Political Opinion: Dumbing Down the GOP

Hello Bloggers - I saw this piece on Salon.com and just had to share it. If you read my work then you'll agree that it fits a pattern. I often ask the question, "WHY are Republicans so willing to nominate unqualified people to run the country?" It makes no sense to many of us observing from the other side. I challenge Republicans to make the same claim, and if you say Obama then I say you're comparing apples to oranges - the man is brilliant! Even your smartest, most obnoxious Republican pundits agree with me on that one.

Excerpts from "The dumbing down of the GOP"

"Why aren't more conservatives disgusted that their party nominated a person devoid of qualifications for the vice presidency (again)?"

"Sarah Palin's debate performance should signal the beginning of the end of her fad. But for the moment it is worth looking at the meaning of her nomination, without the protective varnish of what conservatives usually dismiss as political correctness."

"Why should we pretend not to notice when Gov. Palin's ideas make no sense? Having said last week that "it doesn't matter" whether human activity is the cause of climate change, she said in debate that she "doesn't want to argue" about the causes. It doesn't occur to her that we have to know the causes in order to address the problem. (She was very fortunate that moderator Gwen Ifill didn't ask her whether she truly believes that human beings and dinosaurs inhabited this planet simultaneously only 6,000 years ago.)"

"Why should we ignore her inability to string together a series of coherent thoughts? As a foe of Wall Street greed and a late convert to the gospel of government regulation, along with John McCain, Palin promised to clean up and reform business. But when her programmed talking points about "getting government out of the way" and protecting "freedom" conflicted with that promise, she didn't notice."

"Why should we give her a pass on the most important issues of the day? Supposedly sharing the fears and concerns of the average families who face the burdens of mortgages, healthcare and economic insecurity, Palin simply refused to discuss changes in bankruptcy law and proved that she didn't know the provisions of McCain's healthcare plan."

"There was a time when conservatives lamented the dumbing down of American culture. Preservation of basic standards in schools and workplaces compelled them -- or so they said -- to resist affirmative action for women and minorities. Qualifications mattered; merit mattered; and demagogic appeals for leveling were to be left to the Democrats."

"Not anymore."

"The ultimate irony of Palin's rise is that it has occurred at a moment when Americans may finally have grown weary of pseudo-populism -- when intelligence, judgment, diligence and seriousness are once again valued, simply because we are in such deep trouble. We got into this mess because we elected a man who professed to despise elitism, which he detected in everyone whose opinions differed from his prejudices. That was George W. Bush, of course. Biden was too polite and restrained to say it, but the dumbing down is more of the same, too."

(Read the whole story at http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2008/10/04/dumb/)

I agree with the author completely. I hope you consider what you're doing to the country, not just your party.

Saturday's Political Opinion #1 - Michael