Saturday, February 02, 2013

Jindal and Tonic

Bobby Jindal got some traction last week by telling the GOP that it was time to "stop being the stupid party." And, you know, it would be awesome if they could do that. But let's consider the source, shall we?

This is Bobby Jindal, after all. The man who claims to have exorcised a demon from his girlfriend in college. An act which apparently made him believe in an even stronger-than-average "War on Christianity," since he decided, a few years ago, that churches should be allowed to set up their own armed security forces. Because that's worked so well throughout history, like with the Inquisition, or the Crusades.

Of course, Bobby is also a big supporter of handing tax money to churches. Like giving them education funds. Even if they use biology textbooks that teach that the Loch Ness monster is real:
"Are dinosaurs alive today? Scientists are becoming more convinced of their existence. Have you heard of the 'Loch Ness Monster' in Scotland? 'Nessie' for short has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur."
Which goes to explain, in part, why Louisiana's education system ranks third worst in the nation.

Jindal also thinks it's a good idea to drastically cut Medicaid, which doesn't make much sense when there's only one state with more people below the poverty line (per capita) than yours.

(Mississipi, if you were wondering.)

But maybe it just makes sense. When your hellhole of a state also sports the highest infant mortality rate, the fifth-highest maternal mortality rate, the fourth-worst life expectancy rate, and the fifth-highest obesity rate in the country, all that medical care is just being wasted, isn't it?

It does lead you to wonder, though: how low do you have to go before Bobby Jindal can see that the GOP is being the stupid party?

3 comments:

J.R. said...

I lurk around Free Republic every so often for shits and giggles and I’m amazed at what these people believe, how they think. There are reactionaries everywhere, but conservatives in the United States have to be amongst the stupidest. They truly live in a completely different reality. For starters, they are so blunt about their bigotry, it’s almost comical. They are also ignorant as fuck about everything from natural science to history to politics. To them, evolution and climate change are “lies”, the Founding Fathers were God-fearing Christians and secular State is nonexistent.

Beyond ignorance, which is not knowing things, it seems they are incapable of thought. For example, they somehow think that same-sex marriage infringes on religious freedom, even though heterosexuals can still marry people of the opposite sex and it doesn’t obligate anyone to do anything. All their arguments are fallacies.

Lastly, I suspect many of them are mentally ill. They truly believe themselves to be persecuted, in an almost schizophrenic manner. They really are “gun nuts”: they glorify guns in a juvenile way and possess them for the mere sake of possessing them, either that of for paranoia, but not for any rational, real reason.

They are so deluded, this past election merely pushed many of them further to the right. They react so virulently to any attempt of ideological conciliation. They are so intolerant and close-minded. The Republican Party cannot stop being the “stupid party” as its base is comprised of stupid people. Simple as that.

Great posts, BTW.

Nameless Cynic said...

Fortunately for the future of America, they are a fading breed. Less than 8% identify as Tea Party these days, and the radical fringe is starting to realize that they are a self-destructive bunch.

I suspect that the reaction to Hurricane Sandy had something to do with it, along with the "surprising" (if you were a Fox viewer) reelection of Obama, along with the embarrassing statements of so many of the current crop of GOP "leaders" - it all made some of the last holdouts realize that they were riding the crazy train, and Ozzy was nowhere in sight.

Yeah, the Freepers are insane, and, as the reasonable ones slip away, they're only going to become worse. Concentrated, let's say...

J.R. said...

They’re just all so crazy and stupid, even shitheads such as Bobby “I Wish I Were White” Jindal point it out. Sure, the Tea Party is done for it, but the Republican Party is the most radical it has been in a while and it managed to get 47% of the popular vote in the recent presidential election. I guess I’m just not used to this.

Here in Mexico- a third-world country with the second-highest number of Catholics in the world- people aren’t as reactionary. For example, here we are taught about evolution in public high schools and it is presented as the only scientifically valid theory. We address “intelligent design” merely to discredit it.

Here, a constitutional amendment that allows religious celebrations to take place in public places without consulting with the authorities, was protested and rightly so, as said amendment undermines religious freedom and, by extension, secular State, since it allows religious ministers to go to public schools, etc.. In the U.S., it is illegal for atheists to hold public office in several states and nobody seems to give a shit.

I guess it has to do with history. Mexicans had to fight two wars to dissolve monarchy, one war to dismantle centralism, two wars to attain secular State and religious freedom, and numerous wars and revolts to depose domestic dictators and illegitimate heads of state. We’ve had four different Constitutions in 200 years. We are very conscious about many things Americans take for granted, and it’s ironic as the Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents of classical liberalism.