Dumb Politics

Call me crazy, but I've never thought it was good politics to insult voters, particularly not those in the majority. Sure, there are lots of dumb people out there and lots of crackpots, cranks, and boneheads, but I think most people are smarter than they're given credit for. Yes, even the people at the mall.

For example, I always thought it was a mistake for liberals to blame America for Bush's presidency. Even many of those who actually voted for him don't deserve the blame laid at their feet. It may seem weird, but some people really just aren't that into politics. I mean, if you're reading this blog, then you're a political junkie. But don't fool yourself into thinking you're that way because you're so much smarter than others or anything. You're a junkie because it's your hobby. You enjoy it. But not everyone is you. Not everyone enjoys reading political news. Some people prefer crossword puzzles or stamp collecting or doing whatever the hell boring people do that doesn't involve reading about politics. I wouldn't know, as I don't do any of those things. But that doesn't make them dumber than you. Just different. It takes all kinds, even people who don't like politics.

And so some people just don't have time for this stuff. They have other interests. And if the media was doing their job, this wouldn't be a problem. Just imagine if Republicans were actually forced to tell the truth and the media did a better job of presenting issues to the public. Why, Bush couldn't even have become governor of his own bathtub if that were the case. It's not that people are too dumb to see this stuff. It's that they're preoccupied with other things and shouldn't have to bother with parsing and cross-checking everything they hear about in the news. They should be able to read their local newspaper with the confidence that it's actually informing them of what they need to know.

Sure, you can argue that the millions of people who don't pay attention should start paying attention, and I'd argue that it'd be easier to get the thousands of people in the journalism profession to act like professionals. People just shouldn't have to spend as much time as we do in order to make democracy work. Again, the only reason we know better is because it's our hobby. Imagine if you had to start learning about stamp collecting to save the world.

Anyway, screw it. I started writing this yesterday, and I wrote more now, but it's already dead to me. I've got nothing. I'll just cite Mr. Overstock.Com who thinks Utah failed it's IQ test by not approving the voucher program he bankrolled, as well as conservatives who think Americans are idiots for remembering that our government had warnings about 9/11 which were ignored. I think I had another example, but if I did, I forgot it. Tough shit for you.

The main point is that the tides are turning against conservatives, so now they're discovering that America is full of idiots and have no problem with saying so. I'm sure that will go over as well as everything else they've been doing for the past few years.