How edumacated is your state legislature?

June 13, 2011 10:17 AM

How edumacated is your state legislature? (sorry, U.S. only) The Chronicle of Higher Education takes on the issue of how educated U.S. lawmakers at the state level are/should be.

Opinions of a few legislators.

Opinions of a few education experts.

Or, go right to the numbers: An attractive nationwide and by state chart.

posted by JanetLand (56 comments total)

I generally could care less how much education my legislature has. I want them to be intelligent. Bill Gates and Steve jobs lack continued secondary education and I doubt if many would label either as unintelligent.

I worked IT education and the stupidest people on this planet are educators (just ask one). They also make the worst pupils (again, don't take my word, ask one).
posted by cjorgensen at 10:22 AM on June 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our legislators learning?
posted by blue_beetle at 10:25 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure it matters so much if they have higher education, so much as what they did with that education.

In my, admittedly non-scientific, opinion, a legislator who failed college but went on to a varied career before joining politics is going to do a far better job than someone who graduated from a top school but has had no career but government.

In other words, education is good, but life experience is better.
posted by madajb at 10:27 AM on June 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

...the stupidest people on this planet are educators...

The relevant conditional probability to this discussion would be Pr[stupid | educated], not Pr[educator | stupid].
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 10:28 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

You know, I'm as uncomfortable as having legislators with "School of Life" (seriously?) and "gun school" on their resumes as a bunch of good ole Ivy boys with their openly dynastic ascensions to both college and the legislature.
posted by griphus at 10:28 AM on June 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

In the recent Canadian election, several undergraduates were elected in Quebec. That's both too little education and too much.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:30 AM on June 13, 2011

The relevant conditional probability to this discussion would be Pr[stupid | educated], not Pr[educator | stupid].

See, that's plain stupid.

Seriously though. I meet a lot of academics. Many have a difficult time functioning anywhere other than academia. I also get email from several with advanced degrees that make me wonder how they managed to get said degrees (being incapable of stringing together any cogent thought with even minimal grammar skills).
posted by cjorgensen at 10:32 AM on June 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

I would be curious to know WHY some legislators chose to obtain advanced degrees and why some did not. The decision to advance/not advance, as well as the reasons why someone made it through a program or did not, would be important to me. Generalizing would ignore wise decisions to avoid student debt and to engage in communities rather than getting a higher degree - and also could mask a Bush-baseball-family connection type of deal. Additionally, too many "educational institutions" are unwelcoming, unsupportive, and even hostile to marginalized communities - having an educational requirement, without further thought, would limit access to service for many people (and informally does).
posted by anya32 at 10:33 AM on June 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

I figured most of them were lawyers, and those who weren't were athletes, astronauts, and actor.
posted by jonmc at 10:34 AM on June 13, 2011

I worked IT education and the stupidest people on this planet are educators (just ask one). They also make the worst pupils (again, don't take my word, ask one).

Really? I always thought that some of the stupidest people on this planet are the ones who think that "all [blank kinds of people] are the stupidest people on this planet."

But what do I know. You're probably right: Every single teacher, professor, school librarian, and school administrator is a moron, without exception.

And I'm tired of Jobs and Gates being singled out as examples of how Education is Unneccesary to Achieve Success, See? They're outliers. Way, way out-there outliers. The system is broken in a lot of ways for a lot of kids; that doesn't mean that book learnin' is just for chumps or robots. It also doesn't mean that dropping out of high school will doom you to not being educated, as there are different ways to go about acquiring education.

When it comes to legislators, I do expect them to have a minimum of knowledge and understanding of a range of constitutional and public policy issues. I expect them to able to to write and speak their way out of a wet paper bag. I expect them to understand that they cannot say stupid and offensive shit and then whine when they get called out on it.

A college degree is no guarantee that the recipient is educated, and neither is the lack of one.
posted by rtha at 10:36 AM on June 13, 2011 [33 favorites]

Quote from the article:

I'm not sure that a legislature could fairly represent a state's diversity if it didn't include people from diverse educational, economic, racial, religious, and vocational backgrounds.

Why do we think a state legislature needs to represent a state's diversity at all?

Best person for the job, right?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:38 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

I also get email from several with advanced degrees that make me wonder how they managed to get said degrees (being incapable of stringing together any cogent thought with even minimal grammar skills).

You've not received many mails from CEOs or upper-executive-types, I take it? That is, mails that weren't first filtered through their secretaries to correct spelling, grammar, sentence-structure, general stupidity, etc.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:38 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Awwww yeah, another, "Lets just apply this simple metric!" study. Surely, by only looking at one number and not subjectively determining the subjective abilities of our leaders we can pick the best politicians to fail us.
posted by Slackermagee at 10:39 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

I figured most of them were lawyers, and those who weren't were athletes, astronauts, and actor.

You know, I'm a bit into The Right Stuff and I am pretty sure that given the choice between John Glenn and some shmuck galumphing his way up screaming about being Taxed Enough Already, I'd sure as shit vote for John Glenn.
posted by griphus at 10:39 AM on June 13, 2011 [7 favorites]

Weird. I have this long-ingrained habit of voting for my legislators based on their individual policies and, where applicable, legislative record. Their degree credentials or lack thereof has never been a factor for me. Am I doing it wrong?
posted by DarlingBri at 10:40 AM on June 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

...the stupidest people on this planet are educators...

Only because that's the way we value them. When a first-year teacher starts with a salary below the poverty level, you tend to attract certain types: The occasional gem, the truly wonderful, the dim-yet-committed and the just-dim.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:41 AM on June 13, 2011 [5 favorites]

Well I want my senator to be a 7-story psychic giant with grain threshing experience and a degree in Queer Pottery

Yeah I get tired pretty fast of people confidently demanding that their legislators have this or that skill-set without any evidence of what skills actually have an effect on performance. These discussions are pointless without reasonable standards of legislative job performance (attendance, no. of bills written, no. of dick pics not sent, etc). Of course quantifying the positive impact of laws is a contentious issue, but I'm sure there are some data on this. Don't see any in the article, though.
posted by serif at 10:45 AM on June 13, 2011

My habit is to vote for legislators based on how good looking they are and how snappy they are with sound bites. I don't see how their educational credentials are relevant to that.
posted by found missing at 10:51 AM on June 13, 2011

Why do we think a state legislature needs to represent a state's diversity at all?

Because we live in a representative democracy.
posted by indubitable at 10:56 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yeah I get tired pretty fast of people confidently demanding that their legislators have this or that skill-set without any evidence of what skills actually have an effect on performance.

Which pretty much sums up how I feel about higher education in America overall. Sure, everybody can go to college - but should they? Maybe "higher education" would mean something again if only, you know, the kids who really are smart and capable went, and the rest had training or went into career paths that were better suited to their skills? As it is, there are thousands of junior and community colleges out there, ostensibly educated these kids, but for jobs they'll never get anywhere near...
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 10:57 AM on June 13, 2011

the stupidest people on this planet are educators (just ask one).

Maybe so, but they wear some kickass jeans.

Ooh! Ooh! Lemme try again!

The humblest people on this planet are educators (just ask one how stupid they think they are).

moving on...

I think it's interesting that Nebraska is so near the top of the list, if only because of the unicameral, non-partisan nature of the state lege. Worth paying attention to.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:57 AM on June 13, 2011

Really? I always thought that some of the stupidest people on this planet are the ones who think that "all [blank kinds of people] are the stupidest people on this planet."

Fair enough. My main point is that formal education is not the end all. It also does little as an indicator of intelligence. As far as Gates and Jobs being Outliers, fine, then here's a better example:

The Thiel Foundation. Basically his assertion is that education will count against you and make it difficult to succeed, since few people have time and energy to both go to school and create anything.

Or take Facebook. I believe the founders dropped out of school to launch that, but could be wrong.

I retract my stupidest comment, but I've met a lot of dumb ones.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:00 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

So are you looking for some sort of mandatory quota system where we have to select a certain percentage of women, ethnic backgrounds, IQs, etc? Breaking areas up into districts, precincts, etc is how we currently try to maintain the proper levels of representation. However well or poorly that works, its what we do.
posted by Billiken at 11:00 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

From the article: "And most of them stayed close to home. In Louisiana, four out of five legislators never went to college outside the state. "

They are aware that state legislatures elect statewide, even from the boring parts of the state with no economic activity to speak of, right? Like, they can't all be bright lights/big city types. Some of them have to be the guys who live in the ass end of nowhere. Which would actually raise a different (and, IMHO, far more interesting) set of issues about opportunity being fairly distributed across the state.

(Know what does bother me, though? Only like 1/3 of the federal Congresscritters have passports. I am not okay with you having foreign policy powers if you have never left the freaking country and are so uninterested in not-America that you would not even be legally able to do so. Although I suppose they'd just go on more junkets if they had passports.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:01 AM on June 13, 2011

I worked IT education and the stupidest people on this planet are educators (just ask one). They also make the worst pupils (again, don't take my word, ask one).

I know you've already taken some heat for this so I will try not to be ranty, but I think that this attitude helps drive intelligent and capable people away from becoming educators. The idea that "those who can do, those who can't teach" helps perpetuate a cycle in which teachers are disrespected and paid badly.

I just finished a Master's in Teaching (Elementary Education) and I'm right now looking for a job, and to a certain extent I had to deal with my own and other people's preconceptions regarding teachers, especially elementary school teachers. It's very frustrating to be entering into a profession for which I have received a great deal of training and that is very important to me both personally and on a societal level and then to feel like in some way I have to apologize for the fact that it's just elementary school and that I really should be doing something more important or challenging. There are unintelligent people in any profession, including teaching, but I find this attitude towards teaching as a whole very, very problematic.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:21 AM on June 13, 2011 [15 favorites]

As my dad (a provincial and federal legislator) always said, "government by amateurs for amateurs."

An elite governing class is profoundly antidemocratic.
posted by klanawa at 11:23 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

The Thiel Foundation. Basically his assertion is that education will count against you and make it difficult to succeed, since few people have time and energy to both go to school and create anything.

Is his assertion correct? We have no idea, and neither does he. And look at the recipients: all of them have been going 100 miles an hour since they were ten years old. They're already in a group where four more years of sitting in a classroom isn't necessarily going to be beneficial. On the flip side, some of them may be burned out and unable to create anything by the time they're thirty; would staying in college have benefited them? We'll never know, because it's impossible to unring the bell.

Some people who create things are slow starters, and making some sort of pronouncement, as Thiel seems to, that higher education is bad for creativity is overly broad to the point of foolishness.
posted by rtha at 11:26 AM on June 13, 2011

Judging by the bills they've produced, Missouri's legislators' education is completely lacking in history and any sense of humanity.
posted by notsnot at 11:35 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Why do we think a state legislature needs to represent a state's diversity at all?

Because we live in a representative democracy.

I do not think "representative democracy" means what you think it means.
posted by spacewrench at 11:56 AM on June 13, 2011 [4 favorites]

And I'm tired of Jobs and Gates being singled out as examples of how Education is Unneccesary to Achieve Success, See? They're outliers. Way, way out-there outliers.

Gates, in particular, is the scion of a rich and well-connected Seattle family, and had access to significant resources that the vast majority of people do not. Jobs didn't grow up poor, either.
posted by grouse at 11:59 AM on June 13, 2011

Not to Goodwin this thread, but Joseph Mengele had two doctorates...granted he wasn't a legislator for Germany, but still I'm hoping the point is still relevant. Education does not provide enough evidence on its own to ensure someone is a good leader.

Similarly, the Professor never got them off the island, nor actually seemed to generate enough respect to be a leader.

Lastly, to drive this point home, Jar Jar Binks was the first Gungan Represntative for his people - and I think we've all covered what kind of an idiot we all think he was.
posted by Nanukthedog at 12:07 PM on June 13, 2011

Why do we think a state legislature needs to represent a state's diversity at all?

I think it'd be ideal if we could get to the point where most people are very good at listening, appreciating other positions, identifying with problems they haven't experienced, etc, instead of extrapolating from what is almost inevitably narrow personal experience.

This is actually kindof hard for most humans, though, and a lot of us don't even try often enough.

Diversity in representation seems like it could compensate somewhat for this.
posted by weston at 12:08 PM on June 13, 2011

Why do we think a state legislature needs to represent a state's diversity at all?

One of the most pernicious untruths in our society is that you need to have first hand knowledge doing something to be able to relate, be empathetic and help people. I don't believe that to be a good manager you need the skills of those you manage. I don't believe that to be a good general you need the combat skills of a Navy SEAL. I don't believe that to help people you need to have overcome the challenge they are facing and I don't believe that to represent people you need to have exactly their gender, race, class, income, or education.

I do believe that good management is a rare and under-cultivated skill, that generals have to have exceptional communications, strategic thinking and logistical planning skills, that humanitarian aid requires an exceptional capacity for empathy and responding to others' needs not just what skills you have and that democratic representation means listening and at times putting your constituents voice before your own.

All of this is somewhat tangential to higher education which could help with any of it in the right circumstance, and hurt in the wrong. I do think higher education could better recognize and align itself to these patterns.
posted by meinvt at 12:12 PM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

When a first-year teacher starts with a salary below the poverty level ...

Cite, please?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 12:13 PM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

...skill-set without any evidence of what skills actually have an effect on performance....

Hell, were not even trying to identify what makes a good legislator. One could be great at getting laws passed, but they'd still be a terrible legislator is all their laws were terrible with horrible.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 12:15 PM on June 13, 2011

When a first-year teacher starts with a salary below the poverty level ...

Cite, please?

Everybodies job starts below povery level, teachers have just made a whole industry whining about it...
posted by Confess, Fletch at 12:16 PM on June 13, 2011

Everybodies job starts below povery level, teachers have just made a whole industry whining about it...

I find myself perplexed by this statement; if you're a hardworking, well-educated professional, why is it unreasonable to ask for compensation that reflects this?
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:30 PM on June 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

So, this thread has become one where more than one person is saying how teachers are dumb and overpaid?

Really? Is this just high school MeFiers, or is this really a thing now?
posted by blahblahblah at 12:33 PM on June 13, 2011 [4 favorites]

Legislators are the shiny pretty face of a legislative team. The unelected aids who work for politicians are the ones who get the work done. They do policy, they do constituent relations, they write the speeches. The politician plays a role in that to varying degrees but the wheels turning the machine are not the people you vote for.

A great politician knows how to direct his staff and knows how to defer to their learned expertise on a given policy point or PR issue.

A horrible politician surrounds themselves by political hacks and sycophants.

I have known politicians who haven't graduated college who are great for their constituents (the only diversity that matters is the represented diversity in the district). I have known Ivy League mother fuckers who aren't fit to run a block club.

I would love to see a survey on the education levels of office staff. That would be more telling than the education of the faces on the machine.
posted by munchingzombie at 12:48 PM on June 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

This topic comes up rarely in political contests, which suggests to me that most Americans could care less. They're much more conditioned to respond to passion and strongly-held ideology (however ill-founded).

The most progressive State in the Union currently (IMO), Vermont, may only have a 2/3 Bachelor score, but makes up for that consistently with its very people-centered principles and actions. Sen. Sanders is a prime example of the governance leadership most of the country is sorely lacking.
posted by Twang at 1:21 PM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm fine with legislators not having college educations. I'm not fine with legislators who look disdainfully upon public education and actively work to dismantle it for the rest of the population.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:25 PM on June 13, 2011 [7 favorites]

Legislators are the shiny pretty face of a legislative team. The unelected aids who work for politicians are the ones who get the work done.

Depends on where you are. Members of the NH House have zero personal staff and share... shit. I can't remember the exact number, but the 400 of them share in the neighborhood of ten staffers.

According to the NCSL, 12 state legislatures have no personal staff in either chamber, and there must be some more where the upper chamber has personal staff while the lower does not.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:51 PM on June 13, 2011

Everybodies job starts below povery level, teachers have just made a whole industry whining about it.

That is absolute, honking bullshit. My boyfriend has a bachelor's degree in computer science, and has basically been salaried in the six figures since he entered the workforce at 22. My mother has a double-major bachelor's, a master's, and 30+ credits toward a doctorate. She works on citywide and nationwide science standards for elementary and middle-school students, teaches during the week, does professional development, and works for an afterschool program, on saturdays, and during the summer. And sometimes teaches college. She often works without a day off for weeks on end. After 18 years, she makes less than he does. She is about to hit retirement, he is about to hit 30.

You may have been shooting for blithe, but you hit deliberately obtuse.

And hell, why not: Everybody's. "Everybodies" isn't a word.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 1:55 PM on June 13, 2011 [12 favorites]

I ran a joke campaign for Gov in Texas a million years ago, and part of our platform is that we insisted that every legislator be able to pass the same test that they had instituted for students to be able to graduate. That part of the platform almost got me enough signatories to actually put me on the ballot.

Oh Texas, you would have been so much better under my rule than Gov Goodhair and Friends.
posted by dejah420 at 2:17 PM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Regarding diversity in government: A couple people make decent points, above, about legislators as managers. There are legislators out there who are capable of finding qualified experts and analysts, assessing their work, and then forming policy decisions. That said, state legislators aren't exactly swimming in time and financial resources. As such, it helps if, in addition to the ability to synthesize information, legislators can come to the table with some concrete policy knowledge already under their belt. That's where diversity comes in.

Someone who attended or taught for the state higher education system is likely, off the bat, to have an idea of its inherent successes and failings, and to make swifter, more informed policy decisions regarding that system. Someone who's been on unemployment, or who has helped others obtain their unemployment benefits, will understand that process, how it works, and how it can be improved. Engineers who have designed and built highways may have unique insights into the bureaucratic aspects of transportation. People with wealthy associates may have insights regarding what it takes to keep capital from leaving the state. Someone who has owned a farm will have an idea of the the issues faced by growers.

I think it's important that state legislators are able to synthesize information. I also think it would be nice if the legislature brought a collective, wide-ranging body of knowledge and experience to the table. Having people from diverse socioeconomic, cultural, and geographic backgrounds should help in identifying both existing problems and potential solutions.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 2:34 PM on June 13, 2011

When a first-year teacher starts with a salary below the poverty level ...

Cite, please?

Really? You think teachers are paid well enough? You want to go there? Seriously?

All right ...

Poverty level for a family of four: 22,350

Average starting salary: 24K (North Dakota) to 39K (Connecticut).

So, I'm off by anywhere from two to 17 grand. Whoo. Victory is yours!

By the way, good luck finding housing in Greenwich, Connecticut on that salary. Good thing you don't have any student loans. Oh wait. But cheer up! You can look forward to an 18 percent pay raise over the next 10 years.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:50 PM on June 13, 2011 [6 favorites]

May this thread forever stands as a living embodiment of how American politics works.

1) Here is some information about the education levels of various politicians.

2) YEAH BUT TEACHERS ARE DUMB.

3) GRAR IDIOT WHO THINKS TEACHERS ARE DUMBER

4) GRAR GRAR I THINK TEACHERS DUMB TOO

5) GRAR GRAR GRAR YOU USED BAD GRAMMAR

6) Meanwhile, more idiots are elected to office.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:09 PM on June 13, 2011

Really? You think teachers are paid well enough? You want to go there? Seriously?

Aw, I'm just messin' with you. Of course we should invest more in education ... as long as we stop measuring our return on that investment.

Of course, things could always change. But I doubt it.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 3:18 PM on June 13, 2011

6) Meanwhile, more idiots are elected to office.

Oh, I don't know - I'm pretty good at bitching about stuff and voting for non-idiots.
posted by rtha at 3:23 PM on June 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

Education is one measure of a legislator and I don't mind being influenced by that. I think it does matter (as a minimum, not as full measure).

AND, there does seem to be an 'anti-intellectual' theme in this thread. I wonder if it reflects a hint of sour grapes. Financing a college education is such an unthinkable burden for many young today. And then, even if they manage to accept that, more and more graduate only to find none of the good paying jobs they'd been promised. Is it easier to just diss the educated than admit the defeat?
posted by Surfurrus at 5:24 PM on June 13, 2011

Dude, my college experience consisted of partying with all the cool kids, pursuing self-absorption, and sending inappropriate text messages to 18 year old women.

Anybody who doesn't think college is necessary preparation for politics just doesn't understand politics.
posted by twoleftfeet at 6:53 PM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

> Poverty level for a family of four: 22,350

Average starting salary: 24K (North Dakota) to 39K (Connecticut).

So, I'm off by anywhere from two to 17 grand. Whoo. Victory is yours!

Well, you need to adjust for a 9 month appointment as well. And I won't speak for other states, but in Iowa you get automatic raises for time in position and additional education. You don't have to be good at your job, you just have to stick around and be good at taking classes and you won't be at 24k for long. I think the average pay in the district I worked was 50k. That's a bit above poverty.

If you're going to make the claim that teachers are underpaid that's fine, but don't say they are paid under the poverty line then get defensive when you have to admit they aren't.

If you are in a state where public employee salaries are public look up a few teacher's salaries. I think you'll be surprised.

I would also maintain that if you are starting a family on a single teacher's salary you have proven my point about idiocy (compounded if you have two kids).

> I just finished a Master's in Teaching (Elementary Education) and I'm right now looking for a job, and to a certain extent I had to deal with my own and other people's preconceptions regarding teachers, especially elementary school teachers.

Well, get back to me after you've taught for a year. And an irony of your situation is that in a lot of districts you've priced yourself out of a job. Often the district has no choice on what salary they can hire someone with a Master's.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:27 PM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

the stupidest people on this planet are educators (just ask one).

I would also maintain that if you are starting a family on a single teacher's salary you have proven my point about idiocy (compounded if you have two kids).

And an irony of your situation is that in a lot of districts you've priced yourself out of a job. Often the district has no choice on what salary they can hire someone with a Master's.

You do realize you're simultaneously bitching about how dumb teachers are and how impossible it is to make a living as one and how hard it is for qualified candidates to find work, no? These things might be interrelated.
posted by Ndwright at 7:54 PM on June 13, 2011

I understand they are interrelated. And I am not bitching about how impossible it is to make a living as one. In fact, quite the opposite. I can make a strong case for teachers being underpaid, but I can make just as strong of a case for this being a myth. In both instances I'd have facts supporting me. This is going to vary a lot by district and state. Here's salaries for teachers in Iowa. Here's the guidelines for poverty lines. make a case either way, but don't use demonstrably false rhetoric. I'd say few to none of the Iowa teachers are under the poverty line (probably none if you adjust for the fact that most are 9 month appointments).

And seriously, get a teacher going about the stupid people they have to deal with. I've been in art classes where the teacher didn't know the software she was teaching, so had to have a computer tech sit in on each class. I've seen teachers with computers that have never been logged into, and these teachers did grades on paper and had students enter them in like data entry drones, but you couldn't take the computer away because it had to be in that room to satisfy the requirements of a grant. I've sat through classes for pregnant students where the teacher lectured about nutrition and how a diet full of fiber was important, so eat your meat and cheese. I've seen administrators sending out sever weather updates via email to teachers that were on field trips to tornado country. I've seen media specialists /librarians that don't see a need for physical copies of anything that can be acquired digitally.

There's a lot of inequity in teaching. The zip code of your school is probably the best indicator of your paycheck. Do I think teachers deserve more? Sure, but not because of how hard they have it now. I think we need to value teachers and treat them like rock stars. Pretending that they are currently in the breadlines isn't helping anyone.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:16 AM on June 14, 2011

You don't have to be uneducated to represent uneducated people. I want my legislators to be the best & brightest, not joe six-pack.
posted by mike3k at 11:56 AM on June 14, 2011

Funny thing is, some people can stand out as bona fide members of the "best and brightest" without having obtained a degree.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 9:09 PM on June 14, 2011