HB 1035, a bill by Rep. Valarie Hodges that would have mandated that schoolchildren in Louisiana be taught the Declaration of Independence, sailed through the House Education Committee with a 6-2 vote. But Wednesday, when the bill reached the floor of the House, it had a different fate – amid a torrent of squabbling, Hodges returned the bill to the calendar and it’s likely finished for the session.

The Louisiana House of Representatives has 61 Republican members out of 105, and yet it was apparent no consensus for a cornerstone of basic civics in the state’s public schools was available to the bill’s supporters.

And yet, the bill did serve to provide a bit of civic education for the people of Louisiana – although perhaps not the lesson Rep. Hodges was looking for.

What we found out was something many of us knew – namely, that Rep. Barbara Norton, a Democrat from Shreveport, isn’t a fan of our founding documents – and also is a barely sentient being.

Have a look at Norton’s cranky questioning of Hodges about the Declaration of Independence, and consider the prospects of Louisiana’s legislature contributing positively to the state’s civic progress…