Drinking crazy juice

Ms. McGee sends along this tidbit of news:

In other pockets of the state, the reaction to Democratic proposals has been strong, too. At a recent town-hall meeting in suburban Simpsonville, a man stood up and told Rep. Robert Inglis (R-S.C.) to "keep your government hands off my Medicare." "I had to politely explain that, 'Actually, sir, your health care is being provided by the government,' " Inglis recalled. "But he wasn't having any of it."

I spent awhile thinking about what exactly about this story bothered me so much. I realized it is not so much that there are stupid people out there, but rather the complete and utter confidence these idiots have in their worldview, to the point where no amount of evidence can sway them.

Indeed, you see this with the Obama-isn't-a-citizen brigade as well (which a frighteningly high number of GOP congressmen seem to not exactly discourage) -- either their sources for news are so limited, or their cognitive dissonance so high, that they honestly believe Obama wasn't born here, nevermind that birth announcement in the Hawaii paper placed forty-some years ago.

I wonder if this is one downside of the internet, that it makes it much easier for the crazies to find each other and reinforce their worldview. Or maybe we've always had people who are just as nuts. I think they were quieter in the past, though.