Why are the Stupid Drawn to Republicanism?

[mopaul]

it doesn't matter if they are seemingly intelligent, or if they are slackjawed dumb, they all seem to have stupidity in common.

you can hear them calling into cspan and read their stupid shit on certain websites. they are terminally stupid, willingly ignorant of facts that annoy them, willingly ignorant toward science and logic, and willingly supportive of the stupidest man to ever hold the office of president.

the neoconazis have very cleverly manipulated the concept of stupidity, enforcing on us a man so stupid, so ignorant, he is the living embodiment of stupidity, and he is the new god of the stupid.

who is stupider? bush or his supporters?

[Coexist]

1. because it's easier to be told what to think than to think for yourself

[liberal N proud]

10. Exactly,

My wording is that it requires thinking to be a Liberal where the neocons simply follow along.
Life is easy if you don't have to participate by thinking.

[KansDem]

54. It's the great American hypocrisy...

The GOP tells Americans that it represents a society of "fiercely-independent" citizens, who have had it with "being told" what to do by liberal, atheist, elitist Democrats. The GOP stresses love for "God and country" and demands "personal responsibility." They also disdain "big government" and "deficit spending." However, in reality, the opposite is true:

"Fiercely-independent" Americans who need to be told what to think on a daily basis...

"have had it with 'being told' what to do," except every decision they make is made for them: from what form of Christianity to buy to which TeeVee shows to watch...

"Love for God and country" by Americans who distort the concept of God while turning their backs on America and Americans...

"demands 'personal responsibility'" from everyone except Republicans...

"disdain 'big government' and 'deficit spending'"--This argument can now be put to rest...

[Skittles]

2. their supidity just boggles my mind

ever tried to have a real conversation with one of them? They sound like children - they'll spout ridiculous FOX or Rush crap; then when you easily counter what they are saying, they'll resort to talking about Clinton. It's just un-freaking real.

[kevinmc]

3. Why are the Stupid Drawn to The Party of WAAAAAAAAA?

[Burma Jones]

7. Nice Blog

Nice Parable. I'm glad you post here......

[kevinmc]

64. Thanks

[Al-CIAda]

4. Race baiting, xenophopia, us-them mentality, hate, faux morality

Shit like that.

[Burma Jones]

5. Bush ain't stupid - a lot of Americans are though

Bush is lazy, yes. over-priviledged, yes. But stupid, I don't think so.

The majority of people in this country are just not very bright. They look with jealousy at people that they think are better off than they are, and see a cultural elite. It's a lot easier to hate people than to accept them. All they really have is a belief that once they die, they'll be better off and that all the people that were affluent, or educated or tolerant, will suffer for eternity.... That's a big plus for these folks, the fantasy that all the smarty pants will be punished one day...

[mopaul]

8. good points

and the great debate rages on: is bush stupid or not? on this, people may disagree.

[FizzFuzz]

14. I think Bush is an ignoramus, but smart like a sociopath

Sociopaths may have a high IQ, but its aimed toward watching and imitating the human beings which it can't relate to (emotions other than rage and self pity are lacing in psychopaths), in order to con unsuspecting normal people with charm.

They can be amazingly convincing, geniuses even, making convincing sounding promises, giving ordinary (emotion based) people what they want (shallow boosts to emotional needs like need for flattery, need to feel safe, need for attention etc.), always with the manipulative goal for themselves of giving nothing substantial while sucking as much as possible out of the sucker.

[moddemny]

21. nope, nope, nope

Bush is not amazingly convincing or a genius.

[moddemny]

22. nope, nope, nope

He is stupid...... that last press conference he gave proved it.

[moddemny]

18. Have to disagree....

Bush is stupid.

[aion]

38. Stupid or Foolish?

The difference between 'stupid' and the less opprobrious 'foolish' roughly parallels that of Ger. töricht vs. dumm but does not exist in most European languages.

Etymology

[newyawker99]

44. Hi aion!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[aion]

61. Thanks so much

Thanks for the greeting. It definitely is appreciated.

[DemExpat]

6. It is the simplisitic black and white message that attracts those

too lazy to think further than their own selfish interests in times of fast-paced change and complexity.

My Dad was a smart man in most ways - but stupid-ass dumb when it came to politics and world view - he HAD to see himself as "on the top of the heap" to be able to be able to feel somewhat comfortable in this world.

:nuke:

DemEx

[Al-CIAda]

9. two good quotes

I came across elsewhere here-

'Most people prefer to believe that their leaders are just and fair, even in the face of evidence to the contrary, because once a citizen acknowledges that the government under which he lives is lying and corrupt, the citizen has to choose what he or she will do about it. To take action in the face of corrupt government entails risks of harm to life and loved ones. To choose to do nothing is to surrender one's self-image of standing for principles. Most people do not have the courage to face that choice. Hence, most propaganda is not designed to fool the critical thinker but only to give moral cowards an excuse not to think at all.'
-Michael Rivero

-----

"The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it."

[aion]

33. Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

-- Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945

[Jamison]

11. Here where I live $$$ is the reason.

In the Beverly Hills of St. Louis, they are enjoying the tax cuts given by * by driving around in that new H2 those tax cuts got them.

[redacted]

45. Clayton? Near the Galleria? n/t

[Jamison]

55. No...actually

out here in Chesterfield.

[FizzFuzz]

12. some thoughts, off the top of my head

SPIRITUAL ATROPHY--they generally seem to be horrendously repressed, looking for a kindergarten construct of spirituality (someone's watching me, There are set rules I must follow or else be punished, Its easy to get gawwd to like you if you hate certain people--assessing/shaping yourself by not being like the people you hate) Escapist viewpoint--looking toward an outside deity and a lovely utopic reward bestowed by outside deity after death. This reinforces tendencies to look outside oneself towards the imagined deity, rather than within at the causes and effects one creates in one's own life. also clouds ability to see others, since one cannot see oneself.

AGGRESSIVENESS, RAGE --which must be buried under socially acceptable niceness (conformity).

PERCEPTION OF SELF AS VICTIM -- various causes, perception probably does not conform to reality. Requires skill in twisting one's perceptions (result: comfortable with Republican mendaciousness and warped reality) Seein oneself as victim requires assumption that self is good and blameless--the problem is everyone else, the world, which refuses to give the immature ego-self what it wants.

Just some thoughts on the run here....

[sarcasmo]

13. Talking points are easier than doing research and thinking.

[morgan2]

15. most people are sheepish about their ideas

They like a certain party's public "image" and then accept their ideas. Republicans, in the eyes of pop culture, are the tough dad figure doing what he has to raise his children. Republicanism doesnt have a monopoly on stupid followers, they just tend to get the more vocal/tough guy type.

[aion]

16. If you are really interested in the answer, rather than ad hominems...

IntuitionisticLogic

More generally, the formula P ∨ ¬P is not a theorem of intuitionistic logic as it is of classical logic. In classical logic, P ∨ ¬P means that one of P or ¬P is true; in intuitionistic logic, P ∨ ¬P means that one of P or ¬P can be proved, which is a much stronger statement, and which might not always be the case.

Intuitionistic logic substitutes justification for truth in its logical calculus. Instead of a deterministic, bivalent truth assignment scheme, it allows for a third, indeterminate truth value. A proposition may be provably justified, or provably not justified, or undetermined. The logical calculus preserves justification, rather than truth, across transformations yielding derived propositions.


-----------

Compare that with the "He who is not with me is against me", and you can surely see the linkage. It is sophism. It is NOT the logic of Aristotle, especially when combined with their disdain for deductive logic (they reject the establishment of the all-important major premises).

In the normal philosophical example:

All Humans Are Mortal
Socrates is Human
Ergo, Socrates is Mortal.

That is a valid deductive argument. A Sophist will reject the major premise. How on earth could you ever claim that all humans are mortal without looking at each one that has ever been born, or even will be born? How can you claim Saddam had no WMDs? You can't with intuitionistic logic, unless you dig up the entire country. And even then, they position themselves such that there is the possibility that they were smuggled to Syria, for example.

[mopaul]

19. i guess i'm too stupid to understand your point

ad hominy? i ain't even talkin' about food.

[aion]

24. Instead of thinking them stupid...

Instead of thinking them stupid, which invariably leads to an underestimation of their capabilities, perhaps you should consider that they are actually using a different logical system than was proposed by Aristotle.

The sophists were eventually kicked out of the Academy. For good reason. They do not believe in truth -- they believe only in pursuasion.

[mopaul]

25. i'll consider it

[trotsky]

28. I'm sorry, but if someone thinks at this point that we REALLY

went into Iraq to either A) get Saddam's WMDs or B) fight terrorism, they are stupid. Period.

And at this stage of the game, that's a huge part of pResident Dumbshit's supporters.

[aion]

31. Aristotle would agree with you

Aristotle would agree with you. But what do you have left when you reject the truth system of Aristotle? Pure pursuasion. That's it. Nothing more.

[catzies]

66. Your lst sentence sums it up perfectly, and welcome to DU!

They do not believe in truth -- they believe only in persuasion.

Indeed.

[izzybeans]

17. My mother was telling me a story about the high school she teaches

at. It seems to fit nice as a metaphor here. Her school is in a rural area with some pretty well known "in-bred" (no kidding) families-one whose father has been running for school board as a repug to do no other than "limit taxes" and institute "creationism". Well two of these families have a series of children, some siblings, some cousins (I'm not sure the difference at this point), in the school currently. All are in the special education unit (not terribly important, but it is considering they've organized the other students in their classes into a little gang of hoodlums. Republicans pick off the weakest in the herd).

She called me one day to say that special education kids are running loose in her school, threatening teachers, and acting as if they are some street gang (rural kids, rememember). The ring leaders were these "in-bred" folks. One of them screamed at my mother for having a picture of Wesley Clark in her room (she also has one of Bush and Greenspan, so who cares). I don't remember what was said but it was something about "my daddy warned me about people like you." She's still unsure if the kid knew who Wesley Clark was or not. Anyway, these little young republicans have been terrorizing the school and the administrators can't do much about it because their parents are threatening to make bad press for the school and so force the school to circumvent the rules and disrupt what is normally a pretty well run educational institution.

Her description is more comical, but I find it to be not unlike what's happening in Congress today. Some in-breads have forced some otherwise good "special" folks to do their heavy lifting without really understanding exactly what they are doing. some of these kids, "used to be such sweathearts" according to their teachers.

So here we have these in-bred special education students punching their teachers, calling them a ho, and "loitering" in the hallways while their parents work overtime to make sure that nothing is done. In Congress, we have in-bred radicals throwing symbolic punches and rely on daddy dick C. to circumvent senate rules so they can continue to run around like madmen.

The same thing actually works for the real Young Republicans too, not just thier in bred counterparts on the Senate shortbus.

[Ganja Ninja]

20. The recent popularity of the GOP is a lot like a ...

bad sports franchise that suddenly starts winning. There are people that are so desperate they jump on the bandwagon so they can be associated with a winner. The fact that the end results may not be in their best interests doesn't matter. For once in their life they're on top, or so they think. Deep down they know they're losers and whether it's the Democrats or the Republicans in power doesn't change the inescapable fact they're still losers.

[ktowntennesseedem]

23. The intelligent ones are greedy, the rest stupid or lazy.

Big dose of stereotyping here, but those who are bright and intelligent choose to be Republican because they can personally gain from it, even at the expense of another's loss. The rest are either too lazy to think for themselves, or incapable of doing so, and prefer being told how to think and feel and act in simple words and catchy sound-bites.

And the Republicans have a huge advantage over the Democrats here, because they are very good at framing the issues in basic, good-or-bad, black-and-white, up-or-down terms. The Democratic positions (plural!) are varied and complex, and the simple-minded and/or lazy people, even when they happen to lend us their ear for a few moments, quickly turn us off in favor of thoughts and ideas that don't place any unnecessary strain on their limited and seldom-used brains. Ignorance is not merely bliss, is quite easy, too!

[aion]

26. So ingelligence yields greed?

Your claim is really stereotypical. And as such, I think you know it is fallacious.

The right-wingers often make similar claims against liberals. It's wrong when they do it, and wrong when you do it.

Democracy, in pure form, is mob rule. It's two wolves and a lamb fighting over what to have for dinner. There are times when the hoi polloi get it right, and times when they get it wrong. Democracy is a methodology, not an ideology -- unless your ideology is identical with the methodology. If the repugnants are successful in shifting the political center of this nation, you will realize the failures of democracy when the democratic party becomes filled with a bunch of Zell Millers.

[Pacifist Patriot]

27. I interpreted it to mean that...

Greedy intellectuals breeds Republicans.

[trotsky]

29. I interpreted it the same way.

Someone who is smart and greedy is more likely to be a Republican, since that party right now stands for shifting more wealth up the ladder.

[aion]

30. Still no sensible linkage

Greedy intellectuals can't be democrats? How much money does Soros have? How much does Chomsky have?

[Pacifist Patriot]

37. I didn't say whether it was sensible or not.

Just how I interpreted it.

But that begs the question. Does being wealthy mean someone is greedy? Does it make a difference how they use their wealth and whether or not they take steps to prevent others from accumulating wealth? Interesting question. I don't know the answer.

[aion]

39. I understand

Please don't take offense. I am just one of those weirdos who majored in philosophy... :P

[Pacifist Patriot]

40. LOL!

Ah, the bane of my Divinity studies. I'm reading Goodbye, Descartes: The End of Logic and the Search for a New Cosmology of the Mind right now. I think my brain is bleeding. ;)

[aion]

58. The logos

The end of logic? The end of the logos? The anti-christ commeth? Eeeeek!

[FizzFuzz]

42. now you are making a logistical leap

I don't have time to check the proper name for it (P v ?P or whatever, I wasn't a Philosophy major), but you are saying that owning wealth in itself equals greed.

One would need to look more deeply, at factors that are more accurately indicative of character than merely one's material status.

What do Soros or Chomsky DO with their wealth?
Greed is a part of the human makeup--so how does any given individual express it? (having much does not in itself indicate greed, any more than having little indicates charity.)

[aion]

56. Please don't misunderstand what I am saying.

No, I am not saying that owning wealth equals greed. I am saying that being intellectual doesn't imply greed. And being greedy doesn't imply being intellectual. If one is both greedy and intellectual, one can also be a democrat -- though, perhaps, not liberal. 'Liberal' is not the same as 'democratic'. And not all republicans are necessarilly conservatives. Party platforms definitely change over a large enough number of years (ie. 100).

I have about $100 worth of books from Chomsky sitting here. And while I don't know what percentage of that $100 went to Chomsky, I suspect the man eats better than some who put in 80 hour work-weeks in other parts of the world.

Please don't misunderstand what I am saying. Wealth is usually not sought for its own sake. Unless you are using the cash as wallpaper, the stuff doesn't do much on its own. You use it to barter with. That bartering is, by its very nature, coercive for some. Money = power. What that power is used FOR is certainly important. But the yearning for that money, regardless of how it is used subsequently, is still greed.

[ktowntennesseedem]

48. Re-read my first line: "Big dose of stereotyping here."

Yes, I was stereotyping, but in doing so I was not trying to advocate it, merely using it as a summary tool. I know many Republicans who are very intelligent and not at all greedy; most of them also do not care for the direction their party has taken recently. They remain Republicans because they have invested significant time and energy there, and feel the best way to correct the wrongs they see is from the inside. Much like the members of the East Waynesville Baptist Church who chose to stay in the church not in support for their pastor's politics, but as a show of resolve to bring about change from within (a task that should be much easier with his departure.) Likewise I know many greedy, corrupt, complete horse-asses who are Democrats. And quite frankly, I'll take the thinking, well-meaning, hoping-for-change Republican over the self-serving, don't-know-any-better Democrat any day.

[PassingFair]

35. I call it the three S's....

a)Stupid
b)Selfish
c)Superstitious
d)all of the above

They all seem to fit one, two or all three of the catagories.

[MsAnthropy]

32. Fear kills brain cells

Freepers run on fear, Dems on hope.

[HughBeaumont]

34. Lancelot Link is functional . . ..

. . . and that's all the puppetmasters NEED him to be.

It's his following that are grand foaming dumbshits.

[mopaul]

36. just so they pay taxes and vote

[HughBeaumont]

41. That's being REALLY kind to Babs, by the way.

I can't look at that crone without heaving in my mouth a little.

[spindoctor]

43. That is a common misconception..

I know what it looks like, but I am sure that there are just as many stupid people on the democratic side.
Maybe less vocal stupid people. Maybe less empowered stupid people. Stuppid people none the less.

What is more disheartening is that there are intelligent republicans too. I deal with them all the time. They don't care much for Bush or the other characteristics of the GOP, but they care even less for the democratic alternative.

Don't make the mistake to think that thy are dumber than we are. Appearance isn't everything and they have already proven us wrong on several occasions.

[Pockets]

46. Half of everyone is in the bottom 50%

It may not be wise to bring intelligence into politics. By marginalizing the stupid we are alienating at least 50% of people immediately. The upper 50% can still be coned too. The resultant numbers would then appear to be bleak using this appraoch.

[graywarrior]

47. Because they are an army of MORANS

[Pockets]

50. LOL!!!

What's not funny is that controlling these 'morans' is much easier than winning support of intelligent people.

Edit: Why aren’t Dems using peoples' stupidity to their advantage?

[Pockets]

52. Seriously...

It's good to see that people like that guy are deciding to put down the bong for a moment to show some kind of political awareness, as misguided as it may be. Maybe he'll evolve?

[graywarrior]

53. He needs to be on Style Court

[ArkDem]

49. There certainly aren't any stupid people in this thread!

[Hubert Flottz]

51. How can they be drawn to where they already were!

Stupid is, is stupid does! Besides that, they hate our freedom and liberty, promised us by the founding fathers!

[Fozzledick]

57. They tell them the lies they want to hear

and some people just never think any further than that

[Swamp Rat]

59. Stoopid iz az stoopid duz.

[Cleita]

60. They like being told what to do.

Researching and informing themselves of the issues to make an informed decision isn't important to them.

This is why anyone, who seems to have some authority, like a radio personality or a politician, can blatantly lie to them and they will believe it at face value.

It's just easier to be lazy and listen to someone who spews what they like to hear. You have noticed that the Republican Party is mostly white and they have tapped into that bigotry and entitlement that many, not all white people, think they deserve.

[MountainLaurel]

62. Often, that comes from religious training

I've found that often these folks come from Christian traditions where you Do. Not. Question. Nevah, evah. Asking why God would send a child to hell, why interracial dating is considered wrong, or why your church-going grandma had a nervous breakdown if psychiatry is a tool of the secular, is a huge NO-NO. It's a sin to question god, or your pastor, and if you do you'll be branded forever as a troublemaker.

[newportdadde]

63. The Republican Party appeals to greed, those with narrow mindedness and

the ignorant

1)First the greed. I work with brilliant people, above average intelligence. But they are greedy, they care only for their 'tax cuts' and the hell with everyone else. They may mask it in values etc but with debate we always get to the core -> $. They think everyone is on welfare and thats where all their money goes.

They are hopeless.

2)Narrow mindedness. They like small phrases that sum up positions. "I'm against abortion" as an example. They do not want to THINK about nuisance its all just too much effort. They aren't dumb, these same people could rattle off millions of useless info like, most home runs hit when the temperature is between 80 to 90 during the 1972 season of MLB.

They have the firepower but nothing ever sets off the keg. If they slipped out of their tunnel vision they would be valuable but it rarely happens.

3)Just plain dumb. Take a look at the average American IQ.
http://iq-test.learninginfo.org/iq04.htm

Now take a look at the 2004 election results broken down by IQ.

http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/US-Election-IQ2004.htm

I think it would be safe to say most on this site have an above average IQ lets say 120+, well that means your in the top 8.9% of Americans and of course many of those will fall into the first two categories. I'm not sure if thats accurate or not but when I stop by my local QT to get gas and go inside I'd have to say about 1 out of 10 is pretty accurate... :)

[barb162]

65. Bush supporters are NOT stupid. The rich ones love Bush as he

gives the tax breaks to them and they become even richer.

[spuddonna]

67. The problem is with the word 'Republican'...

Because what that word means now, is NOT what it meant in the 60's or 70's, and a lot of people are insanely resistant to change, even when faced with the truth...

I have a mother-in-law and father-in-law who are both what I would call 'Fiscal 70's Republicans' - they don't like the govt's policies on the Patriot Act and think the govt is out of control with Big Brotherism; they hate the Iraq War, but believe "Bush was misled, but how can he back down now?"; they are Pro-Choice, and believe the govt has no business involving itself in your reproductive decisions; are against restrictions on corporations and are pro big tax breaks for the wealthy and for destruction of all the Social Programs (even when I explained to them that the only reason I met their son was because of the Student Loan Program!); but overall, they deplore Bush and the job he's doing (and this was before the election).

Yet they still voted for Bush in Nov. Why? Because they didn't want to change... Just that simple. It takes a lot of soul searching to come to the conclusion that you made a mistake. It is much easier to just ignore it, and go on about your daily business...

I'm sure that's how many Germans survived WWII... even though they saw what was happening in their country, they turned a blind eye...