Posted on 11/21/2010 7:31:12 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Top political scientist: U.S. voters are 'pretty damn stupid'
Political reporters often rely on University of Wisconsin political scientist Charles Franklin for expertise. In just the past few months, his insights have appeared in articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Associated Press, Politico, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and many other publications. He's also a co-founder of the influential website Pollster.com, as well as co-director of the Big Ten Battleground Poll.
So Franklin answered with considerable authority when he was asked, at a recent forum on the November 2 election results, why Republicans emerged victorious in so many races. "I'm not endorsing the American voter," Franklin said. "They're pretty damn stupid."
Franklin was responding to a question from Bill Lueders, news editor of Isthmus, a weekly alternative newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. In an account published Thursday (H/T Ann Althouse), Lueders says he asked Franklin why "the public seemed to vote against its own interests and stated desires, for instance by electing candidates who'll drive up the deficit with fiscally reckless giveaways to the rich."
"Franklin, perhaps a bit too candidly, conceded the point," Lueders writes. "'I'm not endorsing the American voter,' he answered. 'They're pretty damn stupid.'"
Lueders writes that he responded, "Thank you, professor. That's the answer I was looking for." The rest of Lueders' account explains that smart voters support things like high-speed rail and higher taxes for the rich, while dumb voters support "an obvious phony like [Republican senator-elect] Ron Johnson over Russ Feingold."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Well..........we did (as a country) elect Obama.
I have to agree with him. They elected Pelosi, Reid and Obama.
I see, unless one supports liberal and ridicules projects to spend money upon, they are stupid...if they voted for the (o)bama nightmare they are smart.
Let me be the first to say I am shocked some professor would feel that way.
“his insights have appeared in articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Associated Press, Politico, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and many other publications”......................................... Nuff said, I’ll read some other thread.
‘They’re pretty damn stupid.”? Look at the Liberal University’s they graduated from. It has been said that beginning in the era of WWII through the 50’s, the average American had an 8th grade education. They built this country and defended this country better than any other generation. But...now they are educated by liberals and are “pretty damn stupid”. Interesting.
Those on the right think the left is mentally ill, the left thinks those on the right are stupid. Works out.
As I read this, Clyburn is on CSPAN saying the reason Democrats lost is because people didn’t know how much free crap is in the Healthcare bill for them!!!
They just don’t get that people are sick of the spending, and aren’t responding to more handouts the way they used to.
They KNOW now that when they can no longer afford the house, they get kicked out.
I stopped reading after “University of Wisconsin”
Where’s the Barf Alert????
Thanks for your service Bubblehead. And I use Bubblehead as a term of endearment.
Yeah - the kind of stupidity that stikes fear into the hearts of the Elites....
And some of us are even dumb enough to not roll-over-and-go-back-to-sleep-after-the-election, like we’re supposed to...
/blatant thread hijack/
Contact your Senator, NOW, and demand that he/she/it vote AGAINST SB510!!!!
/end blatant thread hijack/
He’s right. He’s just wrong about whichn voters they are. But it’s not the Democrats, either. They’re just evil, looking either for control of other people, or an easy handoout.
No, the real dumb ones are the independents. They have no conception of how the world works, and are always sheep to be shorn, until the bad shepard cuts a little too deeply and drawa blood.
I stopped reading after “University of Wisconsin”
Well MSU beat their football team. We in Michigan are doing our part to stomp liberals. LOL
Well duh. Exhibit A - a Kenyan Marxist IS in the WH.
Totally agree that if he thinks stupidity was the cause of electing leftist idiots.
However, I don’t think I’ll take advice of any kind from someone who’s studied nothing but meaningless trivia for his entire academic career - trivia that is unprovable and that can be learned by a tape recorder.
He might try studying something that’s actually difficult before he goes about calling folks stupid.
ferreted out another Marxist, Charles Franklin, University of Wisconsin.... a professor and expert... gasp ! Who knew?
It may be political, but it’s certainly far removed from being a science.
The contemporary Democratic Party is based on the premise that many people, perhaps even the majority, are unable to be self-responsible and need the government to regulate their lives. They think they are smart enough to win the votes of these stupid people through a combination of charisma, credentials and give-away programs. They are “surprised” when the stupid people don’t vote the way they’re supposed to.
The Republican Party has been based, since its founding, on the premise that almost all people are capable of being self-responsible and what the government needs to do is protect them from cheats and criminals, and to adjudicate differences that arise between peaceful, law-abiding persons as happens from time to time. It doesn’t deny that there are some who aren’t capable of being self-responsible, and has not been committed to any particular way to care for them, whether through family, church and private charity or government, but only that we do have to care for them.
Republicans are not at all surprised that many people favor a vibrant, free-market economy over socialism even though they are below the median income, as (1) in a dynamic analysis, they will do better in a vibrant economy than they would getting their share of a reduced national income under socialism and (2) the accept the moral principles of a free society, such as are expressed in the Ten Commandments. Reason number 2 may, in reality, simply be a codification of reason number 1. The liberal elitist from U. of Wisconsin may not be smart enough to understand this.
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