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When smart people get stupid

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You’d think somebody with Mitt Romney’s bankroll could have paid Donald Trump enough to endorse his opponent. You’d think an organization like the Susan G. Komen foundation would employ someone smart enough to put the kibosh on an enormous political gamble that offered zero political gain.

But these things confirm what I’ve long suspected. The power elites, most of them, aren’t smarter than you or me. They just think they are. Frequently, in fact, they’re a lot more stupid.

Donald the kingmaker.

For example, what can Romney — already under fire for being a tone-deaf fat-cat — possibly gain from the endorsement of another tone-deaf fat-cat who is universally regarded as the biggest buffoon of modern times? And yet there was Romney in Nevada, expressing honor and delight at getting the somewhat tepid endorsement of a man with extremely strange hair. Amazing. Now that Romney has locked up the real-estate tycoon vote, maybe he can broaden his appeal to the marginally less wealthy.

rep. cliff stearns, R., FL

Rep. Cliff Stearns

You’ve already read enough about the Komen Foundation, which has recently wiped out 30 years of goodwill at a single stroke. The good part is that maybe we’ll see fewer of those useless little ribbons around. The bad part is that by firing a tiny BB at abortion, the foundation is now perceived as firing a 12-gauge shotgun at breast-cancer prevention — which is its sole raison d’être. Even if all the excuses are genuine — and they’re not — you’d think someone in Komen’s public affairs office might have questioned the wisdom of playing Russian roulette at the behest of a little-known Republican from Florida.

More along these lines:

Comments

  1. jim blanchat says

    Dave,

    You’re my go-to guy for all things that defy reason or explanation.

    Miss you guys.

    Jim

  2. Joan says

    Now the headlines are claiming that Korman has reversed its decision and will continue to fund Planned Parenthood. But wait. Read a litle further. Komen’s apology is not a promise to renew Planned Parenthood grants. It’s a promise to “continue to fund existing grants” to the organization — which it was already planning on doing — and to make it eligible for future grants. At no point in the press release did its founder, Nancy Brinker promise that Komen will renew grants to Planned Parenthood.

    • Dave Knadler says

      Even if it doubled the grants, there’s no way to quickly regain the moral high ground. I don’t think it’s a great tragedy for Planned Parenthood, since other groups and donors will pick up the slack. For Komen — well, live and learn.

  3. mike knadler says

    Haha…that’s right, Bro…skewer the bastards. Well written and trenchant, as always

  4. John H. says

    Ever since Komen started their marketing deal with the NFL, I’ve been thinking that they’re losing focus, and that somebody ought to look at how they’re actually spending the money they take in. I suspect that they’re going to have a lot more scrutiny after this debacle.

    On the TV news this morning, they had a teaser saying something about Trump giving his endorsement. The image that went with it was a smiling Romney. I seriously thought that meant that Trump had endorsed Gingrich.