George Santos broke this Ethics Alarms distinction last year, but I still can’t let Georgia State Senator Emanuel Jones get off scot free. I’m not even awarding him “Incompetent Elected Official of the Month” for smearing Clarence Thomas as an “Uncle Tom.” That slimy tactic is well-worn, far from original, and a lazy cliche, as stupid and wrong as it is. MSNBC’s Joy Reid, among other hacks, has used it. The theory seems to be that there is an ongoing race war between blacks and whites, so any black appointed or elected official , including a judge, who doesn’t defy the ethical obligation to serve the whole public and not abuse their position by favoring his own race is an “Uncle Tom.”

I really can’t designate a black state senator “Incompetent” for saying that, since apparently a large number of black voters approve of such divisive and dastardly rhetoric. They are the true incompetents.

No, Jones is more incompetent than the others who have used this lazy slur. Oh, he’s a racist, all right: in the same speech that got him today’s distinction, he said,  “Y’all just don’t get it. And I don’t expect people of non-color to get the sensitivity that we feel.” Nice. But he really scored with his casual admission that he didn’t know the origin of the term “Uncle Tom” or whether Uncle Tom was a real or fictional character.

This is epic. He is a black man in the United States. He is a state senator. He is, like almost all Democratic representatives who are black, he is constantly evoking slavery and racism. As a representative of citizens in a republic, he is presumed to be minimally educated about this nation, its history, its culture and its most important individuals and events. Yet he never read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which played a pivotal role in ending slavery. The book, by a white woman, lit the fuse that exploded into the Civil War. It is not only the most important novel in U.S.history, it is the most important book of any kind in U.S. history. Never mind “read,” this dummy never even heard of  “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” qualifying him as a genuine illiterate.

I didn’t think anyone could top former GOP National Chairman Michael Steele’s claim that “War and Peace” was his favorite book and then thinking he was quoting Tolstoy by saying, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” but Jones did it. Heck, I bet he’s never heard of “War and Peace” or “A Tale of Tow Cities,” if “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” has escaped his notice.

What a fine job by the American educational system! Today, to be fair, I doubt teachers have time to teach students about Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel when the priorities are telling them that they live in a racist society, explaining how they can change their genders before puberty, and indoctrinating them regarding “social justice” and climate change hysteria.

What was especially impressive about Jones’ self-unmasking as an ignoramus was that he didn’t even realize that calling Clarence Thomas an “Uncle Tom” without knowing what the term referred to was something he should be embarrassed about. It is also signature significance that knowing he was going to use the term, Jones didn’t even see the need to check. It’s a five minute Google search!

This means that even Don Lemon is more competent than Emmanuel Jones.