000 degrees. I guess he’s giving a whole new meaning to global warming.) In 2003 Barney Frank assured us that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were “not in a crisis”. (Apparently, impending insolvency is not a crisis.) Speaking at Tufts University, Nancy Pelosi opined that “elections shouldn’t matter as much as they do…” (Perhaps she would prefer a Congressional Ouija board to divine the will of the electorate.) During the 2008 presidential campaign Hillary Clinton reminisced about dodging sniper fire in Bosnia. (Sorry, that wasn’t inaccurate, she was just lying.)
Truthfully, politicians of all stripes say dumb things. The problem is that Democrats are smug and arrogant and refuse to admit their mistakes. They insist that they are the only intellectuals in the room. What I do not understand is why they keep deriding the Republicans as the “party of the rich.” Using the logic of their own self-image, one would conclude that only stupid people know how to make money.
Intuitively, that just doesn’t make sense. But what would I know? I’m a stupid Republican. But one thing I DO know for certain is that Democrats sure know how to spend OUR money.
Ken Fatula
Berwick