No, Ben Carson ISN'T "stupid"... it's worse than that:

[TygrBright]

So the late-night comedians and the media are having all kinds of fun with Ben's shambling incoherency at the Congressional hearings the other day-- Responding "Amway?" when asked about the OMWI program, and "Oreo?" for REO.

The implication (and outright assumption) being, "What a dummy! Doesn't even know critical aspects of HIS OWN job! Stuff he's been asked about before, sent enquiries in writing, etc.! How stupid can you get!?"

He's not stupid.

He may not be the smartest brain surgeon on the planet but he did manage to qualify as one. I suspect his IQ is in the high normal range, at least.

The problem isn't stupidity.

It's that he honestly believes he doesn't HAVE to know about that stuff. That stuff is for underlings. How stupid are these Congresscritters to be asking him stuff that he very rightly (in his own mindset) leaves to "his people", who are supposed to take care of that kind of thing.

What do they think he is, some mid-level civil servant program manager? Idiots! THEY'RE the stupid ones.

Secretary Carson is a reflection of his boss's own philosophy of leadership:

You don't need to know anything about anything. You just have to have the authority to tell other people what to do.

This isn't just President Windrip's approach, by the way. It seems to have become the default for the entire GOP. NONE of them appear to believe they need to have any skills or knowledge to serve the public. Just authority, to tell other people to deliver on their campaign promises for them, whether the requirements of doing so are Constitutional or not.

It's why they get all self-righteous with fury when those underlings don't "do their jobs" and make the "leaders" look bad.

And here's what's even worse:

Their followers believe this, too. They're not upset that the ignorant, uncaring incompetents they've elected can't perform the functions of legislation or executive management. They're upset that the underlings aren't "making it so" and/or that pesky Constitution and those eeee-vile libruls are interfering with it being made so.

And all the while, we're thinking, "Finally, they'll see how incompetent these doofuses are, and come around to realize we need to elect people who understand the job and have the skills to do it."

We're the stupid ones.

And we are SO screwn...

gloomily,
Bright

[Totally Tunsie]

1. Bazinga!

+++++++

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. You're right. Carson isn't actually stupid, although he gives that impression,

or at least the impression of being heavily sedated. He just doesn't give a crap about his job except to the extent it allows him to acquire expensive furniture and appliances for his office at our expense and in flagrant violation of federal regulations. He doesn't think the function of HUD is useful or important. He accepted a position for which he was completely unqualified and then made no attempt to become qualified. He's been there for two years and still has no idea what the agency does, and, what's worse, has made no effort to find out. And he doesn't even seem to be embarrassed that he doesn't know what he's doing.

[ArizonaLib]

21. In hispanic culture it is called 'Playing Pendejo'

or translated 'playing jackass'. While growing up, it was usually referenced in situations where others were using it in moments of passive aggression.

Also reference the Seinfeld scene where George Costanza is confronted by his boss for having sex with cleaning staff on his desk and asks "Was that wrong?" Republicans lie and cheat more than an exaggerated sitcom character like George Costanza - willing to convert religion, lie to keep government benefits, impersonate Nazis, sell his father's clothes after stealing them, and fake compassion to grieving parents. Sitcoms don't kill people in real life though - but Republicans do.

[Chin music]

3. Sound like corporate structure.

Little perk at what a privatized American Govt would look like?.

[hlthe2b]

4. Of course. They elected a man who was clearly incompetent in every way--relishes in it.

[Hekate]

5. It's grim

KnR

[albacore]

6. Dementia. Remember the pyramid food storage thing? Get him out of there and get him some help! nt

[Cosmocat]

30. Stoned out of his mind

Extreme case of long standing presription drug abuse.

[Srkdqltr]

7. Carson and Sessions

And a few other men do that when questioned. Particularly by women. Sessions puts on a heavy southern accent and sounds like he doesn't understand. It is an act they put on at will so the questioner is belittled or frustrated.

[Delmette2.0]

8. And Lindsey Graham.

Except he comes out as a raging misogynist as in his outburst during the Kavanaugh hearing.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

25. Graham believes he has to compensate for ... something, and over-compensates. . . . nt

[Delmette2.0]

28. Gee, I wonder what.

[FakeNoose]

9. In the case of Chump, he won't listen to anybody

Chump refuses to learn or listen to any expert who reports to him. What's the point of having smart people work for him? It doesn't mean diddly.

I suspect that Ben Carson is probably smarter than Chump, but as you say, he has no expertise in the field of real estate or property management and no reason to learn it either. So (I guess) he delegates every little thing to his employees, and how does he understand what they're doing anyway?

And don't say we're the stupid ones, because we had nothing to do with this.

[sop]

10. "Republicans run for office saying government doesn't work,

then get elected and prove it." That's the corporate GOP plan. Carson was appointed to be incompetent, his agency is supposed to fail and become one more example of "government not working."

It's the reason Betsy DeVos was named Education Secretary, Rick Perry was put in charge of the Energy Department, Mnuchin at Treasury, Barr at the DOJ, Zinke at Interior (now gone for corruption), and others. They're all supposed to demonstrate government isn't working for the people, so angry voters will support the elimination, deregulation and privatization of these government functions.

[Celerity]

12. Carson was appointed to be incompetent

THIS

same for most all of Rump's cabinet lemmings

[happy feet]

18. THIS 1,000+

Well, except they make it work to line their pockets and careers.

[Wounded Bear]

11. Willful ignorance is a dangerous thing...

[TygrBright]

15. Yep. The MOST dangerous thing. And there's a lot of it about. n/t

[Gidney N Cloyd]

13. I've no doubt Carson was once very smart and together enough to excel at his work.

But from the Republican primaries forward, all I've seen is a confused and possibly doped-up guy floating around on the breeze.

[brewens]

14. Brain surgeon has to be an intense and stressful occupation. I think he had a few too many and

has had some serious nervous breakdown. He's probably medicated.

Then of course he just hasn't really been doing the job. He's just made the calls the White Supremacy House ordered. No reason for him to know much about his own agency at all.

[mahannah]

16. He agreed to work for trump.

[skypilot]

17. Smaller government.

We'd be closer to the smaller government that these people claim they want if all these know-nothings and do-nothings just stepped down and let the "underlings" do the job.

[patphil]

19. Actually, I think he was being arrogant and playing dumb

Dumber than usual.
The Oreo comment by Carson was meant to be sarcastic, I'm sure of that.

His problem is that he looks and acts like such a dope that no one saw that.

Patrick Phillips

[MasonDreams]

20. It once was called public service

It was an honor to be chosen and confirmed to a post. I don't think a man who tries to stab somebody and hit his mother with a hammer (without having an addiction, a head injury, or being a rape survivor) is qualified to perform public service, unless he's chained to other convicts, on the side of the road picking up trash.

[not fooled]

22. They're trying to demonstrate that good government doesn't work and isn't necessary

so that the 666kook666 brothers and their ilk can achieve their dream of destroying an effective Federal government.

They think we would be better off with minimal Federal government so that they can loot and despoil without hindrance.

These loons believe that we would all be better off returning to the good old days of frontier America. Of course, nowadays society is much larger and too complex to work if we all don't cooperate.

[JohnnyRingo]

23. There's also some "I don't really care".

He likely thought he walked into a job where he does nothing. Let HUD run on autopilot and cash a paycheck. Not as cushy as an ambassadorship, but pretty sweat free "work" anyway.

[bitterross]

24. Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

You are absolutely correct. He's not dumb like DeVos. He's an arrogant ass. His whole performance was that of a person who believes they are not really part of three co-equal branches of government. They believe there is the Congress, the Judiciary, and the Monarch.

[Me.]

26. It Seemed To Me That It Was All Just A Big Joke To Him

and he felt the proceedings and the women who questioned him were beneath him.

[democratisphere]

27. I want an REO Speedwagon cookie.

[Blue Owl]

29. Not surprised he thought they were talking about Amway

Ben's an expert at pyramid schemes/fillings...

[demosincebirth]

31. Hard to believe he's a brain surgeon

[Turin_C3PO]

32. He seems stoned out of his mind.

Benzos most likely.

[gldstwmn]

33. Willful ignorance.

And he looked stoned.

[dchill]

34. You don't have to be smart to be a smartass.

In fact, they're kind of mutually exclusive.

[watoos]

35. Actually he can be stupid,

It's that left side v right side of the brain.
I roomed with a mechanical engineer major in college, he was smart, did great in his tests. He was smart in his narrow field of mechanical engineering.
He needed a certain amount of credits in literature, he was lost, he was stupid. I had to write a paper for him to help him pass the course.

I bet that it is common for people who are so smart in their one narrow field of expertise to not be so smart in everything else. Maybe my roommate was an anomaly but just saying.

[calimary]

36. Yeah, I suppose that explains it.

Dim bulb on every subject imaginable except for brain surgery. Which means he REALLY should stick to brain surgery. Anything his arrogance allows him to snooze through or delegate to underlings aside from brain surgery is utter malpractice and sheer quackery.