This Politician's Trick-Or-Treat "Candy" Was Even Worse Than Those Lousy Pennies
The best part of Halloween as a kid (and, let's face it, as an adult) is getting your hands on a year's worth of sweet candy all in one night. Now imagine you're all dressed up as Captain Marvel ringing your neighbor's doorbell, and instead of being greeted with a king-size Snickers, you're handed some reading material. Well, South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford gave trick-or-treaters copies of the Constitution, because what is "fun," anyway? Seriously, I would've even settled for the the mini-size.
Chocolate bars, lollipops, M&M's, fistfuls of sugar, all are viable options to graciously hand to trick-or-treaters who come knocking on your door. But, instead of candy Sanford apparently thought it would be a good idea to hand out copies of the Constitution. I guess the thought was candy is fleeting satisfaction, but knowledge lasts forever? On Halloween, the Republican representative tweeted a picture of a basket of pocket Constitutions (I'll give him that at least he made it festive and put a witches hat on the basket) and wrote, "Happy Halloween. Accordingly, Pocket Constitutions are at the ready for today’s trick-or-treaters." Sanford basically just gave the kids homework instead of sweets. That's worse than those people who give you pennies, and I didn't think that was possible. Honestly, what is this world coming to?
While Sanford might have thought he came up with a pretty solid idea, people on Twitter had some predictions for how his little shtick might turn out.
There was this tweeter who figured out a use the kids might find for all that paper.
Another civilian was concerned about Sanford's property.
Want to know the best thing about neighbors? They're always there to lend a helping hand.
One of my favorites is this user, who pointed out that he shouldn't be so stingy, everyone wants the full size.
Some other tweeters felt that kids weren't the perfect target audience for the Constitutions, and had some better suggestions on where to send them.
Even the dictionary felt the need to step in and explain the holiday to Sanford. In response to the politician's basket of Constitutions, Dictionary.com tweeted the definition of Halloween. They wrote,
Halloween. Noun. The evening of October 31: observed especially by children in costumes who solicit treats, often by threatening minor pranks
While everyone was throwing shade at Sanford, it could be that Sanford was throwing some shade of his own — at President Donald Trump. Sanford is well-known as being a prominent Republican critic of Trump. In 2017, he told Politico that Trump “represents the antithesis, or the undoing, of everything I thought I knew about politics, preparation and life.” Earlier this year, Sanford lost his first election when he was beat out by Rep. Katie Arrington, a Trump-endorsed candidate, in the Republican primary, according to CNBC.
It could be that Sanford, like those who tweeted to send the Constitutions to the White House, could just be throwing general shade about his dislike of Trump. Just a day before Halloween, Trump said in an interview with Axios that he wants to end birthright citizenship, which gives automatic citizenship to babies born in the United States, with an executive order. But, as NPR points out, birthright citizenship is a right under the 14th Amendment — which is part of the *cough* Constitution — and it will almost certainly take more than just an executive order to get rid of it. Sanford thinks Trump might know that if, let's say, he had a Constitution handy.
It might not be a good idea to give kids reading material on Halloween, but if Sanford meant it for some well-executed shade, then maybe it's worth some egged windows and TP-ed trees.
