GOP Candidates Stupidly Diss College Education

Republicans are coming across as education bashers on the campaign trail, a sentiment that columnists on both the left (Paul Krugman) and right (Michael Medved) express frustrations with today:

• Medved, Wall Street Journal: He warns that the "angry, populist tone" of the campaign is alienating the GOP from college graduates, a losing strategy given their prominence among swing voters. He mostly singles out Rick Santorum (remember that "snob" line) but thinks the problem pervades the party. "Republicans rightly slam Democrats for 'class-warfare'—pushing resentment rather than respect for those Americans who achieve economic success," he writes. "It makes no sense for those same GOPers to turn around and promote anti-intellectualism by encouraging similar spite for those who compile enviable academic records." Full column here.

• Krugman, New York Times: He, too, hits Santorum but also Mitt Romney for pooh-poohing the notion of student aid. The GOP "has taken a hard right turn against education," he writes, asserting that Republicans aren't interested in helping the less affluent get the diplomas necessary to move upward. The party of traditional values? Bah. "They have actually made a radical break with America’s tradition of valuing education. And they have made this break because they believe that what you don’t know can’t hurt them." Full column here.

(More higher education stories.)