http://liberalvaluesblog.com/2009/09/09/sarah-palins-lack-of-understanding-of-health-care/ Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought Wed, 23 May 2012 06:11:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://liberalvaluesblog.com/2009/09/09/sarah-palins-lack-of-understanding-of-health-care/comment-page-1/#comment-222781 Eclectic Radical Sat, 12 Sep 2009 10:57:01 +0000 http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=10040#comment-222781 I find the Republican view of 'experts' absolutely fascinating in its minutiae.   On the one hand, everything the CBO says that they don't like can be easily dismissed or ignored. Yet everything the CBO says that they believe can be used in support of their arguments carries the writ of gospel and should be considered because the CBO said it. Likewise, the idea of an expert panel advising Congress on Medicare expenditures is horrifying... yet we are to accept the views of the Cato Institute because they said it and they must be experts.   All of this reflects on the painful and dangerous truth: the lack of understanding of or expertise in <strong>any</strong> facet of public policy by a shockingly large number of politicians in the Republican Party. Largely versed in <strong>only </strong>what <strong>their own</strong> experts tell them, but fearing contradiction by anyone whose credentials may be more valid than their own, they evince a disturbing love-hate relationship with expertise of any kind. Contradictory argument by experts is 'technocratic' or 'elitist', while their own experts have near scriptural authority because of their inability to think through many of the questions involved themselves... thus giving the other side the taint of blasphemy.   This was one of the chief failings of both the Reagan and G.W. Bush administrations, and G.H.W. Bush's actual understanding of many of the questions being discussed actually hurt him with his conservative constituency.   Aaron Sorkin once broke it down beautifully, when one of his characters paraphrased a conservative candidates economic policy thusly:   "Don't worry. I'll have Jews for the money stuff."   I find the Republican view of ‘experts’ absolutely fascinating in its minutiae.
 
On the one hand, everything the CBO says that they don’t like can be easily dismissed or ignored. Yet everything the CBO says that they believe can be used in support of their arguments carries the writ of gospel and should be considered because the CBO said it. Likewise, the idea of an expert panel advising Congress on Medicare expenditures is horrifying… yet we are to accept the views of the Cato Institute because they said it and they must be experts.
 
All of this reflects on the painful and dangerous truth: the lack of understanding of or expertise in any facet of public policy by a shockingly large number of politicians in the Republican Party. Largely versed in only what their own experts tell them, but fearing contradiction by anyone whose credentials may be more valid than their own, they evince a disturbing love-hate relationship with expertise of any kind. Contradictory argument by experts is ‘technocratic’ or ‘elitist’, while their own experts have near scriptural authority because of their inability to think through many of the questions involved themselves… thus giving the other side the taint of blasphemy.
 
This was one of the chief failings of both the Reagan and G.W. Bush administrations, and G.H.W. Bush’s actual understanding of many of the questions being discussed actually hurt him with his conservative constituency.
 
Aaron Sorkin once broke it down beautifully, when one of his characters paraphrased a conservative candidates economic policy thusly:
 
“Don’t worry. I’ll have Jews for the money stuff.”
 

]]> http://liberalvaluesblog.com/2009/09/09/sarah-palins-lack-of-understanding-of-health-care/comment-page-1/#comment-222622 » Heckling the President Liberal Values Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:08:08 +0000 http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=10040#comment-222622 [...] I previously responded to Obama’s speech here and responded to Sarah Palin’s op-ed, which repeats many of the right wing talking points, here. [...] [...] I previously responded to Obama’s speech here and responded to Sarah Palin’s op-ed, which repeats many of the right wing talking points, here. [...]

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