GOP Elite take Control, they Won, they will decide for us?

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It easy for Republicans to think they are the default real American party, since they won elections thanks to gerrymandering and voter suppression, dominate 92 percent of talk radio, watch conservative TV and news outlets, and have a network of conservative think tanks that by itself, has been a major job creator for social rejects and politicians.

They are the conservative elite, the know-it-all’s! And despite huge deficits, job losses and a Great Recession thanks to trickle down economics, they believe in a world that can’t exist unless they have an evil liberal counterpart that victimizes them at every turn.

What does Kimmel…or any of us really know? Founder John Adams would be horrified today: 

Welcome to the Trump age. 

I have two examples that coincidentally came up today. From the “elitist” National Review, elitist Theodore Kupfer, who trashed common man Jimmy Kimmel as a clueless Hollywood elitist. What does he know about the world, or for that matter, health care. Well, when Paul Ryan whines about how the majority of insured healthy Americans have to pay for treating the sick, we can assume he doesn’t know how actual insurance works. Just saying.

Here’s the condescending highlights of Kupfer’s article, where he suggests doing the same thing Republicans are always whining about, being censored. Here’s everyman Kimmel’s statement:

Jimmy Kimmel, Policy-Wonk Wannabe: Comedians have become public intellectuals in the popular imagination, so maybe some charity is in order. What to do about the health-care system is a complicated question. 

Kimmel has elected to probe the empirical matter of whether this bill does quite enough to erect a safety net for people with pre-existing conditions … The collective decision to elevate Kimmel to status as a leading bioethicist and policy wonk reduces a tricky debate to a single talking point … But policy expertise is hard-won and not likely to dawn suddenly during crises. It’s also not something that resides in people who make jokes for a living. 

Does Kimmel want a career change? Or does Hollywood simply want to feel better about its propensity to wax earnest about complicated public-policy questions? Such sanctimony degrades comedy. 

Who really laughs at The Daily Show, Full Frontal, or Last Week Tonight? But more importantly, swapping two unrelated discursive forms corrodes public discourse. Policy isn’t funny, and comedy isn’t policy … It’s irresponsible to pontificate on subjects one knows little about, but that didn’t stop him from calling Cassidy a liar.

Once we substitute even sincere feelings for policy expertise, the results are unlikely to please anyone. Jimmy Kimmel can be funny, and he loves his son. Well and good. But Jimmy Kimmel knows policy? To paraphrase another comedian, comedians are not public intellectuals.

Anecdotal Governing: Elitist Republican Bill Cassidy trashes Kimmel, saying “He’s only heard from those on the left…” I keep getting the feeling this is how Republicans get their information, through anecdotal word of mouth, hearing it from “the right.” No research. Watch Kimmel admit to doing his own extensive research…