May 23, 2012 by David K. Sutton
Eliot Spitzer’s Excellent Smack-down Of Tea Party Republicans In Congress
Eliot Spitzer calls Tea Party Republicans in congress a bunch of whiny, bitchy (my words) “15-year-olds” (Spitzer’s words) on Tuesday’s episode of Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer on Current TV.
I’ve said we need more grown-ups in congress, but I’d be happy if they just sounded like high school seniors, which brings us to our number of the day, 10.6. That’s the average of the language relative to school grade level of speeches delivered in congress. The Sunlight Foundation measured the length of the words and sentences, and on average, members of congress speak as though they’re about half-way through sophomore year. Of course, you do want your speeches to be understood. After all, Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech comes in at freshman level, but King wrote speeches for wide public consumption. Members of congress mostly speak to each other, and that level of discourse has dropped almost a full grade since 2005. Plus, here’s a shock: The lawmakers who speak at the lowest grade level are among the most conservative members of congress. This may help explain some of the other high school antics from the Tea Party backed members of congress. They fight for no reason, won’t listen to anyone, and they want everything their way — right now. Certainly sounds like we’re dealing with 15-year-olds.
No, you may not “grade” the title of this article.
dks
