And for the $200k/yr plus folks, which ones? The financial wizards who keep generating banking crises (Latin American Debt, Savings and Loan Crash, Dotcom bubble, Russian debt, the latest lunacy) and keep getting bailed out by the government? Trial lawyers? University presidents? Heads of tax-free foundations? Executives of R&D companies who live off government grants? Defense industry honchos? Union presidents? City administrators?

Another form of elitism, mind you.

There are all kinds of elitism, some based on economic wealth, some on snootiness in culture and education. There is no one size fits all pattern for elitism. And one does not have to have a Yale or Harvard degree to witness elitism, given that Ms Wasilla once again cheered her ‘real folks’ at the rally just a few days ago. Real folks. You know exactly who she is alluding to….and against!

Enough. This country need men and women of good will and character, liberal and conservative for checks and balances in good governance. We can disagree on policy but the stupid culture wars have got to go. We need people of high intellect (and that means education whereever and whenever you can get it), but also an ability to be open to hearing all povs and stuck to a status quo. The world is changing rapidly and we’d better be prepared for it.

While I admire and respect Obama, if a Republican ends up winning the WH in 2012, then by golly, I want to be able to at least respect him or her, not be embarrassed by someone still parading around spanking people for their cultural backgrounds and education (or lack of it). The Palinistas with their penchant for Christian superiority, their absurd railing against big cities and ‘universities’ gotta go.

I went to CUNY, the bastion of liberalism in the 70s. (yes, I’m that old). I came from a blue-collar woring Republican socially conservative (but never bigoted) and fiscal family, and 12 years prior of strict Catholic schools. I loved every minute of it. I learned not to be afraid of thought, even if someone is antithetitical to what you are used to thinking. In the end, you make up your own mind about things. I’m grateful for that experience….so many different kinds of people, different religions, different ethnic backgrounds. I’m the better for it. So quite bashing liberalism!

OK…feel better now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Brudnoy

He was a college professor, he was erudite, he could discuss great works of literature or the fine arts as well as politics. He was also a movie critic for his radio station. He disdained sports and hated hockey (sorry, Boston Bruins).

Despite his right-wing views and his intellectual airs, he was beloved by MA. He passed away in 2004, and we in MA will always miss him.

We conservatives need more like him.
Brudnoy was an existence proof that “conservative” and “intellectual” can be compatible–and that when they’re compatible, they can attract a real following even in a liberal state like MA, even with the liberal students at MA colleges.

Which, by the way, he has done.

But the engineers and scientists in Silicon Valley or the MA Route 128 ring don’t go around beating their chests about their innate moral superiority over others. They’re too busy building iPhones and iPads and BlueTooth and WiFi and developing cures for various chronic illnesses like cancer.

I specifically omitted talking about social scientists and political scientists–the ones who go to Harvard to get Poli Sci degrees with the expectation of doing social engineering backed up by liberal politicians. Those young people aren’t ever going to be conservatives. They intend to make their living off of Big Government.

The engineers and scientists I was speaking of, didn’t support Obama because of some shared sense of moral superiority. They supported Obama because Obama promised his Administration would be science-based, and would push advanced technology in information processing and alternative energy sources–projects that they are already working on.

Bush turned off the entire MA biotech community with his ban on the development of new embryonic stem-cell lines. Obama promised the biotech community that he would reverse the ban–and that’s one of the few promises he’s kept so far.

Chris Mooney wrote a book, “The Republican War on Science,” in which he illustrated how, for a variety of reasons, Republicans (particularly conservative Republicans) have engaged in attempts to discredit basic science. Ann Coulter’s attacks on Darwin’s Theory of Evolution are viewed by scientists and engineers as some horrible throwback to the Dark Ages.

I have never said I think Obama is a “monster.” I do think he is incompetent and also somewhat of a narcissist. The past year has proven that those of us who thought that in 2008 were correct.

My only point about the “so called elites” was that they often don’t use good judgement, have common sense, or understand human nature as well as the common folks.

Perhaps if you had a better temperament and weren’t so quick to insult and judge other people, you wouldn’t be struggling with old cars and rent.

The country faces serious problems right now and the current administration is not doing anything substantial to face these issues.

My point is that us “elitist of the common” at least had enough sense not to put the leadership of the free world in the hands of Obama. You and others were either too stupid or too naive to understand what you were voting for back in November.