• randon31415@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Every presidential election in my lifetime has had a candidate that has been attacked as “the dumb one” and another that has been attacked as “the smart evil one” (note: the might not be this, but they were attacked as if they were this)

    The “dumb one” has won every time.

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    That would rule out voting for most Republicans, though. I think the Republican brand is all about not appearing smarter than anyone else - or, better yet, actually being quite stupid and not just having to play stupid - because being smart and knowing things is considered “elitist” by the con base.

    They have subverted the definition of elitism to carve out exceptions for the actual elitists, to the point where donnie is considered (by them) to be for the little man, while simultaneously supposedly being a business magnate with billions to his name. Nothing elitist about having billions, and being given half a billion by your father, I guess.

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        LOL, that perfectly captures the BS talking point about having an “outsider” instead of an actual expert. I love it!

        I often notice that people that clamor for term limits and for “outsiders” to run government are not pining for outsiders to pilot planes they are on, drill their teeth, fix their roofs, prepare their taxes, defend them in court, and so on.

        • jas0n@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Another problem is their definition of outsider. A rich, corporate douchebag is not.

  • nifty@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Well, you can’t know everything about everything, that’s why you have to collaborate with other experts so you can supplement each others knowledge.

    But every job has some reasonable expectations of knowledge and standards because that’s what doing it competently requires.

    Why is basic history and civics important for a congressperson? You’re essentially helping right laws and regulations which will impact generations to come, and if you’re uninformed you may be open to being manipulated or mislead. The double danger for anyone in congress is that foreign interests can also mislead or manipulate for malicious reasons, and not just greed reasons.

    So expecting basic level of information from a congressperson isn’t elitism, I’d say it’s a matter of homeland and national security.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The right wing have spent decades spinning competence, experience, education, etc…as elitism. Having hiring/firing power and billions at your command? That’s not elitism. Knowing things, and saying it out loud - that’s the REAL elitism.

      I think that’s partly why the “term limits” mantra (and the ageism that often goes with it) is rather annoying. The anti-intellectualism that is typically at root of that is why.

  • ShittyBeatlesFCPres@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It’s going to be an awkward conversation but she is officially off the trivia team. If she thinks I’m switching trains to get to Capital Hill just to lose, she’s got another fact to learn.

  • Suavevillain@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I thought she would be finished when she was going on about Jewish space lasers. But that is my fault for thinking they would get rid of their jester.