SHARE THIS: Rep. Mark Takano, A Former Teacher, Gives Republican Letter An ‘F’

Mark Takano

As a member of the Democratic minority in the House of Representatives, Congressman Mark Takano (D-CA) may not be able to do anything about his Republican colleagues’ refusal to pursue comprehensive immigration reform. But if they’re going to kill the Senate’s bill, he can at least force them to make a strong argument for doing so.

When Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) began circulating a letter complaining about the Senate bill, Rep. Takano — who spent 23 years as a public school teacher in Riverside, California — took out his red pen and went to work on his colleague’s “weak draft.” The result? A failing grade, and a note to “see me after votes.”

Takano Paper

(See a full-size image here.)

“The assignment was to address what should be done about the 11 million people already here. Did you purposefully leave this out?” Takano asks in the “follow up questions” section. “If you don’t understand the bill – come by my office and I’ll explain it.”

Maybe if more congresspeople had teachers like Takano, the people’s House wouldn’t have an approval rating mired in the teens.

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