Can they be that Dumb?....Yes

I have consistently pined and waxed poetic as to the sorry state of knowledge of the American people. I never challenge peoples' right to have alternative points of view, I just get angry that people do not put in the time and effort to understand or formulate that point of view. As I always explain to my Government classes, the Founders had some concerns about the breadth of knowledge and the ability of the people to become informed, thus creating a republic with those who can better understand the complexity of the issues. In theory, to make informed judgments on our behalf. One might think that today, with all the coverage and spontaneity of information, that the people are better able to think and act on this thought with some degree of competence. This, however is regrettably not the case. As the Republican debate the other day showed, these Presidential wannabees continue to lie to the people and tell them things that are inaccurate because they recognize that they are ill informed as the Founders predicted. Instead of making the right decisions for our country, however, they use the ignorance for their own electoral advantage. James Madison et al would not have approved. Our Founders used their knowledge and depth of understanding to discuss, debate and hash out differences based on facts and truths. Not so today. The public, however, seems to be recovering and perhaps leaving some of the ignorance behind. Tea party support is down to 18%. Overwhelmingly, Americans call for shared sacrifice between the wealthy and the middle class. 60% of the nation does not blame President Obama for the economic circumstances, and candidates that hope for default are beginning to look silly. And yet, these Republican candidates continue to fly in the face of such polling. Those who were governors deny that compromise and revenues helped them be successful governors and instead they preach the Norquist gospel. Can they be that Dumb? Yes. This kind of demagoguery will help one of them win the primaries, but will not bode well in a National debate. I can't wait to shove it down their throats. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?