Last updated on December 3rd, 2015 at 02:32 pm
The Street compiled a list of the 10 dumbest states in America, and to the surprise of absolutely no one, states that are run by Republicans dominate the list.
The Street’s list was based on the level of education a percentage of each state’s population receives. This is not a comprehensive list, and it does not mean that there are no intelligent people in that states below, but there is a clear political lean to the list.
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Here are the top 10 dumbest states in America:
10). Tennessee
9). Oklahoma
8). Indiana
7). Alabama
6). Nevada
5). Louisiana
4). Kentucky
3). Mississippi
2). Arkansas
1). West Virginia
– Only one of the states voted for President Obama in 2012 (Nevada).
– Three of the states have Democratic governors (Kentucky, Arkansas, West Virginia).
– Those same three states all went for Mitt Romney in 2012.
– Eight of these states have or will have some form of voter ID law in effect (West Virginia and Nevada require no ID).
– Seven of the states have Republican controlled state legislatures.
– One state has split control (Democrats control the House in Kentucky).
– Two states have Democratically controlled legislatures (Nevada and West Virginia).
Since the Republican dominated states are not as smart, it isn’t a big shock that they send right wing ideologues to Congress. The lack of collective intelligence leads to an electorate that tends to base their policies on belief instead of facts. These states are the home of the climate change deniers. They contain the same people who believe that unemployment benefits make people lazy, and Obamacare is socialism.
A lot of the dysfunction in the Republican Party can be traced back to the fact that the Republican base has dumbed itself down. The majority of these states are bedrock Republican country. The reason why so little is getting done is because it is impossible to come to an agreement when one political party refuses to be guided by facts.
Republicans are governing over a swath of stupid, and the only thing we can do is quarantine the disease to keep it from spreading.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
