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So I'm leaving a political rally and carrying some yard signs for a Senatorial candidate, his team had them and asked if anyone wanted to take some home. So while I'm carrying them past a group of about 8 McCain supporters (protesting Obama) with their "crayon on Big Chief tablet" signs one of them engages me in the following dialog:
Lady protester: Hey, what (sic) district is "Smith" running in?
Me: Uh, no district, he's running for the Senate.
Lady: Yeah, yeah, but what district?
Me: No district, he's running statewide.
Lady: (getting pissed) Well, why won't you tell me what district?
Me: Do you not understand how Senatorial elections work?
Lady: (now really PO'd) Well, I guess not smara**, why don't you tell me.
Me: OK, you see Congresspersons run "by district" there are 15 districts in our state, each one comprising roughly the same number of voters. Senators run "statewide" so even though I'm in district 7 and you, if you live in this town are in district 4 we each vote for the SAME SENATORS.
Lady: Well, s**t, excuuuuuse me for being so stupid. Said with no apparent irony.
The rest is a "dream sequence IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
Me: And you know Senators are elected for 6 year terms, 1/3 of them being voted on each two year cycle.
Lady: No, they're not, they serve 4 year terms just like the President and Congress.
You can see why I cut it off once she had figured out "statewide".
As Jefferson said: "An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic. Self-government is not possible unless the citizens are educated sufficiently to enable them to exercise oversight. It is therefore imperative that the nation see to it that a suitable education be provided for all its citizens."
Maybe she was thinking it was for the state senate?
As this is a very hotly contested U.S. Senate vote, both Senatorial campaign committees pouring millions into it, anyone living here knows this name. Even if she didn't recognize the name (the name isn't really "Smith", but it's a recognized name in politics in this and other states) when I kept explaining "statewide" she still didn't get it.
golfgod
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