...the morons at Bucky's Family Restaurant do. From some actual NY Times reporting:
"I wish there was somebody worth voting for," said Buford Moss, a retired Union Carbide worker sitting at the back table of Bucky's Family Restaurant here, with a group of regulars, in a county seat that -- as the home of the 11th president, James K. Polk -- is one of the ancestral homelands of Jacksonian Democracy."The Democrats have left the working people," Mr. Moss said.
"We have nobody representing us," he continued, adding that he was "sad to say" he had voted previously for Mr. Bush. He was considering sitting out this election altogether. "Anyone but Obama-Osama," he said, chuckling at a designation that met with mirthful approval at the table.
In interviews around the courthouse square, voters stuttered over Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in matchups with Republicans, particularly Senator John McCain, whose military credentials give him solid regional armoring. Some white voters voiced outright alarm over Mr. Obama, and though he is a Christian, allusions to his supposed Muslim ties were frequent, as were suggestions that he remained a disturbingly unknown quantity.
White men, in particular, expressed general fearfulness -- over a possible terrorist attack, over an unnamed threat from Muslims, over Hispanic immigrants and over the weakening economy. These fears led them to reflect positively on Republican candidates, perceived as more hard-line on most fronts.
"I think our greatest fear is our terrorist enemies," said Waymon L. Hickman, senior chairman of First Farmers & Merchants bank, whose headquarters building dominates Main Street here.
"You get Peloski up there and they say we've lost the war, and that just fuels our adversaries," said Mr. Hickman, incorrectly pronouncing the name of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
At this point, liberal and progressive bloggers are supposed to talk about the socioeconomic factors that lead to these attitudes and beliefs. We are supposed to castigate ourselves for failing to reach this cohort.
No.
No more.
These guys are fucking morons, who fell out of the stupid tree and hit every goddamn branch on the way down. Do any of these geniuses explain how the Democrats "left the working people?" Because, to the extent Democrats have actually done so, it has been when Democratic politicians have voted like Republicans. And Peloski? These idiots simply do not know what they are talking about, but, like many white men of a certain age, they are used to and expect their opinions to be taken seriously, even when they lack a grip of the most basic facts.
I refuse to consider the views of those who fear that "Peloski" and Senator Clinton are going to castrate them with dull bolt cutters, and that Obama will force them to convert to Mexicanism and teach their kids to speak Islam. This is the same old bleating of Reagan Democrats: I'm not a racist, but "Obama-Osama"; I'm not sexist, I just don't want a 'weak' candidate--that is, a woman.
No more excusing the profound ignorance that is nothing more than the political equivalent of anti-vaccination or creationism. If they are going to vote based on this ignorance then they should be excoriated for their pig-headed stupidity. I, for one, believe that personal responsibility for one's actions should not be the sole purview of poor single minority mothers. It's time we call these meatheads out, rather than worrying ourselves about our supposed failures: those of us who are not profoundly ignorant are just as American as these fools. It's time for them to change and respond to us.
Oh, we're not fucking the country up either.
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Well said! I find myself using the phrase "And your vote counts the same as mine?!?!" more and more frequently. The idea of having an informed electorate is now a quaint idea. What galls me the most is the, I believe, recent disdain cast for those that know something. My family can be considered poorly educated. However, in discussions with some of my older family members I have found that they use common sense approaches to get the relevant information to formulate their opinions. In other words they got information about their cars from mechanics and health information from doctors.
Now it seems the vast majority of people get their opinions/information from trolls like Coulter, Limbaugh, et al. People are more interested in basking in the hate and vitriol these people vomit up than substantive discussion. The American public remind me of the high school kids who are too chicken shit to actually be bullies themselves, but gather around en mass to revel in a bully beating on a nerd (like vultures to a lion kill).
Damnit, you got me all worked up!
YES.
That is all.
Okay, not all. Seriously, why should we have to pander to willfully-ignorant bigoted morons? Because they're white men, and therefore somehow "real Americans"? Fuck that noise.
"Anyone but Obama-Osama,"
Yep, the grade 2 mockery of the kid with the funny name is alive and well in American politics, as well as the singling out of the new kid, the black kid, and the girl who tries to play on the "boys team". If the smart kid ran again, they would probably be talking making fun of the nerd.
Policy discussion anyone? anyone?.....Bueller?
I've always wished we had some sort of elitist democracy -everyone takes a test of general knowledge and thinking skills, the value of each vote is weighted heavily towards those with demonstrated knowledge. The alternative is to have a widely well educated population.
I agree that there is a pitiful surplus of ignorance at large in the land. But I also engage my skepticism whenever I see a story like this, because reporters do so love to do them, and the accuracy standards for them are, shall we say, less than strict.
"These idiots simply do not know what they are talking about, but, like many white men of a certain age, they are used to and expect their opinions to be taken seriously, even when they lack a grip of the most basic facts."
Being stupid has become a badge of honor among these types. Say anything too smart, and you're automatically labeled "arrogant, liberal intellectual." ("How dare you make me look like I don't know what I'm talking about!") It's almost as if they believe that, if they just hold an idea in their mind firmly enough, it will become reality (this is, I think, akin to the notion that, if you tell a lie convincingly and often enough, people will eventually come to believe it to be true, a notion that GW and Rove, et al., have shown to be effective -- at least among the intellectually challenged such as these people at Bucky's Family Restaurant).
At the root of it all, in my opinion, is a fear of thinking for oneself. These types, by and large, prefer to be told what to do, what to think, what to wear, how to talk, etc. For some, it's probably just laziness ("It's awful hard to think of all these things all by myself! What if I make a mistake?") ... but for the majority of them, unfortunately, it's just not in their constitution to question authority in any way, shape, or form.
I just wish Edwards were still in the race. Then we could have at least a chance at these folks.
Honestly, the world would be a better place if "Peloski" and Hillary did castrate these idiots with bolt cutters.
Mark P,
I think you're right. The other confounding factor is that bloviating assholes have a tendency to, well, bloviate, turning themselves into quote mines.
I was just in India and in conversation with our well-educated staff there, they also brought up the Osama - Muslim link, and I don't think they believed my debunking.
When we were driving through an obviously muslim area they mentioned that this was a very dangerous area because of the sympathy to terrorists. (I guess it could be true for all I know) But when I mentioned that my High School had a lot of gang activity they were mortified, even though I pointed out that usually gang members fight amongst themselves and left others alone.
And we wonder why banks are in trouble, when they're run by this sort of idiot?
May I just say that as a Canadian watching the elections down south over the span of my adulthood, I could not believe how the election results were uphele in the first race which elected Bush to the White House.. by supposedly intelligent people who said that results in Florida were valid..and who was the Governor??? Then the "anti terorist" campaign,, Iraq had deadly bio/nuc weaapons.. where did that lead? AND HE WAS ELECTED AGAIN???There are no other words..I was simply horrified.All I can say is that if you accredit yourselves with any intelligence, you can do better than the last, say 20 years?At leasst Clinton was too interested in the next piece of pussy to be a threat to national security.Osama, I mean Obama at least comes off as intelligent and Hillary has been eying the prize for as long as her hubby has, and chances are she won't get distracted by all the pussy you can get by claiming you are the president at a party.ANd haven't I heard rumours about trying to get the constitution ratified so non native Americans can get elected? Go Arnie.Magine. You can have a president like we have a Prime..one that speaks English like they have a mouthfull of marbles..They can't dazzle you with bullshit because you can't make them out,so you think that there is none.Just the ol' Hollywood smile.Hollywood...The land of make believe..Isn't that where Reagan was from..Hmmm..Makes me think that voters in general aren't interested in reality. Reality sucks.Like the last package of Enzyte they bought.If we wanted to elect someone who really ran the company, maybe we should take a look in the Forbe's Fortune 500 mag..Am I really saying anything here that we do not know in our hearts? Why are we even disscussing the ignorance of retired old factory workers in the back seat of a just as equally old diner? People have been saying the same old things for generations when you come down to the basic arguement.Look at the left hand. Pick a finger. No, ther is nothing going going the right hand. No it is not winding up my middle finger. Yes, I know what is best for this country.Yoy elected me, didn't you?
"Anyone but Obama-Osama,"
Yep, the grade 2 mockery of the kid with the funny name is alive and well in American politics, as well as the singling out of the new kid, the black kid, and the girl who tries to play on the "boys team". If the smart kid ran again, they would probably be talking making fun of the nerd.
Policy discussion anyone? anyone?.....Bueller?
Posted by: Jason Failes | January 31, 2008 11:23 AM
This Presidential election is certainly bringing a lot of different ways to look at things from a lot of different people. Actually I think that is good! Being willing to hear the other person's point of view, even if at first you think they are coming from tin foil helmet territory! LOL!
Dave Briggs :~)
Besides the ignorance issue, every time I hear that crap about terrorists being their greatest fear, I just want to scream, "what sort of spineless coward are you?". Somehow, they see the "left" as weak and cowardly. I can't speak for everyone who leans a little left, but I am just not that scared of terrorists. I think the conservative "security first" voters need to grow a pair.
"You can't fool all of the people all the time, but you can fool some of them, and those are the ones you have to concentrate on." - George W Bush.
Sound like these folks would agree with Pastor Ray Mummert (referring to the Dover-ID affair):We've been attacked by the intelligent, educated segment of the culture.
Elections are decided by SHEEP.
http://jonswift.blogspot.com/2008/02/rams-and-sheep.html
I agree that there is a pitiful surplus of ignorance at large in the land. But I also engage my skepticism whenever I see a story like this, because reporters do so love to do them, and the accuracy standards for them are, shall we say, less than strict
In interviews around the courthouse square, voters stuttered over Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in matchups with Republicans, particularly Senator John McCain, whose military credentials give him solid regional armoring. Some white voters voiced outright alarm over Mr. Obama, and though he is a Christian, allusions to his supposed Muslim ties were frequent, as were suggestions that he remained a disturbingly unknown quantity