# Stop this meme: Can we finally stop hearing that liberals are condescending? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 9, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916 "2004-11-09T22:56:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/61 "2004-11-11T12:10:05Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > I would just like to add when Michael Medved guest hosted Limbaugh’s show a few years ago he made the comment, “Conservatives love their children more than liberals do.” A small example to be sure but I have never forgotten it. Absolutely pathetic. In a class with a pearl that I heard from a fellow M.A. student in the early 90sin England. “You can’t vote Conservative and be moral.” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/62 "2004-11-11T15:12:10Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > But Schwarzenegger and Reagan are/were political science experts or economists, not egotistical dilletantes looking for a second career where they could stay in the public eye after their looks were gone? Maybe on the same planet where Charleton Heston is a “great actor.” There motivations are irrelevant. They have chosen to make a career in politics. It’s not like some actor becoming the self-proclaimed spokesperson for some particular issue like they were hocking beauty products. And just for the record, an actor going into politics professionally also has to overcome that credibility gap and prove that they are just more than a pretty face, IMHO. Sorry, but I can’t take them seriously. I just can’t believe that the some Hollywood millionare actor can relate to my concerns or issues. > [@faithfool](#): > > Thanks for the answer. I suppose I never thought anyone would follow another’s lead because it was the “in” thing to do. Nor did it ever cross my mind that might be the reason for said person espousing a certain belief. Just goes to show that there’s always one more thing to learn and consider. I appreciate it. Thanks. That’s what I’m here for. Polerius - You can continue to prove that conservatives are as big jerks as liberals as long as you like. They two conditions are not mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/63 "2004-11-11T15:47:01Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Polerius - You can continue to prove that conservatives are as big jerks as liberals as long as you like. They two conditions are not mutually exclusive. Do you comprehend the point of the OP? I did not say that the two conditions are mutually exclusive. Where did you get the idea that I said that? I did say that conservatives are as big jerks as liberals, and so this whole stupid meme about that it’s \*only \* liberals, or \*mostly \* liberals, that are condescending to the other side, is bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/64 "2004-11-11T17:09:21Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > What about [this conservative attitude](http://www.politicalstrategy.org/archives/000013.php), from one of the then-leaders of the Republican party? > > Do you still doubt that just as many Republicans are condescending fucks? What you are missing is that, in common usage, condescending has a strong implication of **patronizing** , which few if any of Gingrich’s code words do. OED: ‘To depart from the privileges of superiority by a voluntary submission; to sink willingly to equal terms with inferiours’ (J.); to be condescending in one’s relations with others. [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com): To deal with people in a patronizingly superior manner. Newt’s words strongly imply that Dems/liberals are Not Good People. Surprise surprise. That would be like the Dems claiming Bush is evil – which could never happen, right? Well, I’ll call it a tie on the allegations-of-evilness score (though you may believe the GOP is slightly ahead on that score given their religiously-based tendency to make moral appeals/judgments; maybe so). But which of Newt’s words do you think is: patronizing; smug; “sink[ing] willingly to equal terms with inferiours?” Where I still think the Dems. are way ahead of the GOP is the smugness factor. As I’ve said before, red state voters may not agree with blue state voters, but they do not feign **wonderment at their very existence or at how they could possibly believe what they do.** Until someone offers better proof than Newt’s laundry lists of “Dems. are bad people” code words, I will stick with my belief. Both parties call the other evil, the Dems have a markedly-greater tendency to call the other party stupid, inferior, and worthy of derision and patronizing. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/65 "2004-11-11T17:31:24Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Until someone offers better proof than Newt’s laundry lists of “Dems. are bad people” code words, I will stick with my belief. I’ll reply to the rest of your post later. For now, I’ll bring your attention to the CNN article I mentioned above, which lists the most commonly-used words of election 2004, and two out of four are derisive (condescending) towards liberals, while there is no word in the top four which is derisive towards conservatives. What do think of that? ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/66 "2004-11-11T17:49:07Z")
I still think we disagree on what “condescending” means. To me (and I suspect to most of the conservatives who level this charge) it **always** includes the element of being: patronizing, descending from a position of (usually intellectual) superiority. “Flip-flopping?” That implies that: Kerry is not trustworthy. That he is a bad guy. That he is insincere. It does **not** imply that he is clearly stupider than I am. “Moral values?” Again, Kerry could have horrible moral values but be a conniving master of manipulation. What about the allegation that he’s a Bad Person also implies that he is a stupid or inferior person? You may not accept my (and the dictionary definitions I’ve cited) understanding of “condescending” as necessarily including an element of patronizing that I think is simply absent from the Republican charges of venality or ill motive. All I can tell you (and of this I am certain) is that when conservatives complain about “condescending,” they do not mean they are tired of being called morally or politically wrong; they are tired of being called, or treated as, ignorant stupid rubes. Given that this is the crux of the complaint, is there any serious debate that Dems. at large are more patronizing of the GOP than vice versa? There really can’t be, IMHO, given that one of the major Republican themes is that the Dems. are elitists. How can you patronize or condescend to an elitist. A far better example for you to cite, and the closest I can think of the GOP coming to a systemic form of condescension, is their attacks on Kerry and other Dem. liberals, Northeasterners, “intellectuals,” as “out of touch.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/67 "2004-11-11T18:05:51Z")
> [@](#): > > But Schwarzenegger and Reagan are/were political science experts or economists, not egotistical dilletantes looking for a second career where they could stay in the public eye after their looks were gone? Funny you should say that - both Reagan and Schwartzenegger earned degrees in economics (Arnie’s was a combined business/economics degree). There’s nothing about being a celebrity that disqualifies them from having an opinion. But there’s nothing that makes their opinion particularly valuable, either. And as a group, actors are less educated and more distanced from reality than the average person. Many of them don’t even have high school diplomas, and if they have degrees they are often degrees in acting or other performing arts that convey no special insights into the world. But some of them have earned respect. Tim Robbins, who I disagree with on just about everything, has gone to the trouble to actually educate himself. Ditto Paul Newman. Some actors have done well in politics - Arnie, Reagan, Fred Thompson, Fred Grandy, Shirley Temple Black. However, many of the most strident ones are spectacularly stupid and/or uninformed. Anyone who has watched _Politically Incorrect_ would know how cringe-inducingly stupid many of them are. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/68 "2004-11-12T02:19:26Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Where I still think the Dems. are way ahead of the GOP is the smugness factor. As I’ve said before, red state voters may not agree with blue state voters, but they do not feign **wonderment at their very existence or at how they could possibly believe what they do.** Let’s see… A quick Google search for “how can liberals believe what they do” returns several hits, the \*\*first \*\* of which says > [@](#): > > **By any means, one should never underestimate the ability of liberals to immerse themselves so deeply into a state of denial that their grasp on reality becomes weaker than Charles Manson’s defense strategy**. After all, these people really believe that the government is more trustworthy and responsible than private businesses are, that most news reporters are not predominantly left-leaning, and that prohibiting private gun ownership reduces crime. I don’t know about you, but just considering those three positions alone is enough to make me start looking around for a white jacket with extra-long sleeves. > > **How a person’s cognitive abilities could become so degraded that he actually adopts viewpoints like the ones above, when he hasn’t even been slammed in the head by a blunt object or fallen prey to some debilitating mental disease, is beyond me**. I know that drugs can warp a person’s perspective, but you’d have to be perpetually stoned to think the way liberals do, so merely being dopers doesn’t explain their troubling thought processes. **Frankly, I just don’t know what makes liberals tick, or why their minds work the way they do,** but I do know that trying to convince them to see reason is almost always a futile endeavor So, **Huerta88** do you still believe that conservatives “do not feign **wonderment at the very existence of liberals or at how they could possibly believe what they do.** ”? Or do you want me to go down the rest of the 2,180,000 Google hits? ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/69 "2004-11-12T02:36:08Z")
“…merely being dopers doesn’t explain their troubling…” But at least we have established once and for ever that all dopers are liberal! Next question… ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/70 "2004-11-12T05:17:47Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Let’s see… > A quick Google search for “how can liberals believe what they do” returns several hits, the \*\*first \*\* of which says > So, **Huerta88** do you still believe that conservatives “do not feign **wonderment at the very existence of liberals or at how they could possibly believe what they do.** ”? > > Or do you want me to go down the rest of the 2,180,000 Google hits? So Google hits are the currency of the day? “Stupid Republicans:” 2300+ hits “Stupid Democrats:” 844 hits [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q="stupid+republicans"](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22stupid+republicans%22) [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q="stupid+democrats"](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22stupid+democrats%22) “Republican moron:” 241 hits “Democratic moron:” 55 hits [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q="republican+moron"](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22republican+moron%22) [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q="democratic+moron"](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22democratic+moron%22) “Republicans are idiots:” 1050 hits “Democrats are idiots:” 585 hits [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q="republicans+are+idiots"](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22republicans+are+idiots%22) [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q="democrats+are+idiots"](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22democrats+are+idiots%22) And this is on the web, mind you, with little institutionalization and few barriers to entry; a forum where, like AM talk radio, the GOP actually has some clout. Still, the Dem voices accusing Republicans of stupidity and inferiority vastly outnumber the converse. What do you think is going on in the mainstream media, 89% of whose members admitted to having voted for Clinton, whilst of course claiming utter objectivity? ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/71 "2004-11-12T10:57:41Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > “Republicans are idiots:” 1050 hits > “Democrats are idiots:” 585 hits This doesn’t prove a thing. The websites containing “Republicans are idiots” maybe written by Republicans who are whining that Democrats claim “Republicans are idiots” I did not do a comparitive study of Google hits and offer the number of hits as any sort of evidence. If you notice, I just searched for a relevant term in order to find websites that disproved your claim that conservatives “never feign wonderment at the very existence of liberals or at how they could possibly believe what they do.” I took the first Google hit, and quoted from it, and then asked if I should go through the rest of the hits. The reason I would have to “go through the rest of the hits” is, obviously, the fact that most of them are not relevant to what I’m looking for, so I wasn’t offering the number of hits as any sort of proof. Basic point: the first hit of my web search proved that your claim that conservatives “never feign wonderment at the very existence of liberals or at how they could possibly believe what they do” is false. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/72 "2004-11-12T14:20:00Z")
Look, this is barely a GD. It’s almost a borderline Pit rant or IMHO. The fact of the matter is that there is a general consensus by conservatives and moderates that the Liberals view them as simple, bigoted idiots. They paint anyone with deep religeous beliefs as a moron any anyone with traditional family values as quaint and outdated. If you are a working middle class white American your value to the Democratic party is as a tax base for their social programs and it ends there. After that, you are expected to wallow in guilt for all of the oppression that every minority and fringe group has endured over the years. That is the perception. Until the Democrats do something to address the concerns of the middle class people will continue to view them as ivory tower elitists and naive do-gooders. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/73 "2004-11-12T14:56:43Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > How can you be condescending to people who don’t read papers or watch any worthwhile news ? Do you not see the condescension in your question? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/74 "2004-11-12T15:01:06Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > That is the perception. Until the Democrats do something to address the concerns of the middle class people will continue to view them as ivory tower elitists and naive do-gooders. That is the bottom line. The perception is there, and you do not make a perception go away by insisting that people are wrong to percieve things the way they do. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/75 "2004-11-12T15:47:13Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > However, many of the most strident ones are spectacularly stupid and/or uninformed. Anyone who has watched _Politically Incorrect_ would know how cringe-inducingly stupid many of them are. YOU cringe when you listen to them? At least you have the comfort that they are on the other side. We liberals have to check who will be on what show each week so we can start planning the damage control. _Politically Incorrect_ is the worst because Maher encourages them. Look, if there were a way to shut up the Alec Baldwins of the world that did not violate state or federal law too egregiously I’m all for it. They do massive damage to the cause of thoughtful and educated (formal and informal both count) liberals but it’s like what Roseanne Barr says about men: You can’t live with them and you can’t kill them. Hmmmm, looking at [a list of Republican celebrities,](http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/List-of-Republican-celebrities) you guys better keep Bo Derek, Shannen Doherty, and Dennis Hopper on a short leash if you want to maintain the appearance of conservative intellectual superiority. 😉 (Gopher’s degree is in ENGLISH? From HARVARD? What sort of liberal arts b_llsh_t is THAT?) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/76 "2004-11-12T16:09:05Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Look, if there were a way to shut up the Alec Baldwins of the world that did not violate state or federal law too egregiously I’m all for it. Interestingly, Stephen Baldwin is a Republican. I can imagine the intellectual political debates that must take place in the Baldwin household. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/77 "2004-11-12T16:12:43Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > This doesn’t prove a thing. > > The websites containing “Republicans are idiots” maybe written by Republicans who are whining that Democrats claim “Republicans are idiots” > > I did not do a comparitive study of Google hits and offer the number of hits as any sort of evidence. > > If you notice, I just searched for a relevant term in order to find websites that disproved your claim that conservatives “never feign wonderment at the very existence of liberals or at how they could possibly believe what they do.” > > I took the first Google hit, and quoted from it, and then asked if I should go through the rest of the hits. The reason I would have to “go through the rest of the hits” is, obviously, the fact that most of them are not relevant to what I’m looking for, so I wasn’t offering the number of hits as any sort of proof. > > Basic point: the first hit of my web search proved that your claim that conservatives “never feign wonderment at the very existence of liberals or at how they could possibly believe what they do” is false. I never said “never.” I said “don’t feign wonderment.” If you want to take that as “generally don’t feign wonderment, or don’t do so nearly as much as Dems.,” then that’ll work too. Neither of us wants to read the thousands of Google cites. I am sure that many “Republicans are stupid” hits are, in fact, by indignant Republicans refuting this charge, but why wouldn’t just as many “Democrats are stupid” hits likewise be by Dem. apologists? Let’s call it a wash. There are still a lot more people out there repeating the “stupid” tag about the GOP than about the Dems. Full stop. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/78 "2004-11-12T16:21:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Stop this meme: Can we finally stop hearing that liberals are condescending? Sure. If liberals stop BEING condescending then I’m sure we can stop saying they are. Well, there will be some inertia mind you…it’s been going on for quite some time now, so its firmly fixed in the American psyche now. However, with sufficient restraint I can see this ‘meme’ ending within a decade or so. In the mean time you can continue your struggle to also paint the conservatives as condescending. However, I’m unsure how painting them with the same brush lets your side off the hook as far as being condescending goes. Finally, you might want to clue your side in that it MIGHT be a good idea if they kept their condescending attacks strictly to either the Republican party and its lackeys or to Conservatives…general attacks against the electorate for being stupid, uninformed, priest ridden, etc are probably not going to help you remove this meme from the forefront of most Americans consciousness. Just my two cents. BTW, this really ISN’T a great debate IMO. -XT ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/79 "2004-11-12T16:25:54Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Interestingly, Stephen Baldwin is a Republican. I can imagine the intellectual political debates that must take place in the Baldwin household. I doubt if the discussions are very intellectual. SB is wildly religious, and if you saw him interviewed at the RNC, he came off as an absolute kook. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916/80 "2004-11-12T16:34:17Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Look, I know people who are more educated and have achieved more success than 90% of the people on this board. Many of them voted for Bush. So explain that. Maybe because very successful people are more likely to benefit from Bush’s economic policies than Kerry’s? > [@msmith537](#): > > I’ve never heard them say anything like that. That’s a _really_ strong claim. Off the top of my head, I often hear conservatives referring to “Taxachusetts” and “The Peoples’ Republic of Massachusetts”. I’m sure I could find lots more (and on preview I see that others have). > [@msmith537](#): > > **Schwarzenegger was an actor who decided to veture into politics professionally. As was Ronald Reagan.** Cameron Diaz and Ben Affleck are a couple of pretty people who are just throwing in their 2 cents about issues they may or may not understand. Their oppinion is meaningless as it is simply their opinion based on whatever pet issue they picked up that week. It is not the fact that they are from Hollywood that makes them irrelecant. They are not politicians or political science experts or economists. > > Surely, with your advanced Liberal intellect, you can see the difference. (Bolding mine). Well, Tom Selleck’s never run for office. Neither has Ted Nugent. Nor (to go back a few years) did John Wayne. But I don’t recall any conservatives telling them to go back to their day jobs when they voiced their political opinions. (Selleck in fact was frequently lauded in _National Review_ when he began making his politics known). Nor do I remember any conservatives griping about Schwarzenegger’s presence prior to his recent entry into electoral politics. (And FWIW, I probably don’t respect Diaz and Affleck’s opinions any more than you do). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-this-meme-can-we-finally-stop-hearing-that-liberals-are-condescending/273916.md?page=5)