It’s common and tempting to dismiss political opponents as “stupid.” Liberals may call conservatives “mouth-breathers” or “MAGA-billies,” while conservatives often use terms like “libtards” or “Dumbocrats.” This tendency can be emotionally satisfying and even rhetorically effective, but it risks overlooking darker realities and deeper dangers.
Commentator Greg Salsbury warns that this approach may itself be foolish. He cautions against characterizing leftists as merely “incompetent” or “crazy,” noting some are highly Machiavellian with method to their madness. Salsbury argues that labeling leftists as stupid contradicts serious messages about their policies and shifts responsibility away from them for malevolence. For example, Representative Jim Jordan once described the left’s open-border policy as part of a long-term strategy to attract new Democrat voters, with sanctuary-city policies being another step. Yet in interviews, he called the policy “just stupid” and “one of the dumbest policies I’ve ever heard of,” adding that “every single position today’s left adopts is crazy.”
Thus, leftists are portrayed as shrewd long-term planners who simultaneously appear stupid and crazy—a distinction that may seem trivial but is critical. Salsbury acknowledges that some on the left are “dim bulbs,” including Kamala Harris, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and late congressman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas). He also notes voters in places like California who repeatedly elect such leaders. However, he distinguishes these individuals from the “overarching leftist agenda” and the Machiavellian manipulators orchestrating it.
Salsbury explains that radical left movements in the U.S. aim to dismantle existing American institutions, traditions, and governance structures for a new social order. In essence, they despise America as it currently exists. Once this premise is understood, their positions appear less like harebrained, illogical ideas and more as carefully conceived tactics to achieve that larger goal. Under this framework, policies such as defunding the police, draconian regulations and carbon taxes, mothballing coal and nuclear plants, wide-open borders, turning a blind eye to Medicaid fraud and NGO abuses, supporting genital mutilation of minors, opposing voter ID laws, expanding entitlement spending, lowering military combat readiness standards under the guise of gender equality, and backing adversaries like Hamas can be seen not as isolated failures but as components of a broader ideological program. If such policies hasten America’s realignment, they are supported.
This theory posits that anything supporting systemic disruption is endorsed, with the goal being to overthrow the current order, seize control, rebuild it, and then suppress destabilizing forces—a process known as “normalization” in communist contexts. Salsbury also addresses why the American left emphasizes racial divides: historically, Marxists targeted class differences for “divide and conquer,” but today’s wealthier West sees fewer starving populations to rally around. Instead, the West’s diversity along racial, ethnic, and religious lines provides fertile ground for group-identity politics.
Salsbury’s key insight: this strategy isn’t “stupid” from a power perspective—but very smart people can believe in dumb ideas. Economist Dr. Thomas Sowell explained that intelligence doesn’t matter if you don’t think clearly. When does one stop thinking? Often when blinded by emotion, attachment to flawed beliefs, or pride. A prime example is New York City’s Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who possesses significant intellect but acts as an “activist politician.” He displayed this in actions such as giving the middle finger to a Columbus statue. In thrall to false ideology, he believes discredited concepts like Marxist economics. In contrast, Kamala Harris may believe little beyond power and feign belief to achieve it.
Sowell also noted that most people specialize in narrow areas and can make poor decisions outside their expertise. Historically, Adolf Hitler was a brilliant strategist with high emotional intelligence but made disastrous decisions when micromanaging battlefield strategy—too prideful to heed his generals. A person’s priorities matter too: intelligent citizens might view destructive policies as evidence of stupidity, yet without wisdom, intelligence leads to self-destructive outcomes. As Aristotle noted, a prerequisite for happiness is living morally—so choosing hell over heaven is self-destructive (i.e., stupid). Intelligent people can make the dumbest decisions when driven by dark emotions or pride. Demons might claim they’re smart; angels might call them stupid.
As we navigate our material world, we risk underestimating the intelligent ignorati.
