The "Know-Nothing" Party

[kpete]

The enthusiastic embrace of ignorance
05/17/16 08:40 AM
By Steve Benen


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Don’t vote for Trump despite his obliviousness, support him because of it. The Know-Nothing Party may have faded into obscurity 150 years ago, but it’s apparently making a comeback with a new standard bearer.

There’s been a strain of anti-intellectualism in Republican politics for far too long, and it comes up far too often. House Speaker Paul Ryan last month dismissed the role of “experts” in policy debates; former President George W. Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker have publicly mocked those who earn post-graduate degrees; Jeb Bush last year complained about Democrats using too many “big-syllable words.”

As a rule, prominent GOP voices prefer to exploit conservative skepticism about intellectual elites to advance their own agenda or ambitions. They don’t celebrate stupidity just for the sake of doing so; anti-intellectualism is generally seen as a tool to guide voters who don’t know better.

Trump, however, has come to embody an alarming attitude: ignorance is a virtue. If the president believes otherwise, it must be seen as proof of his awfulness. The Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee intends to lead a movement of those who revel in their lack of knowledge.

History will not be kind.



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MORE:
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-enthusiastic-embrace-ignorance

[pampango]

1. And Trump avoids policy briefings out of a fear that too much knowledge would make his 'populist'

campaign style less effective.

If Americans want to vote for an anti-intellectual demagogue, they do indeed have an obvious choice.

... the billionaire businessman was reluctant to add new layers of policy experts now, feeling it would only muddy his populist message that has been hyperfocused on illegal immigration, trade and fighting Islamic extremists.

“He doesn’t want to waste time on policy and thinks it would make him less effective on the stump,” the Trump source said.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/donald-trump-administration-transition-222944#ixzz48BC3jpwc

Apparently, Trump is worried that filling his head with facts about the world will make him less effective as a right wing populist on the campaign trail. He is probably right about that.