According to Answers.com, an elitist believes they “deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.” Elitism is “The sense of entitlement enjoyed by such a group or class.” With that fair working definition, can we regard someone who doesn’t know how many houses he owns as an elitist?
Maybe not. Perhaps, when someone forgets to pay taxes on one of their ten houses across the country, we shouldn’t assume they regard taxation as something for little people. Not every tax reprobate is Leona Helmsley. We need more evidence before we call them an ‘elitist.’
What about a history of demonstrated privilege, such as a legacy slot at a prestigious university? Is it enough to label someone an ‘elitist’ if they finish 894th out of 899 students but are rewarded with an elite job?
Oh, but say that all happened forty years ago. We’d need to know what they’ve done since. So say this person divorced their disabled spouse in order to marry a supermodel with a $300 million family fortune, then used the money to get elected to the U.S. Senate, where they made a large personal fortune looking after the interests of the rich and powerful. Could we apply the ‘elitist’ label then?
Maybe not. Perhaps in old age, this person would demonstrate such philanthropy, empathy, and character, they would be called on to lead the country. So what if our hypothetical person surrounds himself with lobbyists? When they admit their ignorance about the impact of the economy on middle America, then try to convince everyone they never said what they said, does that make this person a pandering elitist…or a brave political maverick?
When they need a cue card to remember the price of a gallon of milk, can we finally admit they are out of touch with middle America?
When their economic adviser declares that the economic downturn is all in your head — that anyone with millions of dollars can see everything is just fine — has the ‘elitist’ threshold been met?
Considering that this purely hypothetical person has been linked to not just one, but TWO financial disasters that led to millions of home foreclosures, the irony of seeing them ‘forget’ how many houses they own is breathtaking.
Would you like a tour of their purely hypothetical properties? Here you go:
For as long as I can remember, the right has labeled Democrats as ‘limousine liberals.’ The time has come for a new term: Cessna Conservatives. These are the pandering Republicans flying about in private jets, hobnobbing with fellow members of the financial elite, while playing up their populist credentials. When the Cessna Conservatives talk about property rights, remember that they own more property than the least-rich 50% of Americans put together.
When the Cessna Conservatives call their political opponents ‘elitist,’ it is psychological projection. There’s nothing so elitist as a conservative politician — and we’ve had an eight-year education in how they run the country.
Bush was a legacy graduate. He got a cushy spot in the Champagne Squadron to avoid Vietnam. He was rescued from bankruptcy by family connections — over and over and over. Yet he played up his aw-shucks image even though he was nothing of the kind; Molly Ivins once observed he was the only member of his family to affect a Texas accent.
Yet somehow, he became the candidate America ‘wanted to have a beer with.’ Bush was better than the ‘elitist snob wonk’ because he was so ‘average.’
Now John McCain, a classic elitist, would like Americans to have a beer with him — and the barbecue media is only too willing to help us ignore his ignorance of how many homes he owns.
