Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Fools Rush In
Red State Rabble is not one of those naive types who believe in some lost, mythical, golden age of American politics. We have always had our share of demagogues, charlatans, and crooks in public life. Perhaps we always will.
Even so, there was a time -- mostly forgotten, now -- when having some minimal knowledge of the issues was thought a prerequisite for speaking out on questions of public policy. In those far off days, it wasn't so much that those seeking public office were better qualified than the wanna-be leaders of today. It was just that they feared being exposed as fools if they spoke out publicly on things they did not understand.
Sadly, that quaint inhibition is no longer with us.
Steve Rauschenberger, one four candidates vying for the Republican nomination for governor of Illinois, is a case in point. Mr. Rauschenberger endorses the teaching intelligent design in Illinois public schools:
Even so, there was a time -- mostly forgotten, now -- when having some minimal knowledge of the issues was thought a prerequisite for speaking out on questions of public policy. In those far off days, it wasn't so much that those seeking public office were better qualified than the wanna-be leaders of today. It was just that they feared being exposed as fools if they spoke out publicly on things they did not understand.
Sadly, that quaint inhibition is no longer with us.
Steve Rauschenberger, one four candidates vying for the Republican nomination for governor of Illinois, is a case in point. Mr. Rauschenberger endorses the teaching intelligent design in Illinois public schools:
"When I went through school they were certain that dinosaurs were reptiles and cold-blooded and slow-moving," Rauschenberger says. "Today it seems increasingly clear they weren't, that they were much more closely related to birds."Can't get enough of the maneuvering among that hardy band of stout-hearted Republicans who refuse to let a little thing like ignorance stand in the way of their quest for the Illinois gubernatorial nomination? Check out Associated Press reporter Christopher Wills' "GOP candidates struggle with delicate issue of religion in schools" in the Belleville News-Democrat.
