Opinion of liberals bashing conservatives as "stupid"

[Mechaman]

Very obviously Option 2.

Not only does it feed into the notion that liberalism is an elitist ideology among some uneducated working class people and thus damages a lot of it's appeal to the very people they claim to want to help it also does not make much sense given the opposition (at least in the US).  Thinking your opponents are unintelligible idiots, particularly when they hold sizable majorities in the US Congress, state legislatures, and Governor Mansions across the country, is itself more of an idiocy than whatever anti-Darwin bible humping talking points said idiots are chucking out to their supporters.

When are you dumbasses going to learn that the very last thing you should do is underestimate your opponents?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Not all forms of conservatism are stupid, far from it. But the current form of "grassroots" conservatism that has taken hold in modern America is unquestionably rooted in the exploitation (and, even more worryingly, the legitimization) of ignorance.

[ElectionsGuy]

hypocritical, when most liberals are just as smart (or stupid, whatever you want to use) as most conservatives are.

[Mr. Smith]

HA

[SATW]

Very obviously Option 2.

Not only does it feed into the notion that liberalism is an elitist ideology among some uneducated working class people and thus damages a lot of it's appeal to the very people they claim to want to help it also does not make much sense given the opposition (at least in the US).  Thinking your opponents are unintelligible idiots, particularly when they hold sizable majorities in the US Congress, state legislatures, and Governor Mansions across the country, is itself more of an idiocy than whatever anti-Darwin bible humping talking points said idiots are chucking out to their supporters.

When are you dumbasses going to learn that the very last thing you should do is underestimate your opponents?

Fantastic post.

[SWE]

Ironic because liberals are stupid

[PJ]

"Stupid West Virginians voting against their interests lol" is the worst electoral strategy ever.

[DC Al Fine]

Very obviously Option 2.

Not only does it feed into the notion that liberalism is an elitist ideology among some uneducated working class people and thus damages a lot of it's appeal to the very people they claim to want to help it also does not make much sense given the opposition (at least in the US).  Thinking your opponents are unintelligible idiots, particularly when they hold sizable majorities in the US Congress, state legislatures, and Governor Mansions across the country, is itself more of an idiocy than whatever anti-Darwin bible humping talking points said idiots are chucking out to their supporters.

When are you dumbasses going to learn that the very last thing you should do is underestimate your opponents?

This is actually pretty funny when the same people who do this post "What's the Matter with Kansas" type rants.

"Stupid West Virginians voting against their interests lol" is the worst electoral strategy ever.

"Poor stupid fundies"
"WAAH why won't the poor fundies vote for us ?!?!"

[DC Al Fine]

When are you dumbasses going to learn that the very last thing you should do is underestimate your opponents?

Also, if you can't figure out why your opponents think the way they do without resorting to they're stupid, deluded or evil, you are hopelessly partisan.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

When are you dumbasses going to learn that the very last thing you should do is underestimate your opponents?

Also, if you can't figure out why your opponents think the way they do without resorting to they're stupid, deluded or evil, you are hopelessly partisan.

I would agree, but I think this is a skill that relatively few people have, or at least, very people seriously utilise very often.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Horrible act, and a big part of why I don't identify with the Dems despite essentially being conservadem-like on fiscal issues.

[YaBoyNY]

Obviously a freedom act.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Obviously a freedom act.

See, this is why you and your ilk are going nowhere.

[Goldwater]

In the sense that conservatives are humans, obviously very correct (much to my chagrin). Nevertheless, it's inherently a "pot calling the kettle black" sorta deal since liberals as well are human.

We assume they are also human. I'm not too sure about some of them...

[YaBoyNY]

Obviously a freedom act.

See, this is why you and your ilk are going nowhere.

I don't know, "me and my ilk" are doing just fine, thanks.

The recent legalization of Same-Sex Marriage proves sanity is here to stay.

[Xing]

It's an enormous over-generalization. Of course not every conservative is stupid, but the fact is Republican candidates often try to exploit ignorance, and anti-intellectualism is definitely present in the Republican party.

[ingemann]

When are you dumbasses going to learn that the very last thing you should do is underestimate your opponents?

Also, if you can't figure out why your opponents think the way they do without resorting to they're stupid, deluded or evil, you are hopelessly partisan.

I think it's more complex than that, many people vote or think as they do, because of mind blowing stupid reasons. But this are individuals, demographic groups vote as they do for very good reasons. Sometimes those reason are short sighted, but they're never stupid.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

bashing "conservatives" as stupid: bad

bashing birthers/global warming denialists/etc as stupid: ok

[Marokai Backbeat]

"Stupid West Virginians voting against their interests lol" is the worst electoral strategy ever.

I don't exactly think it's an electoral strategy. More like people who vent online/on cable news.

[traininthedistance]

Labeling conservatives as "stupid" and trotting out condescending arguments about the rural white working class* "voting against their interests" does nobody any good.  I give these people the respect of trusting that their desires are well-considered and genuine.

Of course, in many case their genuine desires– subsidizing coal, preventing cities from enacting commonsense gun regulations, shutting off the border, etc.– are harmful to the country and the world as a whole.  Like, maybe there's a way to thread the messaging needle and focus on different issues in different places.  But if gaining their vote means selling out on important principles, that's not a price worth paying.

*And let us be perfectly clear that you need all four of those words.  Don't disingenuously try to conflate "working class" with this subset, and especially don't try to do it in the service of painting liberals as overall anti-poor.  

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Obviously a freedom act.

See, this is why you and your ilk are going nowhere.

I don't know, "me and my ilk" are doing just fine, thanks.

The recent legalization of Same-Sex Marriage proves sanity is here to stay.

lol

[NeverAgain]

Awful Act. We all know it's true but no reason to say it.

[Simfan34]

I'm not entirely sure "rural" is needed there,  I suspect it may make it too narrow a group. I doubt the "rural white working class" can be credited with bringing Republicans to power in the Rust Belt, for example.

Either way, urban liberals thinking they know more about what is in the interests of the rest of the country than the rest of the country does itself is decidedly not an uniquely American phenomenon. Certainly the US is not one of the extreme cases, but the tendency to believe that others are "voting the wrong way" (usually due to ignorance or manipulation) is a tension between liberalism and democracy that I don't think has been examined quite as closely as it should.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

A childish argument that does nothing to convince anyone of anything. That said, when a conservative (or a liberal, for that matter) says something that is blatantly counterfactual, they deserve to be called out for it.

[PJ]

"Stupid West Virginians voting against their interests lol" is the worst electoral strategy ever.

I don't exactly think it's an electoral strategy. More like people who vent online/on cable news.

Candidates are certainly more toned down about it than the media, but it does exist. Cuomo's comment about "Conservatives having no place in New York" comes to mind. It's also worth noting that the attitudes of Democratic Party supporters are influenced to a great degree by the candidates they support. Democratic Party rhetoric is pretty obviously structured to cater to urban liberals more than rural white working class voters.