Roy Sekoff: With Palin, O'Donnell Voters 'Embracing Ignorance As A Virtue'

Roy Sekoff joined MSNBC's Ed Schultz on his show to discuss some "not ready for prime-time" candidates, including GOP Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell from Delaware. Sekoff and Schultz joked about O'Donnell's inability to name a Democratic senator, but Sekoff stressed the more important side to the story lines playing out with tea party favorites like O'Donnell, Sharron Angle, and Joe Miller (where we get "ignorance mixed with thuggery").

O'Donnell "has been a comedy goldmine," said Sekoff. "But there really is a much more serious narrative at play here. With candidates like O'Donnell and Sarah Palin and Carl Paladino, voters are actually embracing ignorance as a virtue. They're going, 'Wait a minute! She can't name a Democratic senator and she can't name a recent Supreme Court ruling? Well, neither can I!"

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Comments

[maximumride]

07:57 PM on 10/23/2010

since they embrace ignorance, then they must like doctors who are only pre-meds, attornies who just graduated from law school and have yet to try a case, a pharamcists who does not know anti depressants from pain meds, or a x-ray tech who can't tell the nose from the spine. yep, i have great confidence in the people with those type skills.

[live from vancouver]

02:42 PM on 10/23/2010

With studies showing that American children are falling way behind those in other countries in a ademic competencies, do we really want to embrace ignorance as some kind of virtue? Do we really want uneducated, ill-informed adults to be the role models for our children? How can we possibly expect to be taken seriously on the world stage if our leaders have so little knowledge about everything from our own Constitution to anything to do with current science, international politics, cultural norms, economic theories - and worse, so little respect for knowledge? How can these people lead us if they know less about the issues than those they represent?

When, how, did knowledge-based intelligent thought and analysis become wrong?

Just asking...

[SnapShots]

08:15 AM on 10/23/2010

'Ignorance is a virtue' is the best description of Palin/O'Donnell teabagger mentality yet.

[ThirdSection]

03:04 AM on 10/23/2010

Get big gub'mint outta my compulsory education!

[Robert Applebaum]

05:29 PM on 10/22/2010

Friends don't let friends vote Republican!

Before you vote, please just hear me out:
http://www.robertapplebaum.com/content/you-vote-please-just-hear-me-out

[Benjamin Grant Gamron]

03:45 PM on 10/22/2010

Lib elite strategy: We can't win on the issues, so we call you ignorant!

[AlexNYC]

04:43 PM on 10/22/2010

That's an absurd comment. You are entitled to your own opinion, but you're not entitled to your own facts.

[ThirdSection]

03:06 AM on 10/23/2010

That's where you're wrong. Conservatives are entitled to make up their own facts all of the time, and that's why there's no global warming and tax cuts cut deficits!

[wallonthefly]

07:20 PM on 10/22/2010

GOP strategy. We can't win by being honest about our true motivations, so we distract from the issues by petty mockery, malicious innuendo and calculated misinformation.

[ThirdSection]

03:08 AM on 10/23/2010

...and threats of violence. Don't forget that!

[fnordlord]

03:31 PM on 10/22/2010

The NeoCon Agenda:

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

[AlexNYC]

03:40 PM on 10/22/2010

Up is down
Dry is wet
Wrong is right

And my favorite: Hate is the new Love

[ThirdSection]

03:09 AM on 10/23/2010

I'll add a few:

FOX IS FAIR AND BALANCED

GLENN BECK IS NONPARTISAN

PALIN IS INTELLIGENT

[Iamthx1138]

03:23 PM on 10/22/2010

What's going to happen with all the tea partiers when (or if) they figure out that they've been royally manipulated by a very small group of billionaires to swing this election purely for their own narrow business interests?

[Iamthx1138]

03:16 PM on 10/22/2010

If you were a billionaire trying to get candidates elected that you could most easily influence, are you going to go support dimwit candidates or Rhodes scholar candidates? Assuming the correct asnwer is "dimwit candidates", what type of voter is most likely to vote for the dimwit? And how would you appeal to that voter?

[thegriotspeaks]

03:10 PM on 10/22/2010

Is America about to jump the shark?
(I hope not!)

[AlexNYC]

04:43 PM on 10/22/2010

Fonzi is already on his water skis and is donning his leather jacket.

[terroh8er]

03:06 PM on 10/22/2010

Whatever. Its a fad, I hope. Maybe one day we'll get over this whole terrorism fad too.

[Tazzie]

03:03 PM on 10/22/2010

She can't name a Democratic senator and she can't name a recent Supreme Court ruling? Well, neither can I!"

I can't really describe the intricate workings of the cardiovascular system but I expect my doctor to be able to. If he or she can't then they aren't going to be my doctor.

[ntmessage]

02:59 PM on 10/22/2010

Seriously, there is plenty of ignorance everywhere in Washington. What is worse, to coin a phrase, there is also even more stupidity and greed. All of which is much worse than ignorance.. Vote them all out. Give outsiders a chance and if they do not change anything, vote 'em all out again.

[mmsuki]

03:12 PM on 10/22/2010

There are plenty of smart legislators in Washington. Russ Feingold, Al Franken to name just two.
Throwing them all out and giving "outsiders" a chance would be a disaster.

[Ionakr]

03:18 PM on 10/22/2010

The problem is if you vote stupidity and greed out you will end up getting them back with these outsiders but worst. Not only will you have stupidity and greed but you will now have ignorance. As to "greed" what makes you think that O'Donnell, Angle, Paladino, Miller, Fiorino and all the other teabaggers are not out for the same thing? They want a title and the money. They could careless about the people.

[ntmessage]

03:50 PM on 10/22/2010

Race to the bottom? Rather vote 'em all out until things get fixed.

[kinoptikation]

02:58 PM on 10/22/2010

Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donell are Dummb and Dummber, although not necessarily in that order

[booboo111]

02:44 PM on 10/22/2010

When Clarence Thomas was selected to the supreme court, ignorance became a virtue. He set the standard.