Does it matter what at what level the politician is-- I mean, County Clerk or Dogcatcher vs. President?
Do you think highly/poorly of people in MENSA in general?
I think it would be a positive for a Republican and a negative for a Democrat. It would feed into the elitist meme for the latter.
Annise Parker is a 3-time Mayor of Houston, Texas and a member of Mensa. Seems that hasn’t stopped her political ambitions.
Do I think highly/poorly of people in Mensa? Highly mostly as I’m a member myself…
Well, you would lock up 2% of the vote.
I’m in Mensa and it would give one tiny point in the candidate’s favor, but no more than that. There are plenty of folks in the top 2% who don’t have the common sense God gave little green apples.
I’m not in Mensa but many of my friends are and I am invited to the same parties they are. Mensans are intelligent, I mean, that’s the whole point, right? But aside from that they’re not all that different from the rest of us. Smart people can hold outrageous or even offensive opinions and beliefs.
I think neither highly nor poorly upon learning that someone is in Mensa. I’ve met a lot of great Mensans but I’ve also met a lot of oddballs as well with an emphasis on odd. Intelligence is certainly something I value in a politician but knowing someone possesses it doesn’t mean I think they’re a good candidate.
No, it shouldn’t matter at all.
MENSA membership would not in any way affect my view of a politician. Any politician stressing their MESNA membership would probably make me a bit more wary of them. It’s an honor, I suppose, but it’s not really a big deal (in my opinion) and has no bearing on how good of a politician/leader you are.
Another vote for a positive for the Republican and a negative for the Democrat. Smart Democrats are “elitists.”
David Mitchell has an amusing (and relevant) take on Mensa membership. I certainly see his point. If you’re not from the UK you probably won’t know who the hell a lot of the people he mentions are, though.
Being smart doesn’t seem to be regarded as an asset among the Tea Party wing, however.
Um, “MENSA.” I swear that’s what I typed.
I have been a member of Mensa for more than 20 years, and a man in my local group has run for state representative several times, at least once successfully. He has listed his Mensa membership on his campaign literature along with his other “qualifications,” but as far as I know, he has never attended a single meeting or event. No one in my group has ever met him. How do I know how much effort he has put into any of the other things he says he’s done?
If a candidate is a Mensan, I would take a closer look. A look isn’t a vote.
I wouldn’t care one way or the other, but I would be mildly surprised to see a Republican candidate making a big deal out of it.
I would be less likely to vote for someone if they advertised themselves as a member of MENSA. I don’t care if someone is a member or not, but if they used it in campaign materials of talked about it, then it would be a strike against them.
Thank you all for your responses.
The reason I asked is because a local politician is apparently a member of MENSA. I know this because it was on the campaign materials delivered to a friend, who may have personal history with this guy, and certainly believes that most members of MENSA that she has known aren’t well-socialized.
As one of the best-educated, but presently underemployed, members of the group, making fun of the guy for being in MENSA didn’t sit right, but . . .
frankly, for the post in question, I’d think common sense would be more useful than high I.Q.
There are any number of really, really intelligent people in politics. Does their being really, really intelligent make you any more or less likely to support:
Bill Bradley
Cory Booker
Bill Clinton
Bobby Jindal
Richard Lugar
All of whom were Rhodes scholars?
My response to the thread title: Apparently not. After all, Dubya was elected twice, and if he was qualified to be in Mensa, they really need to raise the bar.
Intelligence is a funny thing. People who have it value it very, very highly. People who have very little tend to be very, very suspicious of it. Both views are probably justified.
I think it would depend on where they were running. If they were running in an area with a high urban electorate, it might help. If they were running in a largely rural area, it could hurt.
I’ve never been interested in joining, though I easily could have.
For me personally, it all depends on what the candidate says. A really smart guy can pander just as well as a stupid one.
For the public in general I suspect it would be a deficit if the candidate made any sign of acting like a member of Mensa. Clinton didn’t, neither does Jindal, and Bill Bradley being a basketball star (for Princeton to start with) was more important.
I don’t know if Adlai Stevenson was a member, but his perceived intelligence did him no good.
I vote for candidates based on what they advocate. A Mensan advocating the Republican Party platform would not get my vote. I would readily vote for a slightly duller than average person advocating the progressive platform over him. The duller fellow might not be as capable at getting the platform passed into law, but at least he’d be heading in the right direction, even if he made less progress than a brighter man (or woman) might.