Hobbled by a Sore Achilles

There’s nothing Democrats value more than being smart. Democrats love facts. They love to collect them. They love to share them. It’s an article of faith among Democrats that if you just force enough facts down people’s throats, they’ll eventually see the wisdom of your ways.

Here’s the rub. It’s been my experience that when facts and beliefs collide, most people will discard facts and hold on tight to their beliefs. This goes for Democrats too, but that’s hard to admit or even see when it’s your favorite facts being tossed aside.

There’s nothing Democrats value more than education and when verifiable facts are treated like garbage it’s seen as a belittling of intelligence or even an attack on it. They see it as stupid. The feelings this stirs in your average Democrat leads to behavior that ends up being self-defeating, that ruptures the party’s tender Achilles heel.

The most common form this behavior takes is the widely-held and oft-repeated belief that poor and middle-class whites—espe…