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December 17, 2012 News

Richard Dawkins: Herb Silverman for U.S. Senate

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December 17, 2012 News

Posted at 05:43 PM ET, 12/16/2012 By Richard Dawkins  

In South Carolina, when a U.S. senator resigns, the governor is responsible for appointing a replacement until the next election. Sen. Jim DeMint has opted to leave his post in order to join the Heritage Foundation, and Gov. Nikki Haley, a tea party Republican like the departing DeMint, is looking for his replacement.

My friend, professor Herb Silverman is no stranger to amiably tongue-in-cheek runs for public office (see his lovely autobiography, “Candidate Without a Prayer.” A few years ago he ran for governor of the Palmetto State for the sole purpose of testing the constitutional stipulation of the state that no person could be eligible for the office of governor who denied the existence of “the” Supreme Being (which supreme being, one can’t help asking: Baal?). When asked what would be his first act, in the unlikely event of his being elected, he characteristically replied, “Demand a recount.”

Now Silverman is again seeking high office. He is asking Haley to appoint him senator for the state. Joking he may be, he is actually extremely well qualified. His presence would constitute a significant increase in the average IQ of the Senate, and he is also a man of unusual good humor and goodwill, far outclassing many in that august body.

To read the rest of this Washington Post article, click here.

Herb Silverman is a member of the American Humanist Association Board of Directors, and founder and president of the Secular Coalition for America.

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