Republicans are outmatched, outwitted and outclassed - Jennifer Rubin

[octoberlib]

Such speeches were miles from Republicans’ juvenile, screeching and irrational remarks. Republicans insulted and ridiculed their opponents, stomped and snorted; they deflected and twisted evidence. They glared, rolled their eyes, booed and (in the case of the minority whip) melodramatically tore up papers. All in all, it was a remarkable display of how far the party’s collective intellect has deteriorated. Today’s Republicans talk and act like thugs, trash the institution in which they serve and make no effort to engage on a rational basis with their opponents.

How did it come to this? Well, stewing in the nonsensical arguments and conspiracy theories gushing from Fox News, proudly adopting know-nothingism (e.g. climate change denial) and repudiating legitimate journalism and scholarly expertise come with a price. The mind atrophies; the ability to discern what is absurd from what is persuasive falters. Never encountering those who refuse to adopt your alternate reality means never having to exercise one’s powers of analysis or learning anything beyond what Fox News hosts spoon-feed them.Certainly, part of their conduct is an act, as Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.), educated at Oxford, demonstrates when he puts on the mask and adopts the twang of a yokel. Part of the Republican routine also is an effort to conform to Trump’s non-reality and never stray from his intellectual wasteland. But frankly, the Republican Party that amplifies voters’ confusion and sense of victimhood is not a magnet for rocket scientists, witty conversationalists or creative thinkers.

In short, the divide is vast and still widening between the parties. One appeals to college-educated voters who consume factual information and develop emotional intelligence as they navigate through diverse workplaces and school settings. The other party appeals to non-college-educated voters who claim the bully president as their own and consume hours upon hours of right-wing media, which panders to ignorance and prejudice, not to mention to amoral profiteers who have figured out how to monetize the right-wing nuttery. (More cynical operators trade on the supposed “authenticity” of those they would claim to be “real Americans” in exchange for judges and robber-baron economics.) Republican politicians and their base not only ape Trump’s views but also imitate his unhinged demeanor, cruelty and preference for conspiracy theories.

When you compare the parties’ representatives side by side, one is struck not only by the remarkable lack of diversity on the Republican side but also by their obnoxious and thick-headed remarks blasted at full volume. There is no other way to say it: The Republican Party is an embarrassment.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/19/republican-outmatched-outwitted-outclassed/