Sometimes I don’t feel too smart. Before I retired, I often felt that many of the people I worked with were smarter than me. But when it comes to politics, I didn’t realize how stupid I really am and how much I need politicians to tell me what’s best for me…and you.

Scott Rasmussen is president of RMG Research Inc. In a recent poll, he asked the question, “Would you be willing to steal an election rather than lose it?” Seven percent of the American people said “yes.” Sixty-nine percent of the political elite said “yes.” The political elite are those who run the government, lead major corporations, control the news media and our universities.

The elites believe they are our superiors and that it’s their duty and moral right to dictate to the rest of us. You and I are stupid, and they have an obligation to govern and change us in ways that they think are appropriate. In other words, if we leave it to them, our lives will become much better. Trust them when they say that gas stoves are bad, electric cars are best, your child should be transgender, George Washington was a racist slave owner who needs to be removed from our history, etc.

The following is an excerpt from an article I read in “The Hill” entitled Our new political reality: Democratic elitists versus Republican populists. Check it out. See if you’re as stupid as me.

“The 2024 presidential race once again pits elites versus the people. Viewed historically, there is nothing unusual in this juxtaposition. What makes this race unusual is how definitively the parties have switched the group they represent.  

It is one that today’s Democrats still tenaciously cling to while labeling the Republicans as representing the elite. Yet by any objective standard, that legacy is long gone. Today, Democrats and Republicans have not simply shifted positions on issues or even areas of the country where they are dominant, they have shifted their constituencies at the most basic level: Now Democrats represent the elitists and Republicans are the populists. 

Democrats have long dominated the establishment media. This is hardly inconsequential since this was (and still is for many) the way the public stays informed. It is a surprise to no one that college campuses are Democratic nurseries. However, if the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel has shown America anything, it is just how far left academia is — especially on the most elite college campuses. 

Now they also dominate entertainment, sports and the arts. The same applies to science, where nothing short of a cabal exists that enforced groupthink on COVID theories during the pandemic that influenced social media policy. Of course, the same has existed on climate change for years now. 

Even the wealthy are far more to the left than the rest of the country. And these wealthy financially back the Left and Democrats too. In the case of some, like George Soros, their support goes far beyond even regular Democrats. 

Virtually everywhere there is a group that would have an elite, that elite supports Democrats and Democrats return the favor.

Conversely, look at the Republican side. Trump is nothing if not a populist. And his base is populist too. 

In the latest NYT/Siena poll of likely voters, in which Trump trailed Biden 45-47 percent overall, Trump led among voters without a Bachelor of Arts degree 54-39 percent but trailed 59-32 percent among those with the degree. Among those earning less than $50,000 per year, Trump led 49-46 percent; among those making over $100,000, Trump trailed 42-50 percent, and 43-49 percent among those earning $50,000-$100,000. 

Assuredly, the rhetoric has not caught up with reality. This is especially true among Democrats. And we should not expect it to during this year’s campaign. Among Republicans, Trump has been the most comfortable with it; this is probably the reason he has won the last two Republican presidential nominations and is essentially lapping his primary opponents now as well: Republicans’ constituents are now populists. 

America still has its two-party system. And it still has the same two dominant parties it has had for over a century and a half. But the broad constituencies these two parties represent have not simply changed; these constituencies have fundamentally reversed.  

The 2024 race will again be a race of elitists versus populists, just as it was in Bryan’s 1896 race. But this time, it will be a race of Democratic elitists versus Republican populists — and never has this reversal been clearer than it is today.“

© Jeff Lossau – 2024