Stupid people are ruining America. Hmmm... I'm not sure if I agree with the Hermanator on that one. It's tempting, though, isn't it? Blame the stupid people.
There are certainly enough stupid people in America. If you believe the test scores from the international agencies that measure student achievement, Americans are becoming relatively more stupid. The think tank here at Falling Downs sees the problem as being a little more nuanced than that.
Stupid people are rarely elected to office. When was the last time an obvious cretin held a major political post? I know the name George W will immediately come up. I'm not sure that's true, but I'm pretty sure that's irrelevant. Any presidential candidate is little more than a symbolic figurehead. Every presidential campaign is run by over-educated over-achievers. Think what you like, but these people aren't stupid.
They do have a problem, however. Stupid people vote. So election campaigns are inevitably skewed towards appealing to stupid people. That's why Grover Norquist has so much power. Stupid people believe that taxes are bad. Herman Cain has a solution for stupid people who hate taxes. 9-9-9. It's catchy. Even the most stunned among us can remember 9-9-9. Nevermind that it means the richest will pay even less tax and the poor will pay more. Its got the aura of fairness and simplicity about it.
Cain likes to point out that half the population already pays 97% of all taxes. That's a sly way of saying the rich are paying more than their share. Nobody comes out and says the rich have more than their share. Let the rich pay all the taxes is what I say. What's fair about taxing the minimum wage folks at the same rate as the billionaires? According to Cain, if you're not rich you only have yourself to blame. Stop punishing those poor rich folks for their good fortune.
Given that the polls show that an Obama-Cain race is now a distinct possibility, the Hermanator has been getting schooled in the field of international diplomacy. His mentor is none other than far right nut-bar John Bolton. Cain's previous forays into international relations were limited to a few failed Godfather's franchises in Canada. Bolton is bringing him up to speed.
Bible good. Koran bad.
Turbans bad. Ballcaps good.
Israel good. Iran bad.
Bolton's not stupid either. He knows a blank slate when he sees one, and he hasn't seen one this blank since he worked for W. He knows if the cards fall the right way, he'll be Secretary of State in a year and a half.
He could even be Vice President!
No comments:
Post a Comment