This will seem obvious to many, but.....It seems to me that our Senators

[theophilus]

and Representatives, especially Representatives, are just not very bright. Now, I think many in leadership roles are quite bright. The Repugs have to be pretty bright to keep "catapulting the propaganda" the way they do. These are the really evil and greed ones, imo. However, there seem to be few who are really intelligent and educated. Franken, Feingold, and Sanders come to mind. Why are these ignorant people clogging up America's political system? Is this a vast conspiracy or does it just happen this way?

What are your thoughts on the subject?

Is a lot of the problem that these folks are just "dumb and dumber"?

[LastNaturalist]

1. No, they're pretty bright. I don't agree.

[theophilus]

2. Who, in your opinion, stands out as bright on the Dem and then the Rep side? n/t

[still_one]

8. What do you define as bright?

[LastNaturalist]

9. Oh...

Carl Levin, Patrick Leahy, Ron Wyden, Dianne Feinstein, Dave Obey, Sherrod Brown, Steny Hoyer, Nancy Pelosi, Greg Meeks. There's a lot of them.

On the Republican side, not so much. Uhh... Chuck Hagel... umm... uhh... Chuck... Hagel....

[emilyg]

15. Dean.

[Ozymanithrax]

3. The alternative is that they undrestand what is going on and they are being...

honest with us about their support of the bill.

[theophilus]

10. I wasn't really thinking of that topic. I was just musing about their level

of education and intelligence, in general. The many who have been on Colbert have been interesting. Some clever, some seemed pretty inadequate.

[thunder rising]

4. The real clever ones are the ones writing the talking points and law and handing them to the Repugs

It's amazing what $1Bs of dollars will buy.

[OneGrassRoot]

5. My take....

is that, for the most part, it takes $$ nowadays to get elected into office. Corporations and special interest groups have the money, and thus can essentially buy candidates.

Until we have campaign finance reform, we are left with the puppets Corporate America wants in office to serve THEIR interests. Since distraction works in their favor, they prefer malleable politicians, and politicians who stir up the social debates which distract from issues affecting each and every one of us.

We the People really have very few who represent OUR interests.

The system needs to change.

[still_one]

6. Whether you agree or disagree with the HCR act, just to get it through under the current

environment, is not trivial, and actually is a stroke of genius, even by having the bill introduced by the house, was a well thought out mechanism to get it into law

I also believe that once it becomes law, it will get amended

[grantcart]

7. off the subject of the thread I am just curious how you got Luke to write you not one book but two!!

[theophilus]

12. My dad worked with his dad in the import/export trade. We were friends as kids

and had many of the same interests. I try to downplay it nowadays, though.

[kentuck]

11. I think they are only a reflection of their surrounding gene pool..

:-)

[NNN0LHI]

13. The Republican pols are actually pretty smart

Its their snake handling, rapture loving base who are not so bright.

Don

[LastNaturalist]

14. Republicans are...

geniuses in manipulation. I givem that.