In his post "Not Quayle - Reagan" on Friday at 7:00 PM, Calcareous really nailed where this dumbing down started. I was just thinking about how it goes back to Reagan before I started to read the Conason article. Thanks for your elegant insight. And here Calcareous arrives at the heart of the matter:

The rich have nothing to fear from restricted access to abortion, or limited rights for gays, or even prayer in schools. Their power makes those sort of limits inconsequential. They can always find a doctor if their daughter is in a pinch, lawyers can construct a legal arrangement that is the equivalent of marriage, and they don't send their children to the public schools. Lip service to a bunch of issues that don't affect them is a small price to pay for the slavish devotion of 20-30% of the electorate.

Would I sound ridiculous for using the word "gorgeous"?

It's the still of the morning here for me, but what a lullaby and an awakening at the same time. Brought me back to myself.

Now listening to "The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death" in the background as I type. It will be ordered. Wanna, gotta. I'm a writer/editor for a living and can't find the right words, all seem too trite. Adjectives get old and overused. I'll need to learn more about this John Mahey. He captures my mood and heart just now. Is that the American malaise and maelstrom you referred to? I think maybe.

I hope you're still around to read this post. I thank you. Just overnight I was led to a treasure.

(and an insincere apology to anybody who can't forgive me the grave sin of going off-topic with this post)

(She was very fortunate that moderator Gwen Ifill didn't ask her whether she truly believes that human beings and dinosaurs inhabited this planet simultaneously only 6,000 years ago.)

Those are the people she was picked to reach.Those are the people she has reached.There are millions in America that believe that Joe.The GOP made that bed and they plan to sleep in it for a long time apparently.It's so silly it's difficult for many of us to accept,but we better as Sarah Palin maybe president someday. These evangelical Christians of ours here in America,they aren't about living the teachings of Jesus Christ as much as they are about believing what their preachers tell them to believe.That's a cult like characteristic. If anybody challenges it they will stick their chests out and flaunt those beliefs.There isn't an ounce of humility in the bunch that I've detected,only the fake kind they wear on their shirtsleeves like everything else. Guess who their preachers are telling them to vote for Joe?

Because, Joe, they're even more disgusted that the Democrat party has nominated...

a person devoid of qualifications for the presidency

a person who is the most liberal member of the Senate

a person who sat in a racist, America-hating church for 20 yrs

a person who has associated with radical America-haters

a person whose wife has only recently become proud of America

a person who says one thing to get liberal votes

a person who reverses himself to get moderate votes

a person who voted 'present' 130 times as state senator

a person who has no executive experience of any kind

a person who may not even be a US citizen

a person who will not produce a certified US birth certificate

a person whose father was Muslim

a person who attended a Muslim school as a child

a person who may pose as Christian to mask his Muslim beliefs

a person who is endorsed by Hamas

a person who is endorsed by Weathermen terrorists

a person connected to convicted felon Tony Rezko

I could go on and on, but I'm only allowed 1000 words.

It is partly due to the hubris and self assigned brilliance of social privilege and wealth. To be wealthy and privileged must mean that I am intelligent and well disposed to rule. He who has the gold does make the rules, but do not presume those rules will be intelligent fair or just when that person is dispossessed of humility. When ego, power, and authority conflate flawed or unjust principle, one must resort to fear and prejudice in order to influence. They pander to a common denominator of residual prejudice, bigotry, sexism, and repackage it as populism, because up to now it has worked. That says alot more about the Republican base of voters than it says about the cynics pulling the levers behind the curtain.

There are many "educated" fools who also believe climate change is not anthropogenic, what progress has been made is that the Republican party, not really needing a "dumbing down" to make dumb policy, has publicly acknowledged that climate change even "is" occuring. That may be "maverick" for the Republicans, but for most of us, it's just slow.

The GOP has been dumbing down their party quite some time and certainly this is quite intentional. It seems to me that it is more about attaining and retaining power than good governance. Absent of the latter, how do they achieve the former? Create a media and marketing model that attracts large groups that will not hold you accountable. Hence the Party of Nascar and hence, Sarah Palin.

...because this thread is about to go Godwin. If you're afraid of Christian fundies, consider this gem from those other fundies:

"You self-deluded, cannibalistic devotees of Satan deserve the theft of your money and you also deserve the utter destruction the Jews will bring to America, the torment you will endure in the grave and the torment of the Hellfire that awaits you for living and dying believing the Jews lie; that god is a white man named Jesus. Allah says that Jews and Christians are the worst of His Creatures.

Praise be to Allah. Your God is One."

Yes, there was a time when Christians did believe such swill, and went around beheading people in the name of God. Today, we call this period the Dark Ages. Unfortunately, the Muzzie dark age is right now.