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In his opening address to the for-profit Tea Party Nation convention in Nashville last night, Tom Tancredo lamented:
we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote in this country.
Great point! Maybe the first question on the exam should be: “Who is your favorite founding father?”
My favorite Founding Father is Genghis Khan.
He reportedly fathered hundreds of children.
And as a right-winger, I liked his forceful style.
Voter tests were historically used to keep Black people from the polls. This is a shout-out to Dixiecrats and you don’t even know it.
The founding fathers knew that most people aren’t educated on civil and government matters. This is why they created the Senate as a body not selected by the people. Screwed that up with direct election.
I’d go further than Tancredo. Limit the franchise to men over thirty years of age with property worth $ 25,000. Not mortgage worth either. George Washington would approve.
“Danny_K // Feb 5, 2010 at 10:35 am
Voter tests were historically used to keep Black people from the polls. This is a shout-out to Dixiecrats and you don’t even know it.”
Are you saying that civics tests would STILL prevent disproportionately more blacks from voting than whites? Hey, maybe all those idiot rednecks would be kept away from the polls…why are you against this?
For all the warm-fuzzy Democrat liberals here, newsflash: Tommie-in-the-slave-pants-Jefferson wasn’t too keen on letting anyone but the elite vote or serve in govt. He even tried to stop famers and merchants of middle means from being able to vote in VA elections as governor… his 1798 solution: only allow voters who had attended college or studied in one of the professions to vote.
No, that wouldn’t make Tommie my favorite Founding Father.
Having a literacy test before becoming a US citizen isn’t unreasonable. Having some kind of test before you can drive is nearly universal in the states… why not for the far more important privilege of voting? Hell, from what I’ve seen of inner city youth, we probably ought to have some sort of intelligence/capacity of common sense test before they can get pregnant… or else, in Obama-Democrat fashion, make them pay an $800 or more “tax” against their EIC refund. It was supposed to work to compell young adults to take out health care insurance policies, no?
I have an easier test for testing the eligibility of a prospective voter. Question #1: are you active in partisan politics? If yes, go on to question #2. If no, come back when you are.
Question #2: Is that Party the GOP? If yes, please vote often. If no, get a brain and come back when you can demonstrate some maturity and wisdom in your choices.
Simple test. And it’d get rid of all those ACORN and SEIU goons. That’s gotta be good for democracy all around, no?
Danny_K: Voter tests were historically used to keep Black people from the polls.
This time, the obvious target is Hispanic immigrants.
eriback: The founding fathers knew that most people aren’t educated on civil and government matters. This is why they created the Senate as a body not selected by the people. Screwed that up with direct election.
Having Senators chosen by state legislatures turned out to be a disaster in practice. Horse-trading, corruption, and outright bribery were used to choose Senators. Some legislatures deadlocked and couldn’t reach a decision on a choice of Senator, meaning that no Senator was chosen at all for months or even years.
Having Senators chosen by direct election is fair and predictable.
I imagine it evens out pretty well, between all of the different clueless voters. I’d be much more interested in seeing a basic geography/ civics/ common sense (real common sense) test for candidates.
It’s not a philosophical question. Literacy tests were implemented during Reconstruction in the South to keep ex-slaves from voting, along with the poll tax. The supreme court banned them in 75 for exactly this reason. This isn’t even coded language — it’s s direct appeal to Confederates and white supremacists.
First Question: What do you read?
Second Question: Who is your favorite founding father?
Bonus points awarded for those who have the same answer to both questions.
Re: Limit the franchise to men over thirty years of age with property worth $ 25,000.
In which case the rest of us should not be required to pay any tax or fee or to obey any law whatsoever. You seem to be forgetting the source of the troubles which led to this country separating itself from the British Empire.
So is FrumForum on record supporting illiterates making important decisions about the future of my country and family?
Tea Party Leader Defends States’ Rights To Secede « Alan Colmes' Liberaland // Feb 18, 2010 at 10:45 am
[...] recent Tom Tancredo keynote at the Nashville tea party convention where he advocated for a “civics literacy test,” another code for racism, and Rick Scarborough’s railing against Hispanics, and [...]