Ann Coulter's sneering at 'bush-league colleges' is unbecoming of a true conservative
This is who we are now — the defenders of the academic elite?
Chief Donald Trump apologist Ann Coulter's latest column, headlined "Useless idiots," celebrates the Ivy League-educated "outsiders" at the top of the GOP presidential polls — Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina — while skewering the Trump-bashing candidates and political pundits who went to "bush-league colleges." She writes:
I guess this is meant to put people like me in my place. I'm a conservative political pundit. I've been critical of Trump. And I went to two so-called "bush-league colleges": Frederick Community College, and then Shepherd College (now Shepherd University) in West Virginia.
In Ann Coulter's world, this seems to mean that I am not qualified to have an opinion about someone who graduated from Wharton.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This is actually a topic I've thought a lot about recently. My forthcoming book is titled Too Dumb to Fail, and it's not terribly kind to Mr. Trump. It occasionally dares to differ with Ivy Leaguers like the honorable Ted Cruz, too. Couple that critical posture with the derisive title of the book, add in my own less-than-sterling academic record, and well, it seemed inevitable that someone would suggest I'm throwing stones from a glass house.
Intelligence and academic performance are important, I know. But they must also be tempered with virtues like wisdom, prudence, and humility — not to mention leadership skills. Many of the most evil people in history, who have unleashed the vilest ideas, were not stupid people. The most dangerous person isn't a dumb person — it's more likely a highly intelligent person who lacks wisdom, or has selfish motivations.
In Intellectuals and Society, Thomas Sowell put it this way: "The opposite of intellect isn't dullness or slowness, but the opposite of wisdom is foolishness, which is far more dangerous." Intelligence is important, but without other virtues, it's more dangerous than ignorance. The unadulterated worship of elite academic achievement employs a brand of tunnel vision that is not only wrong, but dangerous.
The other big problem with Coulter's stance, of course, is that by sneering at anyone who didn't go to an elite and expensive school, she's condescendingly dismissing the value of (forgive the Occupy-like rhetoric) 99 percent of the country. This is not only morally contemptuous and politically stupid — it's flat out wrong. And it's unbecoming of a conservative. We should admire those Americans who work up from humble roots, go to college — whether community or Ivy League — and work hard to achieve the American dream. Conservatives should and do have heroes beyond the Harvard crowd.
Coulter hates it when we reference Ronald Reagan. She opens her column criticizing Scott Walker for referencing him (Walker didn't even graduate from college!), but it's worth noting that The Gipper, who attended tiny Eureka College (what a loser!), was our last non Ivy League president. Reagan was also, perhaps not coincidentally, our last great president.
Both Bushes were Ivy Leaguers. Bill Clinton was an Ivy Leaguer and a Rhodes Scholar. President Obama — you know that guy we conservatives hate? — is an Ivy Leaguer, too. You know who else attended Ivy League institutions? All nine of the Supreme Court Justices. Clinton, Dubya, Obama, John Roberts… not exactly conservative heroes.
Going to an Ivy League school does not a great president make. And conservatives dismiss the Americans who didn't attend Ivy League schools at our own peril.
Editor's note: This article originally misidentified the author of Intellectuals and Society. It has since been corrected. We regret the error.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Matt K. Lewis is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com and a senior contributor for The Daily Caller. He has written for outlets including GQ Politics, The Guardian, and Politico, and has been cited or quoted by outlets including New York Magazine, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. Matt co-hosts The DMZ on Bloggingheads.TV, and also hosts his own podcast. In 2011, Business Insider listed him as one of the 50 "Pundits You Need To Pay Attention To Between Now And The Election." And in 2012, the American Conservative Union honored Matt as their CPAC "Blogger of the Year." He currently lives in Alexandria, Va.
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?
In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in music
under the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Job scams are increasingly common. Here's what to look out for.
The Explainer You should never pay for an application or give out your personal info before being hired
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published