A modest proposal
Tom Tancredo, that racist, migrant-hating, tea-partying bundle of bigotry, wants to reinstitute Jim Crow laws in regard to voting rights. He wants people to be able to pass a literacy test before they can vote. The test would no doubt be devised and scored by local election officials. I'm sure it would be totally unbiased.
As worthy as Tancredo's idea might be on its face - and one can't deny that there are some astonishingly ill-informed people who cast their votes in our elections - I find that I really can't support it. Jim Crow laws were used to deny people basic rights during my lifetime. I don't want to go back to that dark place. Besides, I have what I think is a much better idea.
Instead of testing the potential voters, let's test the potential candidates for office.
Have you listened to some of the people who hold office in this country today? What rocks have these folks crawled out from under? They have no idea of basic American history and civics, judging by the content of their speech and by their actions. I think that anyone who puts himself or herself forward as a candidate for an office in this country should have to know at least a minimum amount about the country's history, its laws and Constitution. If they can't pass a basic civics and history test, they should be barred from running. They should not be allowed to harass us with their kooky ideas, nor impose their strange beliefs on the rest of us.
We could start here. Click on the link and take the test and see if you can pass it and would thus be allowed to run for office under my modest proposal.
As worthy as Tancredo's idea might be on its face - and one can't deny that there are some astonishingly ill-informed people who cast their votes in our elections - I find that I really can't support it. Jim Crow laws were used to deny people basic rights during my lifetime. I don't want to go back to that dark place. Besides, I have what I think is a much better idea.
Instead of testing the potential voters, let's test the potential candidates for office.
Have you listened to some of the people who hold office in this country today? What rocks have these folks crawled out from under? They have no idea of basic American history and civics, judging by the content of their speech and by their actions. I think that anyone who puts himself or herself forward as a candidate for an office in this country should have to know at least a minimum amount about the country's history, its laws and Constitution. If they can't pass a basic civics and history test, they should be barred from running. They should not be allowed to harass us with their kooky ideas, nor impose their strange beliefs on the rest of us.
We could start here. Click on the link and take the test and see if you can pass it and would thus be allowed to run for office under my modest proposal.
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