Spaceman-Turned-Politician Can Call Himself 'Astronaut' On Ballot

New submitter si622test1 writes "A judge has determined that the ex-astronaut-turned-politician who was sued by California Republicans for putting 'astronaut' as his occupation while running for Congress will be allowed to do so, saying that Hernandez is an astronaut for 'more than the time spent riding a rocket.'"

Comments

Astronaut Jose Hernandez congressional candidate

[voidmstr]

We wrote him a song (music video) http://pocho.com/this-is-ground-control-to-major-juan-song-for-a-latino-astronaut/

Hmmm

[SJHillman]

Misread the name of his opponent as Jeff Dahmer at first. That would have been an interesting race.

Re:Hmmm

[Endo13]

I misread it as Jeff Dunham at first, which would also have been interesting.

On topic, I'm glad this guy won this case. I'm not a democrat, but I have high respect for astronauts, whether current or former, and I support his right to use that as his occupation if he wishes.

Re:Hmmm

[Quiet_Desperation]

Except that Dahmer is dead and cannot run for office. This is California, not Chicago.

Re:Hmmm

[luis_a_espinal]

Shows how both parties are aware just how ignorant the voters can be sometimes, "oh I'll just vote for the astronaut". I have no issue with using the title after leaving NASA though, however if he'd been gone for decades 'former' or 'retired' might be in order but it's not worth the attention and a court battle in view, sounds like it was indeed where his last paychecks were coming from.

Funny though the guy wants to go from one of the most respected jobs in the US to running for one of the least respected jobs.

Maybe because he cares and wants to make a difference? We need more like them, and us not having enough of them is really not funny at all. The lack of scientists, engineers and technocrats in our ruling halls of power is a sad indictment of not only our government institutions, but of society as a whole.

Re:Hmmm

[spire3661]

And all of those are wrong. We have strong reasons for disallowing of titles in this country. YOu are not supposed to call a non-active Senator, Senator, its not a lifetime title. Newt is no longer Mr. Speaker.

Re:Hmmm

[icebike]

These are not titles, and certainly not entitlements.

Senator, General, Admiral, Judge, are simply a Rank, or Job Description. They differ from Duke, Count, King, in that they are something you EARN, by bullet, ballot, study, or just hard work. One's contribution to society via these professions are simply recognized as an honorarium. These are utterly different than titles in the British sense.

the astronaut party and the space-cadet party

[TheGratefulNet]

which are you going to vote for?

shameful what the republicans stoop to. I know both parties are scum but the repubs just seem to redefine what scum means.

fight any way you can, right? do whatever you can to win.

this is the US, in a nutshell.

Re:the astronaut party and the space-cadet party

[sycodon]

Yeah!

Next thing ya know, they will be spilling the court sealed details of their opponents divorce records or something.

Re:the astronaut party and the space-cadet party

[ColdWetDog]

And it's likely to backfire on the Republicans. You've just given him a bunch of perfectly free publicity of the worst sort - your opponent comes off as the good guy. Likely a significant fraction of the voting population would never had cottoned on to the fact that he is / was an astronaut. Now everybody knows. And if there is a generic hero in the 21st Century, it's got to be astronauts.

Even if you don't really care about NASA and space exploration, astronauts still have a pretty good (albeit not totally unblemished) reputation.

Nice work, bozos.

Re:the astronaut party and the space-cadet party

[Phreakiture]

Per Wikipedia (usual disclaimers go here), Eisenhower's years of service in the Army were continuous up to the year of his inauguration, and resumed when he left office.

Anybody know different?

Re:the astronaut party and the space-cadet party

[CrimsonAvenger]

This is correct. Eisenhower was a soldier from 1915 till his inauguration, and became a General again upon leaving the White House.

Re:the astronaut party and the space-cadet party

[scot4875]

Very nearly anyone can get into the army. Listing "soldier" as an occupation isn't very impressive, and it can be downright misleading for someone who barely spent any time doing it.

Only the very best of the very best get to be astronauts. The dude earned the title and can list it wherever he pleases, regardless of what he's spent the previous decade(s) doing.

--Jeremy

Re:the astronaut party and the space-cadet party

[Darinbob]

These are California Republicans. They know they have no chance of winning the state but they do have a chance in the central valley where Hernandez is running. These CA guys have a habit of declaring that they lost the election because of voter fraud, immigrants voting illegally, and so forth. They do like to point out the letter of the law in election cases.

In this example there is a law that says something to the effect that you list your profession from the year before filing for an election. Hernandez left NASA over a year ago. So the question is whether or not "astronaut" can be listed if he's not employed as one. It's a tricky call at times. But there are people who run for a second term in office that list "educator" as their occupation on the ballot despite not having been a teacher for a couple years. So there's the idea of whether something is just your job versus your vocation.

Re:the astronaut party and the space-cadet party

[Ol Olsoc]

John Glenn provided us with a couple financial scandals that, at least for *this* voter, pretty much tarnished astronauts' squeeky-clean image forever.

Wait - What? Do you have a newsletter I can subscribe to? Since John Glenn had some part in something, it flows backwards, and now all astronauts are likewise guilty?

I guess you believe that all Republicans are members of the KKK then since Edward Jackson, the Governor of Indiana, was?

Of course they aren't. But when you try to extrapolate backwards you get weird inconsistencies. Try figuring out th eperson rather than saying "Astronauts are bad".

I think of astronaut as a formal title

[sandytaru]

It's more than just an occupation. You can say "I used to be an accountant" but, like being a Senator or a Congressman or the President, you've earned that title for the rest of your life.

Re:I think of astronaut as a formal title

[SJHillman]

In that case, I want to be Paper Delivery Guy Clerk's Assistant Dishwasher Warehouse Delivery Guy Resident Assistant Network Intern Network Consultant Steve!

I think I earned it. I was a damned good dishwasher.

Re:I think of astronaut as a formal title

[Analog Penguin]

Well, the fact that Hernandez has actually worked as an astronaut and been to space would be one thing that differentiates him from you.

Re:I think of astronaut as a formal title

[Adriax]

But admitting he was a destroyer of words would kill his polls in Überwald.

Re:I think of astronaut as a formal title

[fermion]

Put this in context. Most people choose what they call themselves. As long as they did so professionally, it seems to be ok. For instance, Reagan was considered an actor, although his his profession prior to politics was to organize acting labor against the studios.

Romney has been a politician for nearly 15 years but he still calls himself a job creator and businessman. Maybe the best business to be in politics.

Carly Fiorina has not been the CEO of anything in years, yet she is still considered an business executive more than a politician. Sarah Palin did not even complete one term as Governor before quitting, and she is called Governor.

This is a guy who has been into space, something that only maybe 500 people have done. He is an astronaut. Saying he isn't is sign of desperation.

Re:I think of astronaut as a formal title

[tqk]

Pay the russians to fly you to the ISS and you will be a legitimate astronaut.

You can buy that title.

There's "astronauts", and then there's "The Right Stuff." You can buy the former, but not the latter.

Re:I think of astronaut as a formal title

[SJHillman]

My college psych professor mentioned that even though he had a doctorate in psychology, he isn't legally allowed to call himself Dr. in NY state, but he can in some other states. Of course, we all called him Dr. Bob anyway. Best part about his class was virtual lab rats - no PETA to worry about so you could shock the living hell out of them.

Isn't that just nitpicking???

[mark-t]

I mean, if I do job X, oh... say, teaching, as a career and then resign to take up other interests, that doesn't mean I suddenly can't say that I'm a teacher when people ask me what I do for a living. My past careers are almost as much a part of who I am today as the one I'm in now.

Okay... maybe technically, it really should say "former austronaut", but like I said... I think that's just nitpicking at a detail that's entirely irrelevant.

Re:Isn't that just nitpicking???

[pympdaddyc]

I think that's just nitpicking at a detail that's entirely irrelevant.

Welcome to politics!

Re:Isn't that just nitpicking???

[Tassach]

This is in no way a predetermined part of politics.

Politics is about getting and retaining power. Anything that helps achieve this goal is by definition part of politics. Attacking your opponent is definitely a core element of the political process.

Sure, we can think about a utopian fantasy world where all politicians act for the public good, base policy on factual information and rational thought, eschew fallacious reasoning, Unfortunately, we live in the real world where fallacious arguments, propaganda, and outright lies are an indelible part of politics because they are highly effective tools for persuading/controlling people.

On the ballot

[Anonymous Coward]

What the Republicans really wanted to put on the ballot was, "Uppity Brown Guy who will date your daughter and raise your taxes".

Re:On the ballot

[Chris Burke]

I can see why they sued then, 'cus if he gets to put "Astronaut who will date your daughter" on the ballot they wouldn't have a fuckin' chance!

Inadvertent Steisand Effect

[Anonymous Coward]

Congrats, California GOP. If voters didn't know the Democratic candidate was a former astronaut, they certainly do now.

good grief

[Thud457]

What a bunch of petty goddamned assholes.
Why don't you spend some effort actually trying to help the country instead of yourselves?

Re:By the same logic

[fredrated]

By the same logic I can call myself a toddler.

If that was your profession, go for it.

Re:Ridiculous

[Anonymous Coward]

They could list themselves as "assive masshole", "corporate butt-whore", and such titles as well.

Re:Pretty Simple

[UnknowingFool]

According to NASA, he last flew in 2009 and left NASA in January 2011 which is fairly recent. Incidentally, what does NASA call people who went through training but had not yet been in space? I think NASA called then astronauts as well. I don't see why the Republicans or anyone should care that much about it. We still call Neil Armstrong an astronaut and he hasn't been to space in the last several decades.

Re:Incorrect.

[jdgeorge]

Actually, not so. According to the guardians of American social protocol, the form of address "President Lastname or Mister President" is reserved for the current president.

As a side note, there are a couple of interesting notes about the title in Wikipedia.

Political Thoughts

[boyfaceddog]

"Allowing a candidate out of nowhere to use the profession of 'astronaut' when he hasn’t served in that profession recently is akin to allowing someone to use a title of 'sailor' when they no longer own or operate a ship," California GOP spokeswoman Jennifer Kerns said in a statement, according to the Times.

Most people who call themselves 'sailor' don't own or operate a ship. I mean, I know what he thinks he's saying, but my gawd does this come off as arrogant and elitist. Do these guys eve listen to themselves?

Republicans do not believe "space" exists

[Al in SoCal]

It's more heresy from the Godless heathen Democrats and their witches brew called "science".