Lewis Powell issued a memo in 1971 that became one of the pillars of the modern Repiblicans party.

[link:http://reclaimdemocracy.org/powell_memo_lewis/|

Conservatives had taken a beating over the last decade. From the Civil Rights successes to the anti-war movement they were adrift. Powell's main point was to create voices/sources for the media to go to OTHER THAN academia (intellectuals) who were the standard as they should be. He didn't address creating their own media because, I would suspect, actual journalism existed so his emphasis was to create a cadre/choir of sources to at least cloud issues.

The anti-government crowd
What does the Federal Government do?
One of its primary functions was to punish racists and polluters. Less Fed Govt = more room for racists and polluters.

+1

If you aren't, go here. It is a chilling outline of the conservative road map to take down American democracy.

. .

and the rest is history. Unfolding history.

intellectuals" of its day: hippies and muckrakers

democracy should be left up to the experts--heck, we got into Libya and Syria because we thought that without Dubya's morons around we could do intervention RIGHT that time around; which brings us to a little skirmish called "Vietnam" ...

(and the APA's involvement in "rectal feeding" swarthy, "threatening" foreigners is as much a part of race as anything else that inspired Dylann Roof)

The Jesuits are a case in point: no anti-intellectualism there.

Thank god I live in a smart state. I am so tired of the dumb ass red staters.

this country has long had a very strong anti-intellectual bent. Adlai Stevenson was mocked for being an "egghead".

There was even a political movement in the 1850's known as the Know Nothings, although they were more anti-Catholic than anything else.

And it's very common for people to complain that schools don't need computers, because what was good enough for them should be good enough for their children, showing a total lack of understanding that things change, and we need to educate children for the world their growing up into, not their father or grandfather's world.

I definitely agree that anti-intellectualism is a problem in this country. Right wing talk radio has pegged intelligent people as "elitists". The true elitists are the are the filthy rich billionaires, but right wing talk radio has convinced the common folk that it is those smart ones they have to look out for. Seems to me that a large portion of the population will not vote for someone they perceive to be smart, because they don't trust those smart ones. I think they expect to get swindle by smart politicians. Problem is electing the dumb ones means we lack leaders that can effectively solve problems.

you don't need Science, Jebus is all you need to believe in

The only way they can convince people to follow is to lie about reality.

To support intellectualism is to give people the tools to see through the propaganda,
therefore they have to continually lie about known truths and keep people ignorant in order to retain their huge following.

If everyone understood the reality of economic and science theory the Republican corporate agenda would collapse.

it will be game over. They plan to do to schools and universities what has been done to media. Knowledge after all is the ultimate weapon.