Conservative Idiots? Tar Baby Alert
Neal Boortz has a post on Why People Think Conservatives Are Idiots, where he laments that some conservatives make it easy for people to stereotype conservatives as idiots.

Sadly ... many conservatives seem to have dedicated their lives to lending credence to the left's "conservatives are idiots" claim. You will remember several weeks ago I told you about one Georgia Republican (former Democrat) legislator [Rep Ben Bridges] whose campaign chairman sent out some memos and letters promoting legislation to outlaw the teaching of evolution in government schools. The letter referred the reader to the website of "The Fair Education Foundation, Inc." In this website --- and I'm not kidding you here --- you will learn that the Earth stands still in space ... not even rotating ... while the Sun and everything in the universe rotates around the earth every 24 hours. Think I'm kidding? Check it our for yourself.

Well .. there's more. Sunday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution tells us about another website, this one run by Andrew Schlafly, the son of Phyllis Schlafly. Conservapedia pushes the creationism theme with revelations that dinosaurs and humans roamed the Earth at the same time.[video] You'll also learn that atheism has led to a large increase in bestiality. But once again you'll learn that not only is the Earth standing still, but it's actually flat ... and sitting still in space while everything revolves around it.

Tell me .. how do you counter the "conservatives are ignorant" argument, and how do you manage to recruit more people to the cause of lower taxes, less government and more individual responsibility when you have people running around loose calling themselves conservatives, getting elected to office as conservatives, and running websites as conservatives all the while telling us that the earth does not spin on its axis and does not revolve around the Sun .. and that everything in the known universe revolves around the Earth?

If true conservatives really want to expand their philosophy and mount a sustained movement that just might save individualism, freedom and economic liberty --- they had better jettison these zealot nut-cases .... and FAST.

This all sure makes me glad to be a Libertarian.

Whilst I grant that the Georgian Republican seems like an idiot, there are several problems here.

Firstly, arguing that because one person is an idiot, everyone in the same group can also be considered idiots is well, idiotic. Why just pick the defining group level as being conservative? Why not human? Republican? Politician? Or perhaps Neal is arguing that everyone who thinks conservatives are idiots are idiots because they reach that conclusion on the basis of grossly inadequate evidence?

Secondly, how do you jettison someone from being a conservative? I must have missed them passing out the secret conservative decoder rings from the conservative club....

Thirdly, Boortz shows himself to be somewhat of an idiot himself, as Conservapedia does not 'push' a creationist theme. It gives both the creationist view and the evolutionist view. Wow....what idiots! The same is the case for when it talks about a 'flat earth'. Obviously Neal feels that any such mention without of these things wailing and gnashing of teeth is idiotic.

Finally, Neal simply assumes anyone who believes something different to him and others is an idiot. It doesn't matter if they talk about evidence or reason. What's worse, Neal doesn't even link to the offending articles or quote them. So specific charges (e.g. atheism having led to an increase in bestiality) are not able to be dealt with on the basis of evidence.

Neal is glad to be a libertarian, but with his poor view of evidence and reason, are the libertarians glad he is one of them?
- posted by Alan Grey @ Wednesday, March 28, 2007