If you disagree. You can also participate via social media. Cspanwj is our twitter handle and you can join the live the conversation on facebook. Com cspan. Here is the oped in the Washington Post for may 20. We must read out the ignorant americans from we must weed out the ignorant americans from the election. Survey theed only ongoing president ial race to comprehend that the most pressing problem facing the nation is not big business, big labor, big media or even big money in politics, it is you, the American Voter. Out millions of irresponsible voters who cannot be bothered to learn the rudimentary workings of the constitution or the preferred proposals or their history, we may be able to mitigate the recklessness of the electorate. No, we should not direct physical barriers to ballot access. Lets purchase more voting machines, higher dish in a poll workers, streamlined registration process, may allow more ballots for seniors and produce more rock the boat ads, employing apathetic millennials to mr. Stick to do. Lets also remember that checking the box for the candidate Whose Campaign ads you like best is one of the most overrated obligations of the self govern. If you have no clue to what the hell is going on, you also have pacific duty to avoid subjecting the rest of us to your ignorance. Unfortunately, he writes, we cant trust you. If voting is a consecrated bright in democracy as liberals often argue, surely society can have certain minimal expectations for those participating, and of citizenship itself is as hollowed as republicans argue, then surely the perspective voter can be asked to know just as much as the prospective citizen. Lets give voters a test of citizenship civics. That is what he writes. What do you think about that . 202 is the area code. 7488000 if you disagree. 202 7488001 if you agree. We will start with dan and pennsylvania. Here is your civics test question you have to answer and these are official questions from the u. S. Citizenship and immigration test. 13 original colonies, name three. Caller delaware, pennsylvania, new york, i could name all of them. Host you got the question right. Go ahead, why do you agree with the statement . Little i just have a twist. I think most americans now do not even know how government or as their duty as a citizen to do the right thing and learn how government works, but i have a lot to say but i will say one more thing. It was once said, never underestimate the ignorance of the American Voter. The uninformed American Voter theyse most of them know less than what i think they he is handsome, i will vote for him, she is pretty, i will vote for her, we have a lot of people who do not know anything about American History or political science. Host you agree that the civics test is in order for people to have the right to vote . Voluntarily, voluntarily. I think people should go, take the test and see what they really know or do not know and well, id back and say, should think about how i vote. Thank you very much. Host thank you. Jim is next in silver spring, maryland. Here is your test question. If both the president and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes president . Caller the speaker of the house of representatives. Host you pass, go ahead. Caller [laughter] fork you and thank you taking my call into ui for cspan. I think i am on the wrong line. I do not agree that we should have to take a civics test. I just think it should be a requirement for all registered voters to watch a minimum amount of cspan. Host [laughter] way they can stay educated about what really goes on and keep up the good work. Ohio. Tamazine is in good morning. Caller good morning. Host here is your civics test question. We elect you a senator for how many years . Caller senator, i believe it is six. Host correct. Out do think about weeding ignorant voters . Caller i think this idea is a very bad one because it can get out of hand very quickly and it could do a great deal of damage. I went to read you what was in Time Magazine about 10 years ago. I kept a copy ever since. Winston churchill, just after the Second World War is talking to a reporter, and they are enjoying a drink, whatever they are doing. Says, this isill a quote, the only argument against democracy is five voter. With the average that is england and that was Second World War, along the time ago. So there has always been people who do not know answers to things. That does not mean they dont have a good heart and they dont want the country to prosper. And theyed very hard are honest people. I think it would be very difficult to do it you are thinking of doing or thinking of proposing. It could go wrong and they could go really wrong. To me, that is a step into a dictatorship. I thank you for listening to me and i hope you enjoyed winston churchill. Host thank you. Either way, it is not something we are proposing. We are reading an oped from the Washington Post, which is entitled weed out ignorant voters. He goes on to explain how many components of the two major candidates would pass the quiz. Here are some of the questions in which run easy to preposterous and we go ahead and continue to cruise you on those. He writes i am tempered confident that at least a majority of voting public could pass such a test, though, i cannot say the same for the majority of president ial candidates. They should be a breeze for citizens intensely involved in the process that they feel compelled to plaster bumper stickers on their cars and attended rallies of the paper candidates. And my being too optimistic, he writes . Am i being too optimistic . He writes. Nearly 30 cannot name the Vice President. More than 60 did not know the length of the u. S. Extended their terms in office. 43 cannot say that the first 10 amendments to the constitution are known as the bill of rights. Next call is charlie in new york. Charlie agrees with the statement weed out ignorant voters. Why do some states have more representatives than other states . Caller it goes by population. Host thank you, sir. Here is your voting question we elect the u. S. Are presented for how many years . Caller 150 it seems like. Host [laughter] caller actually two. Host go ahead. Why do you agree with that statement . Caller back in the day when jay leno hosted the tonight show, he went out with a camera and a microphone and the results were absolutely this graceful. Benjamin franklin was the first president of the United States. 1973. Vil war began in japan and germany were our allies during world war ii. Answers that he got. Let me be blunt, ok question mark ok . Barack obama is in the white house because we let morons vote. Host that is charlie in new york and jim is calling them from king george, virginia, on our disagree line. Here is your test question from the official u. S. Immigration test what are two cabinet level positions . Caller secretary of state, secretary of the treasury. Host very good. Go ahead. Why do you disagree with the statement weed out the ignorant voters and they must take pacific test . Caller that goes against all principles of a republic or democracy. We should be training all people as they grow up how to be a good citizen. We have stopped doing that. The media has stopped doing that. They do not educate, they do not train, they do not make people that are citizens. Instead, they substitute comedy for civility and they substitute ignorance for knowledge. The average citizen and instead, the media needs to grow up. That is a big issue of this election. The media has dropped the ball in their approach to citizenship and finally, i assume, many voters are so fed up with what they are hearing and the media that they turned their back on any kind of News Coverage that is propaganda rather than knowledge. Host thank you, sir. David is calling in from atlanta, georgia, on the disagree my fear is your question how many justices are on the Supreme Court . Caller nine. Host currently caller im side, there are eight now but there should be nine. Host correct. Go ahead. Caller my thoughts are i see where he is going with this, but like the previous caller said, the real problem is something with our media. It is the corporate run media. Back in the day when we had the doctrine, i think that there was less of this. We have gotten away from it, and i know it would be impossible to go back to the exact same form we had before with the famous doctrine, but there needs to be some kind of modified version of that to where people just cannot get paid on the radio and on the tv to discuss and say lies over and over again and not be called out. There has to be some kind of correcting method that will allow us to indirectly educate the public. For example, you ask a person, what is the difference between the deficit and debt and they cannot tell you. What is Discretionary Spending nurses nonDiscretionary Spending . Most people cannot answer that question. So much of our political on notse is based knowing the facts and really what is going on. You are calling on the disagree line. If people do not know the difference during discretionary boating, etionary spending, should they be allowed to vote . Caller of course they should be. It is not their responsibility to be educated. I agreed that they should be, but went back and saying is that the real way to get at that is to somehow regulate the discourse to where if a talking head or a pond in or a talk radio person just knowingly just lies over and over again without having to go back and correct the record, i think that that may go far as to the help of better elevate the overall knowledge level. Host this is current on face facebook, they have done the work all too well, the rfaction isupe at an alltime high. Only ignorant voters are the ones who do not participate in the voting process. And rick graham says, your question get worse and worse every day, the voters should weed you out. Host next call from elizabeth, rufus, and here is your question we did this test with our director and producer this morning and, fortunately, i had the answers in front of me, but these get turkey and you get one of the trickier questions. Here we go. There are four amendments to the constitution about who can vote, describe one of them. Caller say that again. Host there are four amendments to the constitution about who can vote. Describe one of those amendments. Caller you have got to be an american citizen. The to me, that seems like right answer, but here are the correct answers. Think you got it because they mention citizen in a lot. You have to be 18 years old or older, a male citizen of any you have to be an american citizen, so why do you statement weed out ignorant voters . Caller one of the reason i agree is because of a man named frank perdue. He raised chickens and he raised the finest chickens. He did not raise them because he loved them but because he wants to kill them and make money. We have a lot of people voting, vote, vote, vote and they are voting for donald trump and they do not realize that once he is in office, they will have medicare or medicaid cut off. So while they shoot themselves in the foot [indiscernible] the Republican Party [indiscernible] what do you think about that . Host rufus, you called in on the agreed line, so you think people should take the civics test in order to vote . You should not have to do anything to vote. I am saying, it should not be like that, it should be every [indiscernible] vote,hould be able to white or black. Host next is kevin in minnesota. Here is your citizenship test question what is one responsibility that is only for u. S. Citizens . Caller ummm, voting . Host correct. Vote in a federal election. One of those kind of threw me a little bit, but it was served on a jury and vote in the federal election. Why do you disagree with the statement weed out ignorant voters . Caller anybody can have their opinion, but to put Something Like that in effect just sounds too much like a communist or like hitler did. He took over the press, he took over everything. To me, that is a slippery slope. We are a free country and everybody has their rights, but i do believe there should be more of there to educate us. Andet so much to the left right, and that is why i do enjoy you guys. You state right down the middle, so there should be more education. Like i said, everybody has the right to their opinions, but to put Something Like that in effect, that is too close to becoming communist. Kevin int was minnesota. Back to davids oped in the Washington Post on may 20. Some of the will accuse me of peddling elitism, but i said the opposite is true. Unlike the many who depend on ignorant voters to wield and secure power, i refuse to believe that working class or underprivileged citizens are any less capable of understanding the meaning of the constitution or the contours of government. Are supercilious 1 is. I believe this despite the widespread failure of public schoolso teach civics. It is our responsibility as voters. We must also remember the ugly history of poll taxes and other methods that americans used to deny black citizens. Quote right to vote. In the effort to improve the itlity of the voting public, should ensure that all races, creeds, genders and sexual orientations of people of every socially economic background art innovated from voting went ignorant for the good of our democratic institution. He is with the federalist and prior to that, he was with human defense. Steve is in virginia on our agreed line. Steves, here is your test question what are two rights of everyone living in the United States . What are two rights of everyone living in the United States . The own a firearm and to own property. Property one is not necessarily here, but the right to their arms, read them of religion, freedom of assembly, petition government, freedom of speech and expression. Why do you agree that there should be a civics test for voters . Caller because when i was a student at the university of central florida, dated a poll on who were inople front of the main library and it was only one question how many senators does the state of florida led to washington . Onlywas 30 years ago, but 1 got that question right, the answer is two. Opinions ied with have had before that convinced me that we really needed to do something, and i lay the blame on an education establishment that has really gotten away from teaching people to read the constitution. It is very simple. I talk about politics all the time. Most people have no other idea what the constitution says and that is the root of the cause. Host that was steeped in virginia. Here is your bonus question, name one of the senators from your state. Caller tim katie. Host yes, sir. Tom is in new jersey. Tom agrees that there should be civics test and we should weed out ignorant voters. Fromis your question the u. S. Citizenship test, what is one promise you make when you become a u. S. Citizen . Caller to defend the constitution. Host that is correct. Give up loyalty to other countries, defend the constitution, obey the laws of the u. S. , served in the u. S. Military and be loyal to the United States. Those are the things that you promising to become a citizen. Why do you agree there should be a civics test for voters . Well, i agree that we should weed out ignorant voters by doing exactly what the previous caller said. The Education System has purposely destroyed just education in general. That is why they have to have all of these programs to remedy the ignorance that they instill in the Education System or indoctrination system. Host that is it . Caller well, i could go on. Host you have that opportunity. Caller well, the same people who are talking about this stuff are also importing the most ignorant voters possible. They have to import voters because [indiscernible] the same time, talk about mandating 16yearolds, some of the most ignorant people in the country to half to vote, so host who are they . Caller they are not to be trusted. The establishment, especially they talk out but of both sides of the amount all the time. The question is, who would make these decisions as to who passes the test . It is nothing they cannot manipulate with their own tyrannical sense. Host that was tom and this is john in pennsylvania. On the disagree line, here is your test question what are two ways that americans can participate in a democracy . Out andone, to get request against the government and the other is voting. Host voting, joint political party, joint acidic group, community group, kid an elected official beer opinion give an opinion,fficial your publicly support or oppose the policy, run for office and right to a newspaper. Those are the correct answers according to the test. Why do you disagree by taking such a civics test . Respect and all deference to the guy who wrote the article, i just disagree with the fundamental reasons. I do not think it is the voters who have the problem. They are obviously struggling with not getting educated in the Education System. They are struggling with not getting the correct information from the media, so i believe it is the parties, the democrats the stateicans at level, they organize voting precincts, open primaries, closed primaries, delegates, nondelegates, all this crazy stuff that people do not understand, so they are lucky that we have the small percentage of voters that we had because the process is rigged on both sides of the aisle against the voters, so i disagree with the test. I think we need to be testing the people who run the parties and say, why dont you want more voters . Why are you making it so difficult for people to vote . That is why i disagree with it. Host thank you. Pat is in new york city on our agree line. What is one reason colonists came to america . See, i guesslets for freedom of religion. That is correct. Religious freedom, economic opportunity, practice of religion and escaped persecution are the answers that a correct on this test. Tell us your opinion about we eding out ignorant voters. Anler my opinion is this is example of an oversimplified answer to another complicated situation. The goal is what we want to the means ofagain, getting there is just not practical. I think the problem lies really with the ignorance of many of the people who are in the socalled