Is "elitist," then, a bad word?

[question everything]

It depends, I suppose on who you ask and under what context.

The reality is that we, Democrats, have been losing elections because we were tagged with being elitists. Looking down on "Joe Six Packs" and on NASCAR supporters and gun loving people. Remember when Howard Dean was trying to say something about that? Remember how ridiculous Kerry looked when he went on a hunting trip?

Thus, for Jon Stewart to say that "we want our Presidents to be better than us" is pure nonsense - even though it earns him a place on YouTube and on DU.

No one considered Reagan and the Bushes "better" than themselves. And many voted for Bush because they wanted to have beer with him, instead of listen to the multi syllables talks by Gore and Kerry. This is a fact. This is politics.

Let's have a candidate runs on a slogan "I am an elitist" and see how many votes he will gain. Not even in San Francisco, not even in Minneapolis.

[redqueen]

1. It's a distraction.

Not this time.

[smiley_glad_hands]

9. Distract, divide, and conquer. eom

[islandmkl]

2. bitterhill has learned one thing during this primary contest...

how to read the rove playbook...

she's running all the plays, just not with the same level of execution as rove & co...

imagine, bitterhillary clinton calling anyone 'elitist' with a belief in the truth of her statement...

ludicrous, at best...only the MSM give a damn, because it propels their viewership...

bitterhillary appropriated the word from the RW propaganda manual and it ain't (non-elitist word) working...

[lumberjack_jeff]

3. Yes. It loses elections.

Happy to help.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. 'Elitist' is - 'elite' is not.

The suffix on 'elitist' suggests an 'ism' - 'elitism' - which could only be defined as a belief in the right to rule by the elites, which in turn is defined as 'those who are priviledged above the common folk'.

'Elite', OTOH, merely states a fact of top ranking, and there are many ways to rank the elite. The military elite could be either the highest ranked military, or the most competent and well trained units in the military. The Hollywood elite could be the limousine liberals, or the people who run the studios (usually quite conservative people, there), or the wealthiest of Hollywood stars - were John Wayne and Charlton Heston among the Hollywood elite? Charlize Theron? Jon Voight? They are among the elite, but elitism could not be generally applied. Harvard is an elite school - the bucks it takes to go there is the defining factor. That doesn't make everyone who ever went there an elitist.

Elitist has become the new definition of 'aristocratic'. And there are many who can be safely placed in the new American aristocracy, whether born to it or not, and others who thouogh seemingly born to it are clearly not.

Who is what is largely a matter of POV.

[scheming daemons]

5. Keep fighting past elections..... won't work.....

What worked in 1988 is not the same as what works now.

What worked in 2004 is not the same as what works now.

[question everything]

10. Yes, this is what we thought in 2000 and in 2004

American voters always liked their president to be personable. This is why Clinton is still being loved by most (except on DU, of course).

I don't say that Obama is less personable than Hillary. Perhaps even more. But ignoring the lessons of past elections will doom any chances we have.

[Romulox]

6. It's the economy, stupid

The elites of this country do not give a good god damn about economic the well-being of their fellow Americans--they all worship at the shrine of globalism and multinational corporations.

[dchill]

7. Yes - like cling, liberal, Democrat, gay...

:shrug:

[Warren DeMontague]

8. latte drinking, san francisco, prius-driving, brie-eating.. DON'T YOU GET IT, MAN?

Do we have to spell it out for you? We're talking about.... you know... "those" people!

Not "real" 'Merkins! :patriot:

[democracy1st]

11. Same people calling Elite a bad word are taking Liberal out of context as well