I’m not usually one for making political posts, but this was too good to pass up…
Recently at the “Tea Party’s” national convention, the opening speaker (a former Republican congressman named Tom Tancredo) suggested that Barack Obama was elected because “we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote in this country.”. Such literacy tests were used in the South to prevent blacks from voting, so one could imagine why that would have leave something of a bad taste in several people’s mouths.
On the other hand, it seems to me that in a way this is kind of hypocritical, as it has seemed to me that many of those who support the Tea Party are themselves ignorant of current civics. For example, the Tea Party seems to be a home for the Birther movement (those who believe Obama isn’t a natural born US citizen despite the overwhelming evidence he is). In response, movie critic Roger Ebert recently posted his proposed civics/history test for potential voters, saying that to vote you should pass this test. I’m going to go ahead and repost his quiz here.
How well will you do?
1. Does the Bill of Rights have anything to do with the U. S. Constitution?
2. What party would Abraham Lincoln join today?
3. Who was Spiro Agnew?
4. Do most Republican believe the Earth was created within the last 10,000 years?
5. What President had a sign on his desk saying, “The buck stops here?”
6. How many U. S Presidents have graduated from the Harvard Law School?
7. Was Nelson Rockefeller a vice-president of the United States?
8. Does Tom Tancredo support the legalization of marijuana?
9. How many terms did Sarah Palin serve as governor of Alaska?
10. If a man is obviously guilty and confesses, do the taxpayers have to hire him a lawyer?
11. Spell the names of any five “red states” in the 2008 presidential election.
12. How many U. S. First Ladies have graduated from Harvard Law School?
13. Did George Washington sign the Declaration of Independence?
14. Was the United States founded as a Christian nation?
15. Was the President known as the “Trust Buster” a Republican or Democrat?
16. Which Presidents have most increased the National Debt in the years since World War Two?
17. Which 2008 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination called Miami, Florida “a Third World city?”
18. Is “Obamacare” allowed by the U. S. Constitution?
19. What President since the Second World War did the most to lower taxes and raise government spending?
20. Before the passage of the Civil Rights act of 1965, members of which party in the South were more opposed to “literacy tests” for voters?