Senator Ron Johnson Calls For "Simple Message" In Fall Campaign

The news this morning would have been funny–if it was not so darn serious.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney needs to deliver a simple message in order to defeat President Barack Obama.

So that is the key to Republican election success?

Dumb down everything so that a fifth grader can understand it.  Manipulate the message and simplify it until there is no way to discern any practical policy ideas.  Get enough simpletons to the polls to vote, and then claim a mandate.

I concede the point that there are many uneducated voters in this nation, and still more that have no interest in having any grasp of the nation’s concerns.

But to start out with such a low-bench mark as advising a presidential nominee to keep it “simple” in order to win is truly astounding to me.

The lack of intellectual heft among the GOP is not anything new, and Johnson will never be confused with someone who would ever get a chance on Jeopardy.  But when it comes to the issues that pile up for a president to deal with it would seem some details and expansive messaging would be far more enlightening for the voters than merely a “simple” message.

There is no way to talk about stimulus funding, Iran’s missile threat, the Dream Act, or court nominees in “simple” ways that imparts knowledge to the electorate.    To suggest such a tactic for the fall campaign is idiotic.

Perhaps for Ron Johnson there is no need for complicated answers to anything.  After all, his keen mind concluded extreme weather phenomena is best explained by sunspots rather than an overload of carbon dioxide!  

Simple is not always best.