Shocker: Elected officials flunk quiz on Constitution

by The blogprof

Shocker: Elected officials flunk quiz on Constitution: "At my University we are on a 4-point system. 4.0-3.5 is equivalent to an A, 3.0-3.4 a B, etc. Less than a 2.0 is failing and 0.0 - the double goose-egg - is an utter fail. In all my classes I have one simple rule: if you fall below the 50% threshhold, it is an automatic 0.0 regardless of the curve. Lawmakers, it would appear, would get a double goose-egg in a class on the US Constitution. From AOL News via Instapundit: Elected Officials Flunk Constitution Quiz.

When the Republican House leadership decided to start the 112th Congress with a reading of the U.S. Constitution, the decision raised complaints in some quarters that it was little more than a political stunt. The New York Times even called it a 'presumptuous and self-righteous act.'

That might be true, if you could be sure that elected officials actually know something about the Constitution. But it turns out that many don't.

In fact, elected officials tend to know even less about key provisions of the Constitution than the general public.


...Elected officials at many levels of government, not just the federal government, swear an oath to 'uphold and protect' the U.S. Constitution.

But those elected officials who took the test scored an average 5 percentage points lower than the national average (49 percent vs. 54 percent), with ordinary citizens outscoring these elected officials on each constitutional question.

If that isn't bad enough, it get worse. A lot worse. Check out some of the very simple questions that our political ruling class flunked. What are the 3 branches of government?

A. executive, legislative, judicial
B. executive, legislative, military
C. bureaucratic, military, industry
D. federal, state, local

Only 49 percent of elected officials got it right. 49 PERCENT! Which means more than 50% believe that either the military is a branch or industry is. Or they get it completely wrong by answering 'D.' What question did the ruling class get score the worst on? This one:

6) The phrase that in America there should be a 'wall of separation' between church and state appears in:
A. George Washington's Farewell Address
B. the Mayflower Compact
C. the Constitution
D. the Declaration of Independence
E. Thomas Jefferson's letters

How did the ruling class score. 19%. NINETEEN PERCENT!!! These morons have actually bought hook, line and sinker that the separation of church and state is a constitutional principle. It's not. Never was either. It appeared in a Jefferson letter and was taken out of context as to what it was really saying. It has been used by activist judges to quash the freedom of religion. But I digress. The end result of the quiz is that we are being run by a kakistocrasy now. Judge Napolitano was right: 'Congress Spends More Time Avoiding And Evading The Constitution Than Upholding It'

Watch the latest video at <a href="http://video.foxnews.com">video.foxnews.com</a>

Previously:
Video: Democrat Congressman Protests Reading Constitution On House Floor
Video: Joy Behar Wonders If ‘Constitution-Loving Is Getting Out Of Hand’
Flashback: How Congresscritters justified the constitutionality of ObamaCare
Video Of Liberal Star Blogger Ezra Klein: ‘Constitution Has No Binding Power on Anything’; Confusing Because it’s Over 100 Years Old
Video of Dem Congressman McGovern: 'I Think The Constitution Is Wrong'
Video: Congress power-drunk on Commerce Clause, yet interpretation is wrong. Founding Fathers intended for the clause to be limited in scope
Video: Sen. Jim DeMint Blasts Pelosi, Obama for Ignoring the U.S. Constitution
Video of Pete Stark (D-CA): 'The Federal Government Can Do Most Anything in This Country'

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