DETROIT: We Don’t Need Monet: We Need Money.

Gentry liberals—university profs, cutting edge art mavens, foundation executives—like to think of themselves as the key, leading members in the blue coalition. But as the money runs out and the civil war heats up, there’s a tendency to throw the gentry liberals under the bus. This has been happening for years now when it comes to the battles over university education in states, as funds for higher ed keep getting cut back. The fight over paying pensions versus hanging on to Van Goghs brings this tendency to the fore.

Yes. What’s ironic is that the social-welfare programs and public-employee unions that these gentry liberals generally support in flush times wind up having a lot more political muscle than they do when times get tough. Hence, the underbusing.