"DUMB IT DOWN!"

Same script. Different Cast.


Words.

"Republicans have sometimes mistaken anti-elitism with anti-smarts. Put differently, Republicans should not have contempt for the voters or for ideas, lest they be judged unworthy of serving in office. It’s one thing to heap scorn on liberal elites who parrot unsupportable leftist dogma or who show contempt for ordinary Americans’ values; it’s quite another to celebrate ignorance. We’ve had two rather appalling examples in 24 hours, which I would suggest, are perfect examples of what conservatives should reject.

...Now before every Perry backer pulls out a self-deprecating comment that George W. Bush made about his syntax or that Ronald Reagan made about his grades, they should stop and think. Does Perry have a gravitas problem? Has he counteracted it with any serious policy proposals? Has he shown himself to be knowledgeable and mature in the debates? Nope. He’s just reveling in the scorn because he has mistaken mainstream (and some conservative) media criticism for confirmation that he really is doing something right. But what if, for example, a really smart Republican with a great track record, lots of policy ideas and the ability to counteract the stereotype of Republicans ran? Oh, maybe there already is one or two in the race. Maybe there could be more, and perhaps conservatives would be relieved not to have to make excuses for candidates who think ignorance is virtue and intelligence is a vice."

THE WASHINGTON POST: GOP should not fall into the trap of being proudly ignorant