Georgia Republican Rep. Rob Woodall registers the second-lowest grade level: 8.01.
An example of Woodalls speech: “What do they say about socialism, Mr. Speaker? Its a great plan until you run out of other peoples money. Guess what? Weve run out of other peoples money. I just want to show you a chart.”
Thats five sentences, an average of about 7.5 words per sentence.
“My mother will probably be embarrassed to hear this news,” Woodall says, “but Im glad to know Im not obfuscating our challenges with words that are too complicated.”
Woodall is part of the large freshman class that came into Congress in 2010 — many of them backed by the Tea Party movement. Sunlights Drutman says this infusion of new members looks to be part of the reason for the overall grade-level decline.
“Particularly among the newest members of Congress, as you move out from the center and toward either end of the political spectrum, the grade level goes down, and that pattern is particularly pronounced on the right,” he says.
Of the 10 members speaking at the lowest grade level, all but two are freshmen, and every one is a Republican. For the record, though, Drutman isnt passing judgment about whether speaking at a lower grade level is a good thing or a bad thing.
South Carolina Republican Mick Mulvaney ranks the very lowest, with a grade level of 7.94.
SOURCE Sophomoric? Members Of Congress Talk Like 10th Graders, Analysis Shows : Its All Politics : NPR.