Red states vie for title of "Most Ignorant"

Man, oh, man!

It seems that the red states (those states that went for Mad Johnny McCain in the last presidential election) are each trying to outdo the others to attain that coveted redneck title, "Most Ignorant."  Consider:

• Oklahoma, already a serious contender by virtue of its troglodyte US Senator James Inhofe (who calls global-warming a "hoax") strengthened its bid when tea-baggers and Republicans in the state legislature advocated the formation of a state militia to defend against "improper federal infringements on state sovereignty."  Tea-baggers in the Sooner state are ready and willing to play army in the woods, just like the Hutaree, if it means they don't have to have health care.
  
  
• Texas, a perennial favorite by virtue of having launched the political career of no less ignorant a figure than Junior Bush, continued to display considerable strength by handing a Republican party primary victory to neo-confederate Governor Rick Perry for this year's gubernatorial election.  And the Texas State Board of Education has contributed mightily to the effort with its crayola-crayon revisions of history.
  
  
• Alaska, after showing promise early, fell out of the running when the Queen of Tea-bagging, Sweet Sister Sarah, resigned the governorship mid-term, amid sagging approval ratings.  Apparently, Alaskans just aren't ignorant enough for Alaska to be a real Red state.
  
  
• But my pick for the most ignorant of tea-bagging red states goes to Arizona.  I mean, guys like US Senator Jon Kyl and Mad Johnny don't come along every day.  (And let's not even mention that beacon of enlightenment, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.)  But Arizona has pulled out all the stops to win the title of America's "Most Ignorant" with two recent actions by its state legislature:
   
1. The state house passed a resolution requiring presidential candidates to show a valid birth certificate in order to be listed on the state ballot for elections.  This is a direct pander to those tea-baggers that cling to the idea that President Obama was not born in the United States and, therefore, is not legitimately the president.  Further, it is an insult, intended in the most personal of terms, to the President himself. 
   
   
2. Both houses of the legislature passed a bill, now awaiting signature by the state's Republican governor, aimed directly at Latinos.  The new bill would give law enforcement officers in that state the authority (indeed, the obligation!) to demand proof of citizenship from anyone for whom those officers have "reasonable suspicion" of being in violation of US Immigration law. 

Does anyone imagine that the Arizona state legislature was motivated in either of these actions by anything other than racism?  Already, Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva is calling for an economic boycott of his own state if (Republican) Governor Jan Brewer signs the anti-Latino legislation into law.

But redneck ignorance in Arizona is potent stuff.  Recall that Arizona was a long holdout against recognizing Martin Luther King's birthday as a holiday, even when it cost the state millions in lost income due to the relocation of 166 conventions and Superbowl XXVII as a result.

There are millions of good, decent people that live in red states, of course.  But, unfortunately, they don't hold sway.  Instead, the face that red states present to the world, is the face of ignorance, bigotry, and prideful stupidity.  Half-assed Klansmen.  The kind of people that mutter insults at you under their breath, then deny it when confronted.  Vile, cowardly people.

Rock on, you Red State numb-skulls!