Quote from gnome:
I like Charles Barkley's quote... "Poor people have been voting Democrat for 40 years, and they're still poor."
Quote from Mercor:
What Barkley said, Is it the truth?
Whether Charles Barkley's statement is true or not is irrelevant. Why? The statement itself has no bearing upon meaningful political discourse. If Barkley had been able to say "Democrats have been in power for 40 years, and these people are still poor", then he could point to a
real failure of the Democrats.
Looking at Barkley's statement from another angle - Consider this hypothetical scenario:
1) Republicans have been in power for 40 years
2) Poor people have been voting Democrat for 40 years
3) They're still poor.
Given this scenario, what would happen if, suddenly, all 'poor' people decided to vote Republican. Would their lot in life change for the better? No.
The same party would be in power, with an even greater 'mandate'.
When examined for evidence of causation, Barkley's observation fails to be anything but a
distraction from meaningful political discourse.
However, when viewed through a Mercorian Prism, it becomes a 'pearl of wisdom'.
Conclusions:
Refraction can produce some amazing effects.
Charles Barkley is a blowhard.