I guess the only positive bit of spin that might be said about this is that the cretinous Dr. Dick Armey will soon be leaving Congress, and thus will no longer have any direct say on the passage of our federal laws and statutes! (Telling that he spouted off at a Katherine Harris fundraiser.) I guess he also never heard of Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Richard Feynman, Saul Kripke, Paul Krugman, Kenneth Arrow, Robert Solow, Joseph Stiglitz, Lawrence Summers, etc.

From the Bradenton Herald:

Posted on Sun, Sep. 22, 2002
Jewish leaders react to Armey
BRIAN HAAS
Herald Staff Writer

BRADENTON - Some Jewish leaders are bristling at comments made by U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey on Friday night. Armey, R-Texas, discussed Middle Eastern issues at a roundtable forum organized by U.S. District 13 congressional candidate Katherine Harris, with 15 leaders from Manatee and Sarasota counties' Jewish community. Though the discussion focused on a possible war with Iraq, Armey's support of Israel and the Sept. 11 attacks, one audience member asked why the Jewish-American community is so divided between liberals and conservatives.
"I always see two Jewish communities in America," Armey replied. "One of deep intellect and one of shallow, superficial intellect."
Armey said conservatives have a deeper intellect and tend to have "occupations of the brain" in fields like economics, engineering and science. Liberals, on the other hand, tend to flock to "occupations of the heart," which he defined as people with jobs in the arts.
"They're going to be liberals . . . because they want to feel good," he said.
Splitting the groups between liberal "artsy intellectuals" and conservative "deep intellectuals," Armey said as people grow they become more conservative because they gain a better sense of "reality." Liberals have a "romanticized" notion of a world they pretend exists, he said.
Many in the Jewish community disagree.

[quote]Originally posted by fantomas:
Armey said conservatives have a deeper intellect and tend to have "occupations of the brain" in fields like economics, engineering and science. Liberals, on the other hand....

---

I have two degrees. You guessed it - one is in economics, and the other is in engineering.

It's unfortunate that Armey had to be the mouthpiece for these sentiments, and that he used Jews as the example, since I find some wisdom in what he says. But it applies to everyone - and conservatives do not have all the answers either. Just listen to some of Armey's other, not-so-smart, statements or read National review when the editors are particularly strapped for cash. An op-ed in the WSJ yesterday expressed similar thoughts about how the left tries to dictate the way people feel. If I weren't such a tightwad and subscribed on-line, I'd post it, but I'm still paper-bound. An interesting read, if you can find it.

On the subject, but not entirely about Armey, I'm kinda tired of inarticulate political figures from around the world and all sides of the political continuum who make some bald faced, stereotypical, generalization of a comment and then have far more intelligent toadies following him around explaining what he really meant and how it was actually a deep and thoughtful comment on the human condition. Any stereotype or generalization has some kernel of truth, it's easy to dredge up the kernel and have a conversation about it afterward. The truely articulate and intelligent public figure would take that kernel of truth and have a conversation about its ramifications rather than delivering a zippy one liner that'll get a laugh, a rise or a vote.

Obviously Dick has managed to combine being a "conservative" with a "shallow, superficial intellect." A true renaissance man.

I don't see what's the big deal. I've heard others - including Democrats - make far more hateful comments about the Jay-Eee-DoubleU-Esses, as the McKinneys would call them.

So because McKinney's father makes an anti-Semitic comment Armey's blithering nonsense is acceptable? I guess William Pierce, David Duke, Farrakhan, and others also take him off the hook.

What if he'd said, "There are two Anglo-Saxon Protestant communities" or "two Christian communities" or "two Muslim communities" or "two Mormon communities".... Any way it goes such comments, pointing to a spurious taxonomy, would have been uninformed and moronic.

Armey's comments are, as Congresspeople Nita Lowey and Martin Frost said today, "breathtakingly ignorant." In fact, they are so patently idiotic and ridiculous he ought to sit shiva for the death of his BRAIN.

From today's New York Times (subscription needed):

2 Democrats in House Upbraid Armey for Remarks About Jews
By CARL HULSE

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 — Two top House Democrats today criticized the majority leader, Dick Armey, for what they called disparaging comments toward Jews made at a campaign appearance last weekend. Mr. Armey dismissed the complaints as partisan politics.

The dispute comes as the two parties are vying for the Jewish vote, usually overwhelmingly Democratic, with Republicans trying to make inroads through President Bush's stands on terror and the Middle East.

Asked at a forum for a Congressional candidate in southwest Florida about the political divide between conservative and liberal Jews, Mr. Armey, a Republican from Texas, was quoted in The Bradenton Herald as saying, "I always see two Jewish communities in America: one of deep intellect and one of shallow, superficial intellect."

Mr. Armey, who did not deny making the remarks, was then quoted by the Florida newspaper as saying that conservatives were drawn to "occupations of the brain," in the sciences, while liberals gravitated toward "occupations of the heart," like the arts.

Representatives Martin Frost of Texas and Nita M. Lowey of New York, two Jewish members of the House Democratic leadership, seized on the remarks, describing them in a joint statement as "breathtaking in their ignorance."

(The rest is available at the NY Times URL)

His comments are ludicrous !! All I can say is that I am glad this ignorant buffoon will be out of Congress in January.

Remember who we're talking about, guys. Who made famous the term Barney Fag? Tell me you're surprised.

Thankfully this idiot will soon be gone. His fat-ass son thought he would take over daddy's seat but got beaten badly in the republican primary.

[ September 25, 2002: Message edited by: RazorbackTX ]

[ September 25, 2002: Message edited by: RazorbackTX ]

Isn't there a huge conservative concern about how the vast majority (we're talking 80 - 90%) of college professors are "liberals" (defined as voting Democratic). I somehow don't believe that all the "conservative" faculty are in the sciences, economics, etc. and only manage to make up 10 - 20% of the faculty.

I too have 2 degrees, in economics and psychology (at least I consider the latter a science), and still managed to be a liberal (although my mother used to accuse me of being a closeted Republican).

That being said, there are a lot of conservative commentators (I shudder to mention her, but Ms. Coulter fits right in) who state that anyone who holds "liberal" viewpoints are "shallow" thinkers who like "feel-good" politics and policies. I don't know of any mainstream liberal commentators who have that same sense of superiority.

The real issue here is that he's campaigning for Katherine Harris, who's going to win, and you just hate that. Well, tough titty, as my grandmother used to say.

[ September 25, 2002: Message edited by: William1865 ]

Wow, my grandma used to show her titties than say "tough!". Glad someone else had a colorful grandma.

The fat wacko hypocrite moron can campaign for the wannabe-drag-queen heiress liar all he wants. The unfortuante thing is that she just may win.

BTW, in Joe Conason's SALON blog today, there're links to some lists of prominent, brilliant hard scientists (economics ain't one, but so what) of the left, who also happen to be of the Jewish faith or Jewish ancestry.

As he also notes, and I noted above, perhaps the greatest scientific mind of the 20th century, Albert Einstein, was a committed DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST. 'Nuff said.

I could care less if this moron is campaigning for Katherine Harris. I am Jewish, and what he said was deeply offensive to me.

I'm Jewish also and i find his comments very offensive too but considering the sources its not surprising at all.
its a damn shame that people are still making such commments and they are elected political officials. very sad

I'm Jewish and a resident of Armey's district. Other than being on the wrong side of every political issue in existence, he's a largely inoffensive figure. I guess locally, he doesn't have to use attack politics to get elected. As far as his latest foot in mouth trouble, on both my liberal and Jewish radars it doesn't really merit a reaction. He made a glib generalization that was both meaningless and tasteless. I've heard worse on the talking heads shows.

Jqueer, you're right about worse comments on the talk shows. What I find appalling is that Armey continues to defend his idiocy! He obviously is trying to hold down the title of posterchild for Conservative Republican Inanity and Offensiveness.

On Hardball last night, Dick Armey referred to Al Gore as "the former vice president and future nothing." I just loooooove Dick.

[quote]Originally posted by William1865:
Dick Armey referred to Al Gore as "the former vice president and future nothing."

---

This time I hope Armey's right -- the worst thing the Dems. could do in 2004 is renominate Gore -- he'd better be a future nothing!

Dick Armey is a former, present and always-will-be nothing.

Jqueer, you're right about worse comments on the talk shows. What I find appalling is that Armey continues to defend his idiocy! He obviously is trying to hold down the title of posterchild for Conservative Republican Inanity and Offensiveness.

[quote]Originally posted by fantomas:
Jqueer, you're right about worse comments on the talk shows. What I find appalling is that Armey continues to defend his idiocy! He obviously is trying to hold down the title of posterchild for Conservative Republican Inanity and Offensiveness.

---

I feel like I've heard this somewhere before . . .

I whispered it into your ear last night, William1865. Don't act like you don't remember. Remember, liberals, in addition to being stupid, also have a propensity for promiscuousness (which only proves that Gingrich, Hyde, Livingston, Barr and alia were all liberals manqués.

[ September 26, 2002: Message edited by: fantomas ]

Fantomas: 1, W1865: 0. Shit, where's the guy selling scorecards around here? You can never find 'em when you need 'em.

[quote]Originally posted by fantomas:
I whispered it into your ear last night, William1865. Don't act like you don't remember. Remember, liberals, in addition to being stupid, also have a propensity for promiscuousness (which only proves that Gingrich, Hyde, Livingston, Barr and alia were all liberals manqués.

[ September 26, 2002: Message edited by: fantomas ]

---

Some things happen so fast, they just slip your mind. But don't worry, ft. As Lita Ford (Kiss Me Deadly) would say, "It ain't no big thang." Really.

can we not have one safe haven from sexual inuenndo and size queen insults? Is the political forum really appropriate for this kind of comment?
Yes? Good.
(parse the first sentence carefully, you'll get it, or not, if you're William1865, and I don't mean the joke )

Jqueer, I told him he needs to tighten up. It was a tall order (as it usually is with liberals), and I knew that as a conservative, the boi (lad?) could take it. He bore it like a man, though--sometimes things that big just blow your mind, knock out your memory....