Dumb or Not Dumb?

So are The People stupid or not? When they support MAGA are they hoodwinked simpletons or simply reacting rationally to objective conditions? Liberals and leftists struggle with this question, much as they do with the question of "deplorables". It's a little hard to quantify empirically but there are lots of opinions on the subject. Masha Gessen from the NY Times has an opinion: "and has had such a dumbing-down effect on public conversation...But a lot of people, as it turns out, are a lot like Donald Trump. They think they’re much smarter than they are." Democrat Ruben Gallego has an opinion: "Every Latino man wants a big-ass truck, which, nothing wrong with that. “And you’re gonna go start your own job, and you’re gonna become rich, right?” These are the conversations that we should be having. Because people that are working class, poor, don’t necessarily look at the ultrarich as their competitors. They want to be rich someday. And so they don’t necessarily fault the rich for being rich." Now we are back to class analysis: everybody hates rich people but they all want to be one. As for gaining their vote, it's easy. Give people treats. Votes for treats. Simple enough, right? Liberals are kvetching that Trump is "transactional" but c'mon; the capitalist world goes around on contracts. At issue is what I call the Chomsky contradiction: is there a "democracy deficit", in which the popular will is ignored by the "ruling class", or do they "manufacture consent"? If there is a deficit, people are smart and understand their interests but are dismissed by the powers that be. If their consent can be manufactured by media, popular culture, etc..if they are easily manipulated, then they are not so intelligent. If you crave a "big-ass truck" and don't recognize your own exploitation, sorry, you're dumb. I can buy your vote but the next guy who comes along and offers more will turn you. Welcome to "non-ideological capitalist "democracy".