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| The Dumb GOP | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 4 2008, 06:29 PM (955 Views) | |
| Jeffrey | Oct 4 2008, 06:29 PM Post #1 |
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Senior Carp
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http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2008/10/04/dumb/ 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)? By Joe Conason Gov. Sarah Palin during the vice-presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis Oct. 2, 2008. Oct. 4, 2008 | 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. All the glaring defects so blatantly on display in her debate with Joe Biden -- and that make her candidacy so darkly comical -- would be the same if she were a hockey dad instead of a "hockey mom." In fact, the cynical attempt to foist Palin on the nation as a symbol of feminist progress is an insult to all women regardless of their political orientation. 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. Actually, the Palin phenomenon is the culmination of a trend that can be traced back to Dan Quayle, the undistinguished Indiana senator whose elevation onto the Republican ticket in 1988 had nothing to do with intellect or experience and everything to do with the youthful appeal of a handsome blond frat boy. (That was how Republican strategists thought they would attract female voters back then, which must be why they believe Palin represents progress.) Quayle too was unable to articulate, let alone defend, the policy positions for which he was supposed to be campaigning. He too had to undergo the surgical stuffing of stock phrases into his head as a minimal substitute for knowledge and thought. And in the same sad way, he too benefited from the drastically reduced expectations applied to anyone whose inadequacy is so obvious. Quayle deserved more pity than scorn, however, because he seemed to know that he was fighting far above his weight class. Palin evokes no such sympathy, with her jut-jawed, moose-gutting confidence in her own overrated "common sense" and her bullying insistence that only "elitists" would question her expertise. As Biden showed quite convincingly when he spoke about his modest background and his continuing connection with Main Street, perceptive, intelligent discourse is in no way identical with elitism. Palin's phony populism is as insulting to working- and middle-class Americans as it is to American women. Why are basic diction and intellectual coherence presumed to be out of reach for "real people"? And why don't we expect more from American conservatives? Indeed, why don't they demand more from their own movement? Aren't they disgusted that their party would again nominate a person devoid of qualifications for one of the nation's highest offices? Some, like Michael Gerson and Kathleen Parker, have expressed discomfort with this farce -- and been subjected, in Parker's case, to abuse from many of the same numbskulls whom Palin undoubtedly delights. 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. |
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| apple | Oct 4 2008, 06:32 PM Post #2 |
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one of the angels
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as i told my brother today, everyone gets one vote, even the dumb people.. |
| it behooves me to behold | |
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| ivorythumper | Oct 4 2008, 06:33 PM Post #3 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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Jeffrey, since you seem to think that Palin was uniquely incoherent, maybe you can make some sense of Biden's stream of consciousness ramble for us. Sauce, goose, gander, and all that. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| Horace | Oct 4 2008, 06:34 PM Post #4 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Because dumb people aren't smart enough to figure out ways to fvck us over with the efficiency that smart people are. ok, that's not the GOP's reason for liking Palin, but I think it's still valid. |
| As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good? | |
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| Horace | Oct 4 2008, 06:35 PM Post #5 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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At least dumb people aren't smart enough to rape you without knowing you've been raped. Smart people figure that out, and it hurts way more in the long run. I prefer the lack of subtlety that dumb people are confined to. |
| As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good? | |
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| QuirtEvans | Oct 4 2008, 06:43 PM Post #6 |
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
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Sauce, goose, gander indicates that Palin was incoherent, too. Thanks for admitting it. |
| It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010. | |
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| ivorythumper | Oct 4 2008, 06:45 PM Post #7 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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Careful there, Apple, regardless of who you vote for you live in one of the benighted, bible thumping, gun clutching, flyover states. You will always be seen a dumb (even if temporarily useful) by your betters on the East Coast. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| ivorythumper | Oct 4 2008, 06:48 PM Post #8 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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I admitted nothing, Quirt. Sauce goose and gander only speaks to Jeffrey holding up Biden to the same standard he holds Palin to -- not what I think. You need to be more careful before chiding others about their reading comprehension. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| apple | Oct 4 2008, 06:48 PM Post #9 |
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one of the angels
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my point in a way i don't mean to judge anyone - i'm just saying a vote is a vote, no matter what one thinks his or her opinion is worth. |
| it behooves me to behold | |
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| QuirtEvans | Oct 4 2008, 06:50 PM Post #10 |
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
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Oh, your little analogy admitted it ... but now ![]() |
| It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010. | |
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| Axtremus | Oct 4 2008, 06:50 PM Post #11 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Because the American conservative movement has been hijacked by the religious right, the majority of whom are willing to suspend critical thinking in deference to blind faith, and reject scientific knowledge in favor of literal reading of the scripture. What do you think of that explanation, Jeffrey? |
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| ivorythumper | Oct 4 2008, 06:55 PM Post #12 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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It is funny that you, Quirt, could not even correctly comprehend my single sentence, which was written out and in direct access in the comfort of your home, and could not even make a coherent and meaningful comment about it. Yet you have the hubris to judge Palin as deficient when she is in debate mode and running from memory in front of an audience of millions. You might not see the humor in that. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| QuirtEvans | Oct 4 2008, 07:01 PM Post #13 |
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
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This, undoubtedly, is an example of your supposedly new resolve not to get insulting. |
| It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010. | |
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| ivorythumper | Oct 4 2008, 07:04 PM Post #14 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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What insult? You did not correctly comprehend my sentence, and you did not therefore make a coherent and meaningful comment about it. I am sorry if "hubris" was a harsh word. I retract. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| QuirtEvans | Oct 4 2008, 07:08 PM Post #15 |
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
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Telling someone they could not correctly comprehend a single sentence is an insult. Perhaps not in your fantasyland, but in the real world. |
| It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010. | |
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| Jeffrey | Oct 4 2008, 07:19 PM Post #16 |
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Senior Carp
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You got the GOP bitter, resentful shtick down pat. |
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| ivorythumper | Oct 4 2008, 07:20 PM Post #17 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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Had you correctly comprehended it, or not tried to distort the plain meaning of it, I would not have had to point out that unhappy fact. Sorry if it hurt your feelings. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| QuirtEvans | Oct 4 2008, 07:21 PM Post #18 |
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
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Congratulations, you have entered Larry-land, where it's OK to tell Daniel that he's as dumb as a rock because Larry views it as an unhappy fact. Get back to me when you manage to learn that facts can also be insults. Not conceding, of course, that your supposed "fact" here has any basis in reality. |
| It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010. | |
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| ivorythumper | Oct 4 2008, 07:23 PM Post #19 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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That from one of the transplants to the East Coast. :lol: |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| ivorythumper | Oct 4 2008, 07:24 PM Post #20 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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Facts can be insults? Wow. That's a conversation killer. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| QuirtEvans | Oct 4 2008, 07:26 PM Post #21 |
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
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If you say to someone that they are a dirty Jew, that's an insult, even if they happen to be both dirty and Jewish. I'm astounded you have never figured that out. |
| It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010. | |
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| ivorythumper | Oct 4 2008, 07:30 PM Post #22 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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Never took you for an anti-semite. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| Ben | Oct 4 2008, 07:56 PM Post #23 |
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Senior Carp
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![]() I love this place in such a weird sort of way. |
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- Ben "Playing 'bop' is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing." - Duke Ellington bennieloohoo@gmail.com Or you can just PM me.
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| Larry | Oct 4 2008, 07:56 PM Post #24 |
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Mmmmmmm, pie!
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Thank goodness.. otherwise the democrats wouldn't get to vote..... |
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Of the Pokatwat Tribe | |
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| Larry | Oct 4 2008, 08:04 PM Post #25 |
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Mmmmmmm, pie!
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I've always found this line of "logic" rather amusing.. For one thing, it shows how far from God the Left has gotten, which in turn shows how far out of touch with America they have become. 95% of Americans profess a religious faith. That the Left look toward the right and sees a "religious right" is funny in itself - but what's sad about it is that the democrat party has been hijacked as well - by an extremist Left that is so far removed from where Americans are that just about anyone who expresses a belief in God is considered part of the "religious right". I also find these idiots like Jeffrey quotes who see Palin as being dumb, or whatever other word they care to use to minimize her a bit amusing as well. Anyone who looks at Palin and comes away thinking they've met a dumb person is pretty stupid themselves.. she's quite intelligent. |
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Of the Pokatwat Tribe | |
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