The Elites — Redux

Kurt Schlichter is a conservative firebrand who writes with an acid wit. He is best when he skewers the cultural and political elites in our country. Here's a sample:

To be a normal American is to constantly be scolded, to be lectured, to be treated as a morally bankrupt simpleton in need of the guidance and direction provided by an urban elite ruling class notable for its empty academic credentials, its track record of incompetence, and its idolization of people who erotically abuse the foliage.

If we are to have betters, is it so wrong for us to demand that they actually be better? Superiors should be distinguished by their superiority – if you presume to take charge shouldn’t you demonstrate tactical, technical, and moral mastery? So what has our ruling class mastered lately? What is the skill set that sets the smart set apart?

Are they our betters because of the degrees they hang on the walls of their over-priced, open-floor plan townhouses? Going to college used to mean something more than you had nowhere else to go after high school. It was a training ground for the leadership class. A college student was an invitee to an intellectual banquet where he could sample the best of Western civilization, of art and literature, of civics and philosophy. But today, it’s all gender studies and grade inflation, with whiny social justice warriors drowning out any voice that won’t sing in tune. It is steam table trays heaped with gray, fatty meat and limp asparagus - the Golden Corral of the mind.

For decades the Washington elites have emanated from Ivy league schools that claim to provide deep insight that allows them to lead in both domestic and foreign policy. But exactly what have they accomplished in the past four decades?. To illustrate this point, it was the elites of both parties who allowed the North Koreans to develop nukes while concurrently paying protection money to them. They appeared to be sage diplomats, when in fact, they were merely kicking the can down the road in an effort to make the NoKos someone else's problem. Now, those same elites tell us that a different approach (Trump's more forceful stance) is somehow dangerous? What incredible chutzpa!

Schlichter continues:

Where are the elite’s achievements? Our betters have been running things and yet they are the ones crying loudest about how awful things are. It’s another scam, of course. Things are awful, but not for them – do you think the Westside Los Angeles folks I dwell among are hurting? No, let the good times roll – on the backs of the people east of I-5. Things are hard out there in actual America (but improving under Donald Trump, the quintessential Anti-Better), and our ruling class is demanding action. That action is to direct more money and power to the ruling class. That’s the answer to every policy question. Yeah, they’ve failed, but if you reward them, well, then they’ll totally start succeeding.

Iraq, the 2008 financial meltdown, health care…the hits keep coming, and the answer for the last failure is always the same. Trust us, and double down. Accountability? That’s for us suckers.

The elites (on both the Left and the Right) stand in front of the camera in $2,000 suits, using soothing words and a calm tone to maintain their grasp on power. They invariably enrich themselves and provide benefits to their supporters at the expense of taxpayers. They have the polish and the demeanor that exudes confidence and competence, but it's all empty posturing—political theater to keep the masses in line. Note how the elites emphasize the need to "act" presidential. We just experienced eight years of that "act," and the results were less than outstanding.

Schlichter provides an example from this week's events:

Then the media ... starts talking about how Trump needs [Senator Bob] Corker’s vote for tax reform and how it was totally stupid and dumb and stupid for Trump to insult a guy whose vote he needs and … wait a minute. Did you detect a troubling premise within that line of reasoning? Did you notice how the media simply assumes that it’s just fine for Bob Corker to block critical reforms that will help normal Americans because his feelingz are hurted and he haz the sadz?

We normals are expected to tolerate a crushing tax system even longer because one of the elite is pouty, and that’s perfectly okay. Because us normals are not the priority. The elite is ...

So why should we normal Americans respect these people? Why should we submit to being constantly scolded, lectured, and treated as morally bankrupt simpletons anymore?

We shouldn’t, and we aren’t, not anymore.

They wonder why they got Trump.

They are why they got Trump.

Indeed, they are.