Tennessee lawmaker wants to do away with higher education

https://www.wate.com/news/tennessee/tennessee-lawmaker-calls-for-removal-of-higher-education/

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Republican Tennessee lawmaker says he supports getting rid of higher education because he argues it would cut off the “liberal breeding ground.”

Sen. Kerry Roberts of Springfield called for eliminating higher education while speaking about attending a recent abortion legislative hearing on his conservative radio talk show on Sept. 2.

Roberts specifically called out one activist who testified in favor of protecting abortion rights. He asserted without evidence that the woman’s beliefs were a “product of higher education” and claimed that getting rid of higher education would “save America.”

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You can't make this up, folks.

Hahaha...…..keep them stupid and republican...….is that his slogan?

It's called "tongue and cheek" and hyperbole. A quick check on his history shows that.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/it-was-joke-says-tennessee-senator-who-said-colleges-should-n1051776

New York City wants to do away with gifted and advanced courses in the public schools because they are not fair and discriminatory.

He is correct about the colleges. They are no longer places of higher education.

America has to contribute to the world in some form.

If manufacturing is decreasing, then we need to be smart and do all the research, invent the products (if we aren't going to make them, we can at least hold the patents), and lead the world.

We need to be promoting education more, not less. Otherwise we are just going to be a bunch of poor, uneducated, indoctrinated, pro-life hicks making coffees at Starbucks pretending our country is still the best.

Is it? Seems like standard tactics these days for Republicans who say [and mean] some pretty terrible things.

It's like if you're at work and your boss comes up and says "You're fired", you have to take that seriously and call him on his shit, then he'd be like "Oh wow I was just joking".

We call that a "dick move" where I am from. And no, I shouldn't have a sense of humor about that.

I'd respect them more if they said these terrible things and stood their ground, saying they stand behind what they said. Backpeddling because people did not respond well is both cowardly and dishonest.

*Oh and in a normal political environment, I might take what he said as hyperbole. But in Trump's America, where the screwballs have free license to come out of the woodwork, it's not far fetched to think our politicians believe some crazy shit.

Then what are they, then?

It should be now that would be a great bumper sticker.

Republicans have been anti-college education for at least the better part of a decade now. The idea that he was "just being hyperbolic" rings false to me.

Various gop politicians have been saying this since at least Rick Santorum's first presidential campaign. This isn't a surprise, it's just sad.

He stated it was a joke. It's a joke.

I know you guys look for shit to jerk it to, but come on.

Didn’t even have to read your post to know it was a Republican.

Of course it was.

Uh huh, and Trump says it was "just a joke" all the time. Doesn't mean I'll always give him the benefit of the doubt so long as he follows it up with that phrase.

@JimB: https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm

Graph so simple even an uneducated person such as yourself can read it.

to be fair. with all the fucking nonsense politicians say these days, it's hard to tell anymore.

Joking or not, this is unfortunately a common sentiment I have seen amongst certain demographics. Remember this little graph?

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/07/20/republicans-skeptical-of-colleges-impact-on-u-s-but-most-see-benefits-for-workforce-preparation/

So many people have been brushing off bad ideas, hiding them under the veil of "I am just joking", before finally embracing them fulltime. And in this polarized political climate, I wouldn't be surprised. If in 5 years, he wont cower behind the "It was just a joke guiz".

He claims it is a joke because he will have at least 1/3 of the country buying it.

Anti-intellectualism has been a plank of the Republican Party since Sarah Palin became VP. Republicans know that college-educated individuals can see through voodoo economics like trickle-down, and numerous other right-wing viewpoints that don’t match up with reality.

This is intentional to keep the populace uneducated so they won’t question authority or the people who rule over them.

It is a joke, but unfortunately it's standard republican policy at this point. A joke of a policy is still a policy.

Anti-intellectualism has been a plank of the Republican Party since Sarah Palin became VP. Republicans know that college-educated individuals can see through voodoo economics like trickle-down, and numerous other right-wing viewpoints that don’t match up with reality, like climate change denialism and fear of socialized medicine. Thankfully, millennials and younger folks are some of the most highly educated in American history and aren’t buying what the Republicans are selling.

This is intentional to keep the populace uneducated so they won’t question authority or the people who rule over them. It is a mark of desperation from a party who has resoundingly lost the hearts and minds of the citizens and readily loses in the marketplace of ideas.

@JimB: You're full of crap, as usual. I'm going to school on my GI Bill and this liberal indoctrination they talk about on Fox News is blown completely out of proportion. The only time I encountered a significant amount of liberal politics was in the one sociology class I had to attend.

@plageus900: Counterpoint: If the liberal indoctrination camps - sorry, "universities" - haven't indoctrinated you, then why aren't you agreeing with Jim?

@mattbbpl: Because the idea that universities are liberal indoctrination camps is nonsense. It's usually perpetrated by conservatives who have never set foot on a college campus. The only information they have is the BS regurgitated by Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity Todd Starnes.

@horgen: Exactly, because unfortunately many are quick to read headlines without actually formulating their own opinions after seeing the overall context.

College used to be a place where there could be honest debate and exchange of ideas. That is no longer the case. Look at the ignorance of recent college grads. Take AOC as an example she has a masters degree in finance and is economically literate. She is pushing a plan that would destroy the economy. A leftist plan she got in college.

They still are, I think you are confusing knowledge and education with beliefs.

You can still be educated and believe in something. Just because you believe in a Christian god doesn't mean you wouldn't be a good scholar of Buddhism.

Likewise, I am sure AOC understands the virtues of a capitalistic economy, but at the same time she believes it is not working out that great for 99% of the population because America has mutated it into an abomination of what it once was.

It's funny when people accuse institutions of indoctrinating "the young people" or people are accused of "flip-flopping"; there is nothing wrong with changing your tune if you gain some insight and knowledge on the subject.

LOL you know literate is a good thing...……..right?

@LJS9502_basic: that's the kind of stuff you say when you ignore education

JimB, let's be honest here. You're probably the most scientifically (including economics) illiterate person on these boards. You don't even understand that deficit/debt aren't interchangeable and constantly confuse future liabilities as being debt. If there's ever a thread on climate change you're usually the lone standout linking the 'AmericanThinker' as a source of truth that it's all a hoax.

You're a walking example of confirmation bias.

Haha yeah I saw that, but honestly I don't want to be the "you made a typo, therefore you fail" guy. Was just gonna chalk it up to an honest mistake.

But yeah, it's pretty telling when someone arguing against higher education makes a simple mistake like that.

Everything that comes out of @JimB: 's mouth is signature worthy.

If being told that other people's experiences have been different compared to yours based on their race and ethnicity then that is some weak level liberal indoctrination.

Also, if institutions of higher learning are not supportive of conservative ideas, perhaps conservatives also need to be a bit introspective and ask themselves why that may be.

@plageus900: he's the Tomi Lauren/Laura Ingram of the forum

We're back! That was a tough couple of hours there. :)

This method of testing the waters by saying something stupid or morally reprehensible and pulling back to "it's just a prank bro lol," is getting tiresome.

@Vaasman: This was testing the waters? How?

@Vaasman: I’m starting to believe this is an inherent “feature” of Trumpism. Where absurd policies are sounded off in the media in a kind of focus group setting, and based on the response Trump chooses which way to go. It’s fascinating that this occurs in the same administration where officials try to create coherent policies and ideology based off the President’s tweets.

Step 1: You need something that's really shitty done (such as removing higher education for it's negative effect on your political stances.)

Step 2: Make a colorful comment or "joke" about making changes to allow your shittiness to pass.

Step 3: Gauge reactions. If no one cares or you get support, push the boundaries and break what you can. If there's tons of backlash, then fall back on "lol just kidding u guiz."

Step 4: Repeat every now and then until people get too exhausted to be upset, or you are retired.

The playbook is becoming painfully obvious. When something positive is bad for your political party, you make "jokes" about making it go away, then respond based on their reactions.

@Vaasman: Again, clearly you are looking the mantra in a vacuum which loses the forest among the trees; nevermind the falling into the trap of conspirator silliness like this is a far reaching ordeal to supplant ridiculous notions. This was tongue in cheek to make fun of an "educated" woman who was making rediculous assertions.

The debt still has to be paid. AOC is the one with a master degree that doesn't understand economics and you don't either. By the way I would put up the American Thinker facts up against anything you could offer. You didn't disprove what I stated about AOC you just changed the subject because you can't disprove what I posted.

Again, clearly you are looking for a tired excuse for reprehensible behavior unbecoming of a lawmaker.

That's bad, in the unlikely chance he wasn't just joking. Red Areas and Trump Voters are already behind for education.

Either way, these areas and people need more education.

Guy was just joking. Guess you can't make jokes anymore.

With the stuff that has been coming out of politicians mouths these last few years I can't blame people too much when they don't see the satire or joke.

@Baconstrip78: Why are Republicans more successful though?

https://www.debt.org/faqs/americans-in-debt/economic-demographics-republicans/

I mean if they are so dumb an uneducated how are they making far more money on average?

@joebones5000: All that says is lots of old white people benefit from wellfare and food stamps. And then it uses the fact that lots of old white people are Republican. It doesn't change the fact that most poor people regardless of race are in fact Democrats. And that Democrats are far more likely to use the programs mentioned in that article.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/07/12/the-politics-and-demographics-of-food-stamp-recipients/

https://www.debt.org/faqs/americans-in-debt/economic-demographics-republicans/

"Financially, Republicans fare better than either Democrats or Independents, and tend to identify themselves as such. Republican candidates gain a significantly higher percentage of votes from individuals with incomes over $50,000 per year, and the advantage increases along with the income level, to a height of 63 percent of individuals earning $200,000 or more a year supporting Republicans. This level is the direct inverse of individuals earning less than $15,000 a year, who support Democrats at 63 percent and Republicans at only 36 percent."

So again I ask the question eventhough Democrats on average are better educated why are they less successful?

Please don't say if.

These States are more uneducated according to all known data. Especially Trump's base, which was the lowest educated voting base in 40 years.

I certainly hope they increase these poor education stats in these Red areas.

@zaryia: Why are Republicans on average more successful though?

We cross-checked the Open Secrets list of the top 100 individuals donating to outside spending groups in the current election against the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires and found that, as of June 19, there were 22 individuals on the Open Secrets list who were billionaires. Of those 22 billionaires, 13 -- or more than half -- gave predominantly to liberal groups or groups affiliated with the Democratic Party. The other nine gave predominantly to conservative groups. (A list of billionaires and how much they donated can be found here.)