Dumb, but not THAT dumb!
There seems to be a lot of technical superiority being bandied about, on the lines of "How dumb these politicians are. They don't even know that what they are demanding is impossible!".
Consider for a moment that they are probably not as dumb as all that. They have access to technologists who can use simple words to convey simple concepts. A lot of them are lawyers which points the finger towards morality not stupidity.
So why do they keep demanding "Back doors for the good guys only!" coupled with a Think of The Children and Paedo narrative.
If Law Enforcement fails to stop terrorists and paedophiles then this is ultimately the fault of the Government who hold responsibility for the funding and governance of Law Enforcement.
However if these hipster technologists from California block Law Enforcement because "technobabble" then they are obviously to blame, not the Government.
Consider that in the UK a terrorist was released from prison and not even monitored because, as far as we can tell, Probation Services, the Courts, and the Police are all seriously under resourced and under funded. Shambles is probably an appropriate word in this context.
How is breakable encryption going to magically cure that?
It is cheaper to find a scapegoat than pay money to fix the obvious problems.
Anyone familiar with IT projects and products will recognise the strategy.