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My “USA Today” op ed on Donald Trump and political ignorance
The Washington Post's Volokh Conspiracy ^ | October 4, 2015 | Professor Ilya Somin, George Mason University

Posted on 10/04/2015 9:06:02 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

In this recent USA Today op ed, I explain how the unexpected success of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is in large part the result of widespread political ignorance:

Despite some recent stumbles in his campaign, the most dramatic development of the 2016 presidential race has been the meteoric ascent of Donald Trump to the status of front-runner for the Republican nomination. Trump’s rise is a particularly blatant example of a much deeper problem at the heart of modern democracy: widespread voter ignorance.

Trump’s success so far is in large part the result of an almost perfect storm of political ignorance. As a longtime celebrity, he had a built-in advantage with voters who don’t know much about politics…

Polls also consistently show that Trump’s support comes disproportionately from those with relatively low levels of education. For instance, a recent ABC/Washington Post survey found that 40% of Republican-leaning voters without college degrees support Trump, compared with only 19% of college graduates. Low education correlates with support for Trump far more than political ideology, or any other demographic variable. Education and political knowledge are not the same thing… Nonetheless, the two are highly correlated....

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections; US: District of Columbia; US: New York
KEYWORDS: 2016; 2016election; college; demagogicparty; districtofcolumbia; donaldtrump; election2016; ilyasomin; immigration; lamestreammedia; memebuilding; msm; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; polls; trump; volokhconspiracy; washingtoncompost; washingtonpost
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To: Hostage

“Somin was born in the USSR in 1973.”

Maybe he should go back and help Putin.


61 posted on 10/04/2015 10:07:50 PM PDT by vette6387
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To: Migraine

...and the DEAD voted for him at the unheard-of rate of 100%; that should tell you something.


62 posted on 10/04/2015 10:07:53 PM PDT by Migraine (Diversity is great -- until it happens to YOU.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The absolute gall of these condescending, venal, self-satisfied, conceited, naval gazing, duplicitous professors is beyond infuriating.


63 posted on 10/04/2015 10:11:22 PM PDT by Chgogal (Obama "hung the SEALs out to dry, basically exposed them like a set of dog balls..." CMH)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Not much of a Trump fan myself, but it's hard to take a "pundit" seriously whose dog-whistle op-ed ["we are all so smart and that's why we don't like Trump, and they are all so dumb and that's why they do"] talks about political ignorance and yet is so doggone full of, well, political ignorance.

I imagine his bit will get lots of smug, self-congratulatory responses from narcissists who can't help but see their own wonderful reflections in his golden little puddle of piss.

Conservatives who really want to defeat Trump had better understand that Trump's rise is not the result of political ignorance; and they'd better not buy into this bilge.

His popularity, like him or not -- again, I don't -- is coming from people who have been paying attention.

64 posted on 10/04/2015 10:11:24 PM PDT by FredZarguna (A Kenyan appears to have infiltrated the lumberyard.)
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To: FredZarguna

And the more all of them attack him, the more popular he gets. If they’re so smart, you’d think they’d realize that.


65 posted on 10/04/2015 10:13:17 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (TED CRUZ. You can help: https://donate.tedcruz.org/c/FBTX0095/)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
I was eligible for MENSA membership...

I also am eligible...This assertion is a crock of $hit...pure fecal material...and if the lower percentile on the IQ scale do not understand that, it is pure Bull $hit!

66 posted on 10/04/2015 10:13:23 PM PDT by GGpaX4DumpedTea (I am a Tea Party descendant...steeped in the Constitutional Republic given to us by the Founders)
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To: Migraine
I thought you had to be way higher than the 80s and 90s to qualify

Like Princeton, Columbia and Harvard, Mensa apparently has affirmative action too.

67 posted on 10/04/2015 10:16:03 PM PDT by FredZarguna (A Kenyan appears to have infiltrated the lumberyard.)
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To: grania

I want these people to just shut up and let each candidate run his/her own campaign without the talking heads chiming in trying to sway our opinion. Just shut the he** up already - enough of this negative crap. Trump has every right to fun for president as any other eligible person. They don’t want him because they can’t control him, and that’s good for we the people.


68 posted on 10/04/2015 10:37:14 PM PDT by Catsrus ( I callz 'em as I seez 'em.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Now intellectuals call us stupid.

I have a post-graduate degree and insulting Trump’s voters is a badge of honor.

They don’t have a case to make against him so they’re reduced to name-calling and insulting the GOP base.

They think Americans can’t live without their superior intellect.

That’s exactly why I support Trump because of people writing risible nonsense like this in our mass media.


69 posted on 10/04/2015 10:50:04 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: FredZarguna
It isn't just Trump, too. It's what je ne sais quoi is behind his political positioning. A lot of people are seeing a work and move of God here. If it is, then Trump being less than perfect is abundantly pardonable.
70 posted on 10/04/2015 10:57:48 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

The PC Beltway crowd, they hate Trump because he says what most Americans think but they don’t want us “unwashed masses” to see their views become a reality in our country.

We’re too stupid to it govern it competently so we need Bush and Clinton to save us from ourselves.

Let them keep telling themselves that’s true.


71 posted on 10/04/2015 11:02:50 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: DannyTN

DannyTN: Please don’t bother the “professor” with facts. It will only upset him or her, or whatever.

Gee, at George Mason University too. We knew there were some hardcore leftists on the staff but this one takes the cake (a rotten crabcake from last August at that).

A prayer for his/her/its’ students.


72 posted on 10/04/2015 11:24:17 PM PDT by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper (.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Umm...that’s how soebarkah was elected...twice.


73 posted on 10/04/2015 11:32:16 PM PDT by Eagles6 ( Valley Forge Redux. If not now, when? If not here, where? If not us then who?)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Sample of political ignorance:

Okay, in 2016 it’s Jeb’s turn.


74 posted on 10/04/2015 11:57:03 PM PDT by donna (Pray for Revival.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Political ignorance is a direct cause of liberal media and educational meddling. Trump is an result not a cause of political ignorance. The left has been priming the pump of an ignorance vaccum for decades. None of their own beta males could fill it likd they wanted it. Along comes alpha Trump and now they are pissing themselves.


75 posted on 10/05/2015 12:11:12 AM PDT by GraceG (Protect the Border from Illegal Aliens, Don't Protect Illegal Alien Boarders...)
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To: moehoward

Immigration has actually been THE issue for ages. Unfortunately Republicans chose to ignore it.


76 posted on 10/05/2015 2:22:44 AM PDT by Ultima
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
One of the symptoms of liberalism is a belief that big problems require complicated solutions. They LOVE complexity and scoff at any suggestions that there's a simple solution to a problem.

Trumps' gordian knot solution to the long delayed repair of the Wollman skating rink in Central Park is proof enough.

77 posted on 10/05/2015 3:12:24 AM PDT by Oratam
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To: Bullish

Bovine excrement from yet another self promoting, educated egotistical ass called a “professor’. Does anyone really care what he has to say? I will agree with him that indeed low level educated people did put odumbo in the WH, not once but twice.


78 posted on 10/05/2015 3:44:52 AM PDT by DaveA37
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To: fieldmarshaldj

I suspect that the talking points were sent out recently. They tried calling Trump’s remarks bigoted, then dangerous, then simplictic, etc. The new approach:

Only the uneducated are supporting Trump, so appeal to people’s vanity. Smart people don’t want to be lumped in with dummies.


79 posted on 10/05/2015 4:28:25 AM PDT by Bigg Red (Let's put the ship of state on Cruz Control with Ted Cruz.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The author of the article is a fool, as are those who voted for Obama. The most foolish are those who voted for the Kenyan twice, said the well educated Cruz/Trump supporter.


80 posted on 10/05/2015 4:46:12 AM PDT by Tudorfly (All things are possible within the will of God.)
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