Stolen from the comments of a Democracy in America post:

The American right wing (and I use that term rather than "conservative", since I see no evidence of conservatism in their actions) is quite adept at formulating a framework of discussion that a 3rd grader could understand.

They reduce and reduce (and quite often deceive: the Death Tax, for instance), get into lockstep with each other, and wind up with something almost pristine in its clarity, if not its underlying essence. It's easy to understand. You don't need to hurt your head thinking about it.

The American left wing is like a herd of Harvard-educated cats. Complicated policy proposals, no one agrees with each other, and no one communicates clearly at a 3rd grade level. I've heard Chomsky speak, and it left me nearly bleeding from the ears.

Brilliant. The Right has terrible policy ideas because they're wrongheadedly simplistic. The Left's terrible policy ideas come from vast overcomplication and unintended consequences.