Lately it seems like most of what the left considers intellectualism is just condescending arrogance based mostly on talking points and ungrounded assumptions.
Take, for instance, the debate over marijuana legalization. It is always assumed that the Democrats are in favor of legalization while the Republicans want to keep it verboten. Perhaps the explanation is that there are a lot more potheads in the Democrat Party, not that they have genuine intellectual curiosity. Democrats are the political home for the chronically lazy–given enough pot, your average Democrat will go on a long extended conspiracy rant about how hemp can feed, clothe, and fuel the entire earth, how it can grow without water, pesticides or fertilizer, and how the corporations paid off Republicans to make it illegal because it’s impossible to make a profit selling it.
The truth the legalization crowd ignores is that the Democrat Party is the home of neo-prohibitionists. The Democrats are the ones who demonize liquor, fast cars, trans-fats and anything else that makes life just a little more enjoyable. The tobacco bill that just passed the House is an example of how unlikely the Democrats are to legalize ANYTHING.
Here is a prime example of that monumental ignorance. In an exchange between Bill Maher and D.L. Hughley on the June 5 episode of “Real Time,” where they both loudly illustrated their pathetic knowledge of Supreme Court decisions:
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D.L Hughley boasts of catching conservatives in an act of hypocrisy. He complains that conservatives are all for states rights when abortion is in question but oppose the idea with regards to marijuana laws.
This is not exactly true. Conservatives are remarkably consistent in their views on the states rights, even when we’re talking about legalizing marijuana. In fact, when the issue was brought before the Supreme Court in the 2005 landmark case Gonzales v. Raich, states rights advocate William Rehnquist (the only justice remaining from Roe v. Wade abortion case, which he opposed) voted in favor of California’s right to legalize marijuana. He was joined by Reagan-appointee Sandra Day O’Connor and über-conservative Clarence Thomas. Thomas, in his dissenting opinion, wrote:
“If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually anything and the Federal Government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers…
“In the early days of the Republic, it would have been unthinkable that Congress could prohibit the local cultivation, possession, and consumption of marijuana…”
On the other hand, it was the liberals on the bench, those who believe that the Constitution is a flexible document that must continually bend to changing social mores, who voted unanimously against California’s right to provide a little grass to sick people. (I guess the document just isn’t that flexible.)
It is not a surprise that Hughley is not informed–most left-wing comedians aren’t. They are better at parroting the rhetoric of the left than actually presenting informed opinions. In fact, later in the show, Hughley goes so far as to claim there were no “drugs, drive-bys, or homeless people” in his neighborhood until Ronald Reagan was elected.
But the ultimate buffoon of the evening is Bill Maher. Bill, in his typical condescending way, actually says that Roe v. Wade gave states the right to make their own decisions about abortion, which is 180 degrees from the truth.
I don’t mind people having strong opinions, but to have a strong opinion while your knowledge is lacking to such an extent… Well, there is just no excuse for that.
Tim Slagle, a somewhat informed comedian, is available on iTunes and Amazon.