are conservatives dumb?

[DeaconSig]

I think this thread is proof that conservatives are no dumber than their political counterparts. Bravo on a thread well done.

I'd argue it shows the exact opposite. Pour's post is as full of shit as your average Ted Cruz speech.

 

[RJKarl]

"One speaker went as far as saying the president was a Muslim and separately urged the crowd of hundreds to initiate a peaceful uprising.

"I call upon all of you to wage a second American nonviolent revolution, to use civil disobedience, and to demand that this president leave town, to get up, to put the Quran down, to get up off his knees, and to figuratively come out with his hands up," said Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch, a conservative political advocacy group."

Welcome to the cockpit of the current "Republican" party. Even my friends who listen to Glenn Beck are getting sick of this kind of idiotic rhetoric.

The saddest part of this group of racists is that there hasn't been any national Republican of good conscience to step forward to say how wrong and evil these people are.

It's one thing to disagree with a politician it's quite another to wave confederate flags and call him a Muslim, because he is black.

 

[Deadbolt]

Americans are dumb. Period. It's science.

 

[ONW]

Pourdeacs,
Please go into detail about what necessary government is? Be specific about what stays and what goes.

All spending in my district is necessary. All spending in your district is not. Simple.

 

[P4nthers11]

I think most of the conservatives I talk to lack nuance. They prefer/are comforted by making issues black and white wherever possible. It seems like the antithesis of conservative politics to admit that something is complicated and it is going to take more than "less taxes", "bootstraps", and "nuke the bastards."

 

[WakeandBake]

Of course they aren't dumb. But a lot of their ideas are. :noidea:

Supply side economics has proven to be not such a great economic plan for the US economy, unless you are one of the very wealthiest of Americans whose idea of "great economic plans" was to enrich a small few at the top and leave the rest of Americans utilizing cheap debt to stay on pace with the cost of living. We saw how that turned out.

Insisting that abstinence-only is the best thing to teach kids about birth control is another dumb idea. Really dumb.

The Iraq war was dumb.

Believing that industry will self-regulate wrt the environment is dumb.

There's more but this bottle of wine is calling my name and this lazy government-loving liberal just finished his 12th hour of work.

 

[Wrangor]

I think most of the conservatives I talk to lack nuance. They prefer/are comforted by making issues black and white wherever possible. It seems like the antithesis of conservative politics to admit that something is complicated and it is going to take more than "less taxes", "bootstraps", and "nuke the bastards."

Conservatives lack the ability to be nuanced and liberals lack any conviction. Got it.

 

[jhmd2000]

It is true: all conservatives are dumb and only conservatives are dumb. Please make a note.

 

[deacphan]

woah dude. lay off my MONTE congresswoman.

 

[BeachBumDeac]

Of course they aren't dumb. But a lot of their ideas are. :noidea:

Supply side economics has proven to be not such a great economic plan for the US economy, unless you are one of the very wealthiest of Americans whose idea of "great economic plans" was to enrich a small few at the top and leave the rest of Americans utilizing cheap debt to stay on pace with the cost of living. We saw how that turned out.

Insisting that abstinence-only is the best thing to teach kids about birth control is another dumb idea. Really dumb.

The Iraq war was dumb.

Believing that industry will self-regulate wrt the environment is dumb.

There's more but this bottle of wine is calling my name and this lazy government-loving liberal just finished his 12th hour of work.

Hard to argue with this

 

[ConnorEl]

Conservatives would be smart if they could get begin to consider and articulate something more than "less" government or lower taxes is always/necessarily better malarkey. That's dumb. Period.

Start thinking and talking about how to do things better as a society, including our necessary governance.

As opposed to Dems/liberals who always want more and more and bigger government because it's always the solution to every problem. That's smarter? There are no limits to "necessary government" from that point of view, which means there is no such thing. At least conservatives can describe what necessary governance means to them.....and it's not the late 1800s version of America that liberals always claim and then fight against.

What rj said.

It's lazy and, IMO, dishonest (if you're smart) to simply state or imply that the cause of our problems is government/taxes and the solution is less government/taxes. It just is. Again, think and talk about societal flourishing and how to promote it via smart/effective governance, don't take the easy/lazy/dumbasshit way out and suggest that all we need is less government/regulation/taxes and voila! Of course government can be poorly executed and harmful as well as good. But it's just crazy talk to suggest or argue that human society will best thrive and succeed where government is weak or weakest. Or that government is some necessarily evil thing that must be resisted or kept as small/weak as possible.

Here's an interesting place I've just stumbled across...Government is Good: An Unapologetic Defense of a Vital Institution

 

[jhmd2000]

What rj said.

It's lazy and, IMO, dishonest (if you're smart) to simply state or imply that the cause of our problems is government/taxes and the solution is less government/taxes. It just is. Again, think and talk about societal flourishing and how to promote it via smart/effective governance, don't take the easy/lazy/dumbasshit way out and suggest that all we need is less government/regulation/taxes and voila! Of course government can be poorly executed and harmful as well as good. But it's just crazy talk to suggest or argue that human society will best thrive and succeed where government is weak or weakest. Or that government is some necessarily evil thing that must be resisted or kept as small/weak as possible.

Here's an interesting place I've just stumbled across...Government is Good: An Unapologetic Defense of a Vital Institution

It's lazy and dishonest to believe that this reductionist tripe is an accurate characterization of the opposing point of view.

 

[ConnorEl]

Unfortunately not. And it's why I am no longer a member of the Republican party.

It has, sadly, become a caricaturization of itself.

 

[ConnorEl]

 

[silk]

I worked with a professor in grad school who was researching public opinion polls (mostly Gallop because the data was available for a long period of time). He was interested in the correlation between education level and party affiliation. Lower levels of education was highly correlated with Republican Party affiliation, higher levels of education was highly correlated with Democratic Party affiliation.

My experience is the opposite. In this strong Democrat county most Republicans have college educations and couldn't get elected to any county wide position.

 

[jhmd2000]

Unfortunately not. And it's why I am no longer a member of the Republican party.

It has, sadly, become a caricaturization of itself.

Good to know. I will make a note of this important finding for future reference.

 

[Baconwfu]

Anyone arguing this point is stupid.
Boiling issues down to political rhetoric is stupid and done in order to allow stupid people to have opinions on issues and get politicians into power. If people weren't so stupid, politicians wouldn't have such stupid ideas, but people are and politicians have to pander to that.
Broadly painting a sect of people as "conservative" or "liberal" and therefore stupid or smart is ridiculous, dismissive and close minded. It's the same bullshit "my team is better" mentality that caused the political polarization of this country to begin with.

 

[WakeandBake]

Well, I mean some solutions are good and some bad. What is wrong with pointing that out? Why have an opinion even?

Republicans are not dumb, per se. Their platform and the positions they stake value idealism over pragmatism, generally speaking. It would be great if industry self-regulated to create a level playing field for all businesses and individuals, and minimized environmental destruction. It's a neat idea, awesome to think about. And the capitalist ideal that competition would bear this out is really cool idea too. But it's not practical. History has proven it. Regulation is necessary and practical.

The same for birth control and sex ed. It's a neat idea that we can convince our sons and daughters not to copulate, but it is impractical to think that just telling them not to - or scaring them with fantastical tales of Hell and all that - will stop the most powerful human urge known.

etc etc.

 

[jhmd2000]

Well, I mean some solutions are good and some bad. What is wrong with pointing that out? Why have an opinion even?

Democrats are not dumb, per se. Their platform and the positions they stake value idealism over pragmatism, generally speaking. It would be great if everyone tried hard and made wise choices to work to provide for themselves and their share of the load. It's a neat idea, awesome to think about. And the collectivist ideal that no one will shirk their share of the responsibility when the government subsidizes them if they don't But it's not practical. History has proven it. Incentivizing effort and responsibility is necessary and practical.

etc etc.

FIFY.

 

[WakeandBake]

LOL

I love watching jhmd squirm and dookie his diaper over the social safety net. It's high art.