Thank you, sir. May I have another?

Jane Smiley, the author, has a piece up at Slate subtitled "The unteachable ignorance of the red states."

The election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry. I suppose the good news is that 55 million Americans have evaded the ignorance-inducing machine. But 58 million have not.

Her article goes on to express the kind of hysterics often voiced by the left today to explain their on-going rejection at the polls.

From a pragmatic standpoint, does it seem wise to belittle people whose support you seek? If anyone has a lock on stupidity these days, it has got to be the left.

On the other hand, The Backseat Philosopher has a more cogent argument as to what's gone wrong and how to fix it.

Our error is that we Democrats are far less understanding than we think we are. Our version of understanding the other side is to look at them from a psychological point of view while being completely unwilling to take their arguments seriously. "Well, he can't help himself, he's a right-wing religious zealot, so of course he's going to think like that."

The petty, childish part of me enjoys watching pompous, ass-hatted fools futilely bang their heads against a brick wall. The grown up in me wishes they would stop - it makes a mess and impedes the process of democracy.