As we decide who won or lost last Tuesday, one thing is certain. The intellectual class (both sides) were shown for the fools they are.
We tend to confuse the terms “intellectual” and “intelligent.” An intellectual is a person who makes his living dealing in ideas. He is learned by profession. He could also be a moron. There is no guarantee that an intellectual is intelligent. At the same time, there are people who are enormously intelligent, but not at all intellectual. They do not make their living working with ideas. They are not learned. But their unencumbered intelligence can sometimes see the future more clearly than someone who is encumbered by complex ideas that their intelligence can’t sort through.
George Friedman, STRATFOR Geopolitical Diary: Wednesday, June 9, 2004
As I was watching the election returns last Tuesday night, I started off queasy (God knows the Democrats will steal a baby’s lollypop to win). Got a bit of a warm and fuzzy when Georgia was called, then smiled at my wife, “Game over!” after Pennsylvania came in. Thank God we dodged another bullet with a completely unqualified leftist being pushed into office.
As the night went on, I started a list of winners and losers from this election. I won’t go into detail (some, like Ms. Harris, are obvious), but one thought kept going through my mind. One group, both parties, took it on the chin this election cycle. The Intellectual Class.
From Dictorary.com, “intellectual” is an adjective, “relating to your ability to think and understand things, especially complicated ideas.” As Dr. Friedman explained very well, just because you are intellectual, you may be clueless. That very well shown the last four months.
It was the “smart” people who pushed Joe Biden into the Presidency in 2020. They also pushed him out of the Oval Office this summer. They then put in a very poor vice president who they originally looked at dumping as a weight on the Biden reelection campaign. The concerns were genuine. Harris never received a vote (she dropped out of the 2020 primary before Iowa), did not have time to prepare to run, and was not a particularly attractive candidate. Barrack Obama and Bill Clinton both could sell an image, not Mrs. Bill Clinton or Kamala “I was raised in a middle-class household” Harris.
But the “smart” people knew how to win and this was how to do it. No question, Joe Biden is not long for this earth (his brain has not been long for his head for decades), and his performance in the debate was miserable. If you are going to combat the political version of a UFC fighter with someone who speaks to people like they are children, has no accomplishments in the Senate or as Vice President, and a cackle that will make the Pope tell her to f&*$ off, expect a disaster. Give Pete Buttigieg this, he got 26 more delegates than Kamala Harris in 2020.
However, the smart people also knew the issues that would bring Ms. Harris the presidency. Abortion, amnesty, and taxpayer student loans payoffs. Except they didn’t. People trying to pay for their groceries and keep gas in the car are not really concerned about abortion (these ladies know how to use the pill) and the women who supported Trump overwhelming were parents. They don’t want criminal gangs in their neighborhoods, and seeing they didn’t go to college, they don’t want their taxes to pay for the degrees of others who did go for worthless majors.
Don’t believe for a moment the Republicans are free of these locusts. The RINOs (Republicans In Name Only, see Jeb!, McCain, Romney) have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory countless times. The GOP Establishment has told their working-class base for decades, “We don’t need you…” or “Vote for Jeb! (Or McCain…or Romney) or the Democratic wins,” for ages, In 2016 (and 2020, 2024) the base had a choice, and rejected the RINOs.
I recall an argument with a liberal friend after Dick Cheney endorsed Harris, calling Trump, “the greatest threat to democracy in our history.” My friend was screaming Trump was loosing the GOP base, and I explained (not that he listened) the Cheney’s are not the GOP base. The are the New England moderates who will sell this country out in a heartbeat if it means keeping access to power. Pal, I see how much Dick and Liz helped Kamala out. Daddy and his little girl should retirement on K Street.
On his show last Friday, Bill Maher said of the election and the Democrats, “Losers, look in the mirror!” Bill, you’re dead on, but that likely won’t happen. The intellectuals at the top of the Democratic party don’t look at “how we can bring people to our ideas,” but “how we can fool them better next time?” Center left Democrats looked at three massive losses in 1980, 1984, and 1988 and a third way group called the Democratic Leadership Council was created. The DNC gave lip service to moderate policies (e.g., crime reform), but no question, they were the instrument that lifted the Democrats from the floor after three Republican presidential victories.
The Democrats today are not the party of Bubba Clinton, and the scary thing is what will replace Harris (I think her time is up) will be more radical than her. Hopefully the Republicans going forward can exploit their radicalism and win. Yo RINOs, the idea is you give people reason to vote for you, not another milquetoast who is afraid of fighting back.
In case you didn’t hear it, Trump won Starr County TX, a border country overwhelming Hispanic. This was the first time a Republican has won the county in over 100 years. Nationwide, he won Hispanic men 51% to 46%. Trump didn’t conduct race baiting and racial pandering; he appealed to the same issues that everyone wants. Peace and prosperity. And when slapped once, Trump punched back five times. Get it?
For today, we can say the intellectuals of both parties have lost. Thank God!
Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.
Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.
If you enjoyed this article, then please REPOST or SHARE with others; encourage them to follow AFNN. If you’d like to become a citizen contributor for AFNN, contact us at managingeditor@afnn.us Help keep us ad-free by donating here.
Substack: American Free News Network Substack
Truth Social: @AFNN_USA
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/afnnusa
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/2_-GAzcXmIRjODNh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfnnUsa
GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AFNN_USA
CloutHub: @AFNN_USA