I don't know if this is normal in US politics, but I actually bothered to read the candidate statements for the US Senate in the California voter information guide. Most are in hilariously broken English, and one is even in binary. I'm guessing Mr. Binary is running for the "Standing at the Back Dressed Stupidly and Looking Stupid" Party, but a lot of the others are Democrats and Republicans.
Is this par for the course? Are there US senators who would fail a basic English proficiency test? I'm not belittling anyone who is learning a new language — I have a huge admiration for the courage and intrepidness of people who move to a country that speaks a foreign language — but these people are running for federal office.
True story: I was reading the Washington voter pamphlet maybe ten years ago, getting ready to vote, and discovered that one of my friends was running for Senate on the Libertarian ticket. So I called him up.
"Dude - Bob - you're running for Senate?"
"What? Oh! Yes! Yes I am!"
"As a Libertarian?"
"You come to the meetings a few times they make you run for something."
"Senate?"
"You should totally vote for me."
"Why?"
"'Cuz we're buds."
"Do you know anything about being a senator?"
"Does anybody?"
"...I think the point is that some people know more than others."
"But do they, though?"
"Lotta times, yeah. You're running against Patty Murray!"
"Okay, she probably knows more about being a senator than me. But it's not like I'm going to win."
"I will totally buy you a beer but I will totally not vote for you. No hard feelings?"
"No hard feelings. When should we go get that beer?"
posted 2899 days ago