I wish this was true, but Covid proved us wrong. Literal dead bodies in the streets and they doubled down. They are truly deplorables.

I honestly think the fact that a lot of conservative kids go off to college (even conservative ones!) and come back liberal or further left, plays into their hatred of higher ed.

Anti-intellectualism often starts in childhood. "Smart" kids are favored by teachers but often bullied / denigrated by frenemies with lower grades. And on and on, resentments building over the years. Now mobilized at the national level.

Yep. The churches see universities as competition for the minds of the young. They want to own all education.

Creationists are terrified of the changes brought about by scientific and social understanding.

When unions were the locus of Democratic grassroots they tried to destroy unions, and now that the grassroots have shifted to colleges they’re trying to destroy those