10th District congressional candidate and Henry Rollins lookalike Jody Hice has positioned himself as Rep. Paul Broun’s successor, calling himself a “constitutionalist,” adopting Broun’s four-way test and frequently waving around a small copy of the Constitution at campaign stops.
One of Hice’s six Republican opponents, Stephen Simpson, called him on it during an Atlanta Press Club debate on Sunday.
Simpson prefaced his question by noting that Hice wants to repeal the 16th and 17th amendments (legalizing the income tax and the direct election of senators).
“What’s your position on the 19th and 26th amendments?” Simpson asked.
“Can you tell me what they are?” Hice responded.
“I’m not the one who says he’s an expert; you are,” Simpson said.
Hice then pulled out his pocket Constitution and tried to sneak a glance at it underneath the podium.
“I never claimed to be a constitutional scholar,” he said. “I claim to be a constitutionalist. A constitutionalist doesn’t mean someone who has the Constitution memorized.”
Fast-forward to 23:23 for the video.
For the other non-constitutional scholars among us, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, and the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
After a couple of follow-up questions, we determined that Simpson knows that, and Hice is in favor of both.
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