The Issue: Widespread ignorance among politicians about issues, like gun control, that they vote on.
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I think IQ testing for our elected representatives would be a good idea, though I suspect Rep. Diana DeGette’s recent gaffe is best chalked up to cluelessness and arrogance rather than stupidity (“We Need an IQ Test for Politicians,” Glen Harlan Reynolds, PostOpinion, April 8).
We could eliminate the need to submit our representatives to IQ or drug testing if we looked at our own responsibility in electing them.
We should subject voters to a political-knowledge test before allowing them into their polling place — a simple, easy, 10-question test with a passing grade of 70, aimed at discovering how much, if anything, voters know about what they are voting for.
Carl Semencic
West Hempstead
IQ tests are not like chess moves that involve thinking five steps ahead, or that require strong cognitive skills. They actually measure how fast one can do mundane operations, like counting change or remembering details.
Unfortunately, many intellectuals are people who can do a lot of foolish things at record speed.
We have enough IQ in politics. We need real minds, not faster processors with buggy software. Kent Nebergall
Chicago
Since Reynolds is so picky about DeGette’s misuse of terms, perhaps he should check his own.
Bullets are not loaded into magazines. Rather, cartridges, containing both gunpowder and bullets — the actual projectile that causes the real damage — are what he is trying to describe.
It is not unusual to confuse the terms, but Reynolds should set a higher standard for himself if he’s going to criticize others.Walt Coleman
Hamden, Conn.