Depending on my mood, I either roll my eyes or giggle at people like Jon Chait and Ross Douthat (I mean, specifically, Jon Chait and Ross Douthat), who really seem to believe that American Democracy is essentially a high minded debate between people like Jon Chait and Ross Douthat (specifically, Jon Chait and Ross Douthat), two guys who really don't know anything about anything. I'm not going to bother linking to them, but I'm responding to Chait writing an "approving Tweet" about Douthat because Douthat wrote a "not entirely crazy and filled with lies for a conservative" column about climate change.
Obviously pundits do have some weird influence on our politics, but neither Douthat nor Chait know anything about climate change. The latter, especially, fancies himself to be an ideology-free technocratic Vulcan, not simply having opinions on things but the Right Opinions based on Facts. Spock actually, you know, knew a lot about things. Things other than college football, anyway.
Democracy all about the Healthy Exchange of Ideas for absurdly large paychecks in elite publications, and sometimes for large speaking fees in front of captive college students who must welcome this Healthy Exchange of Ideas.
It's all so ridiculous.
