Let’s start with some full disclosure: A GED is a great way for someone who struggled with school to complete their primary education. Your humble author has his GED (and a couple of degrees that came after it), and offers no judgment on the circumstances that might lead to getting a GED rather than finishing school.
All that said, there’s something disconcerting about knowing that Representative Lauren Boebert, a “family values” arch-conservative dropped out of high school her senior year due to pregnancy and didn’t bother to get her GED until literally months before she took office in Congress. We’re all about the notion that anyone can achieve whatever they want. But thinking about being governed by someone with zero experience and apparently zero desire to gain any before running for office is troubling.
The topic came up when a tweet from way back in February began recirculating in the form of a screenshot:
Ironically, the GOP has repeatedly gone after New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who worked as a waitress and a bartender prior to joining the federal government, over her supposed lack of experience. But AOC got degrees in international relations and economics before her campaign for NY’s 14th District.
By contrast, Boebert, who also worked in the service industry before her time in Congress, has as a claim to fame the lie that someone was “beat to de*th” outside her restaurant, causing her to get a concealed carry permit and encourage her patrons to open carry g*ns. The truth was actually much different [1]. She also sickened almost 100 people with pork sliders from a temporary location of her restaurant that she set up at a county fair, so she seemingly didn’t even bother to get much experience in food service before jumping in, either.
Again, we won’t judge her level of education. But there’s definitely something dismaying about thinking of someone who literally just got her GED voting on, say, forgiving student loans, or public school funding.
