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Tuesday, November 8. 2011

David Brooks has the Tom Friedman Disease

David Brooks: Let’s be honest, the Constitution is silly, what with the idea about citizen legislators. We need a professional governing class. With nicely creased slacks.


David, I am sorry to inform you that Americans have no interest in being ruled by our betters. We just don't believe they are better, and have little evidence for it since after the founders.


William F. Buckley Jr:


I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.

Posted by The News Junkie in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects, Our Essays at 12:02 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)

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Brooks has a point. We'd probably be better off if folks with a degree from Oxford, Cambridge, or one of the Ivies were forbidden to hold federal office.
#1 chuck on 2011-11-08 14:24 (Reply)
Brooks is an arrogant twit. The left's favorite "conservative".
#2 Tom C on 2011-11-08 15:58 (Reply)
Let's be honest, David Brooks is silly. He's makes such a cute 'conservative' pet at NYT.
#3 phil g on 2011-11-08 17:20 (Reply)
The only solution is to return to the Articles of Confederation. This would eliminate the Executive, House of Representatives and Judicial Branches of the Federal government. The mono cameral house would look like the old senate.

The States would be free to do whatever they wanted. They could even renege on promises to fund the Federal government. Very desirable. Our history books are written by megalomaniacal fascists. The Constitution was a very bad idea.
#4 bob sykes on 2011-11-08 17:29 (Reply)
It's a reflection on our educational system that people are so willing to discard their freedom.
Perhaps all Americans should be required to live in China or Russia for a year.
#5 PacRim Jim (Link) on 2011-11-08 17:49 (Reply)
If this professional governing class had to form teams that competed against each other, or were independent contractors whose record of running municipalities was observable, I might be in favor of it. If they are going to be professional, do it right.

At the moment, I'd probably elect a Swiss firm to govern us for the next two years.
#6 Assistant VIllage Idiot (Link) on 2011-11-08 21:50 (Reply)

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