(This cartoon image of Louie Gohmert is by Matt Wuerker at Politico.com.)If you are like me, the thought of Republicans taking control of both houses of Congress has put you in a depressing tailspin -- so I thought we could all use a little humor. And the craziest man in Congress, the man who never passes up an opportunity to say something stupid for the cameras, the man who makes other extremist Republicans nervous when he opens his mouth, has provided it for us.
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) has announced his candidacy for Speaker of the House, and he has even created a web page to promote his candidacy. I provided a link to that web page just in case you think that couldn't possibly be true. To Gohmert, John Boehner is a flaming liberal, and he even had the temerity to call him a "dictator". Saying as many as 30% of congressional Republicans could bolt from the GOP if Boehner is not ousted, Gohmert told Fox News:
“They are so fed up that we are not fighting for what we said, and if we don’t show them that, it’s going to devastate this country.”
Gohmert says he doesn't expect to be elected on the first ballot, but believes the party will turn to him for "leadership" after three or four rounds of voting.
Those of us who live in the world of reality have long suspected that Gohmert lives in a dream world of his own making -- a world where facts don't matter and nothing is too insane to be uttered by a public official. If you doubt that, then peruse these examples of Gohmert's rhetoric:
(On the IRS)
"We can put Obama on the defensive just by completely getting rid of the Internal Revenue code."
(On terror babies)
"[The children] could be raised and coddled as future terrorists [and] twenty, thirty years down the road, they can be sent in to help destroy our way of life."(On muslims in the Obama administration)
"This administration has so many Muslim Brotherhood members that have influence that they just are making wrong decisions for America."(On the oil pipeline)
"So when [caribou] want to go on a date, they invite each other to head over to the pipeline. ... So my real concern now [is] if oil stops running through the pipeline ... do we need a study to see how adversely the caribou would be affected if that warm oil ever quit flowing?"
(On the shooting in Aurora, Colorado)
"You know what really gets me, as a Christian, is to see the ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs, and then some senseless crazy act of terror like this takes place. ... We've threatened high school graduation participations, if they use God's name, they're going to be jailed ... I mean that kind of stuff. Where was God? What have we done with God? We don't want him around. I kind of like his protective hand being present."
(On cutting food stamps)
"It's not evil to cut food stamps. Some poor people are obese, so this will help them."
(On same-sex marriage)
"The problem is. . .when you say it's not a man and a woman anymore, then why not have three men and one woman, or four women and one man, or why not somebody has a love for an animal?"
(On the Attorney General testifying before a House committee)
"I cannot have a witness challenge my character! The Attorney General will not cast aspersions on my asparagus!"
