Tip of the hat to http://all-hat-no-cattle.blogspot.com

A certain twice-indicted, four time indicted and loser of civil lawsuits concerning assaulting women, during a recent rant against President Biden, stated there should be a test for mental competency for holding public office. 

Obviously he was suggesting that he would ace such tests while his probable opponent and current President of the United States would fail miserably. Most of us would certainly disagree with his assessment. So let’s do a little noodling on this subject”

One measure of competence would be to accept reality. As my mother-in-law was at the end of her life the nursing home staff would ask her questions to check if she was still tuned in to the world. One question was pretty standard – “Who is the President?” What answer would we get for that question today from the MAGA leader? 

Some of the reality that we expect competent people to deal with is the outcome of elections. Were we to ask the MAGA leader who won the last presidential election what would he say? Should his denial of Biden’s victory be taken as a lack of competence to run for office? I would think so especially because it has been acknowledged by everyone from election officials to world leaders to news sources.

Would being able to differentiate between America’s friends and enemies on the world stage should be an area of competency that an office holder should know without having to think about it. Friend or foe – France – Great Britain – Russia – Germany – North Korea. I am not sure the current MAGA leader or other MAGA presidential candidate could answer that right now.

How about we ask what the cause of our current national debt is? Is it huge tax cuts for the rich coupled with expensive and unfocused wars as practiced by MAGA Republicans, or is it funding education, help for the needy and social programs like Social Security and Medicare that are funded by specific taxes?

Perhaps another really critical area would be knowledge and competence concerning climate. Does the candidate understand the scientifically proven causes for climate change? Does the candidate understand what will make the climate worse and what actions will mitigate the climate crisis?

Maybe there should be some questions around equality of citizens. Should skin color be a determining factor in the status of a citizen. How about sex or gender. Who wouldn’t love to see the current crop of MAGA candidates answering such questions and answering them honestly. 

Bet you folks can come up some other competency questions of your own.

If a candidate can’t answer who won the last election that should be disqualifying by itself. 

Oh and what about that clause in the 14th amendment that says if you turned on the US you can’t be elected to govern? That seems like a deal breaker, too.

Tip of the hat to http://all-hat-no-cattle.blogspot.com