Ever wonder why there’re so many mediocre minds in the GOP – folks either convinced by bad research or pathetic arguments on issues like climate denialism and creationism, who espouse general anti-science positions and lame-brained economic theories that have no bearing on reality, or who are so lacking in integrity that they’ll go along with what they perceive to be the most opportune position no matter what they really believe (i.e. Mitt Romney)? It could have something to do with the fact that it’s easy to be a Republican. Nobody has to think too hard. Every statement is dictated from on-high (often originating with rich donors) and comes pre-digested with an already manufactured set of – often fact-free – talking points.

Latest example: Sam Graves (R-6) who “said Monday that he was, ‘to be quite honest, shocked,’ by President Obama’s comment last week that, despite the troubled economy, the ‘private sector is doing fine.'”

Of course, the President, later in the same day, put the statement Graves is referring to into the relative context of the public vs. private sector which changes its impact considerably. But Graves doesn’t have to worry about that – the tone has been set and all he has to do is follow the direction laid out by his betters and carefully avoid the real issue that the President was addressing, which is that Republican policies have been especially disastrous at the state level where financial shortfalls have forced the layoff of thousands of public workers – the teachers, firemen and policemen that Graves’ presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, doesn’t think we need.

Yep – GOPers like Graves have got it easy; no need to work that brain at all.