The politics of fear is alive and well. One of our very own congressmen, Republican Louie Gohmert (TX-1), has actually suggested a a new terrorist attack in New York City would be welcomed by Democrats as a means of creating jobs.
That's right, an elected official has stated a political party wants an act of terrorism and Americans to lose their lives so the United States can create more jobs.
Of course, Gohmert made his first radical and ridiculous statement on the Republican Party Network Fox News.
As if that wasn't enough, he then went on the House floor and attacked the President and community organizers as he patronized the American families who lost friends and loved ones on 9/11.
Gohmert's incentive and outrageous statements haven't gone unnoticed. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released a statement responding to Gohmert.
"Congressman Louie Gohmert's outrageous comments not only insult the victims of 9/11 and their families but also offer the latest evidence that the Republican Party has been taken over by right-wing extremists. House Republicans should immediately condemn Congressman Gohmert's offensive remarks.
"Whether they're attending 'tea party' rallies featuring Holocaust imagery, comparing health insurance reform to terrorism, or staying silent about plans to burn public officials in effigy, the tenor from House Republicans grows more alarming by the day.
"It's long past time for the House Republican Leadership to speak out against this disturbing pattern of increasingly extreme rhetoric from their ranks and engage in the constructive search for solutions that America's many challenges demand."
Gohmert's insane accusations and unfounded rants are not becoming of any elected officials. He owes the people of Texas, families of 9/11, and his district a real and heartfelt apology. You can contact Mr. Gohmert here if you would like to ask him why he is pandering to the fanatical wing of his party and why he is focused on the politics of fear.
Despite the fact that Texas boasts the highest number of uninsured residents, all Texas Republicans in the U.S. Congress voted against health care reform that would guarantee coverage for the vast majority of Texans.
All Republicans continue to spin health care industry manufactured talking point garbage about HCR.
Showing their lack of honesty and the courage to cope with much needed change in this crucial area, Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich, mired in the same ol' out-of-touch GOP talking point silly nonsense and everything disingenuous, actually had the nerve to co-author an editorial in the Washington Post that extolled the virtues of states taking charge of health care.
They used Texas, of all places, as a shining example of the finest state run health care industry with choices for all.
Surely Rick and Newt are kidding. Surely they know they are insulting the intelligence of every Texan who knows better.
But, Rick and Newt don't really know that they are insulting our intelligence because they are completely out of touch with any reality that resides outside of their air tight bubble.
Texas, for example, has adopted approaches to controlling health-care costs while improving choice, advancing quality of care and expanding coverage. Consider the successful 2003 tort reform. Fewer frivolous lawsuits have attracted record numbers of doctors to the state as medical malpractice insurance premiums dropped by half. Christus Health, a large Catholic nonprofit system with a significant presence in Texas, spent about $100 million on liability defense payments in 2003. Last year, Christus spent $2.3 million on such payments. Much of that savings has gone into expanding health-care services in low-income neighborhoods.
Choice? Really? I didn't get a choice to choose anything other than that which is offered to me by my employer.
As we can see, it always comes down to those evil doing trial lawyers in Texas who might actually hold a robbing cheater accountable for stealing life from patients by denying the care that they need, deserve and pay for.
You might think Washington would be curious about plans to provide more low-income Texans with insurance, reduce expensive emergency-room visits for basic care and make it easier to buy into employer-sponsored insurance. Unfortunately, Washington has failed for 18 months to give Texas permission to use Medicaid dollars for these policies.
Silly boys, many small businesses cannot offer health care insurance b/c it is far too expensive.
Perry, of course, wants to steal money from the poor who are entitled to Medicaid and give it to his buddies in small business. Do you think for a minute small businesses would use the Medicaid bucks to insure their poorer employees in these dire times when banks will not lend them the money to increase inventories or meet payrolls? I kind of don't think so. At least not under the present conditions in which health care insurance coverage is off of the affordability charts.
Knowing what we know about Rick Perry, meet his Republican soul mates who voted against health care reform. And meet the few brave and principled Democrats who stepped up to answer the cries from their constituents. The picture below is not pretty.
Further proving his idiocy, Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler, on the floor of the US House, linked Tuesday's massive drop in the stock market to Rep. Murtha and the Democratic Congress.
Think Progress has the video from the floor. Take a moment and go watch it. Rep. Gohmert doesn't seem to understand that it might be a good idea to vet your comments through someone smart before announcing them to a national stage.
Here's a copy of the transcript:
GOHMERT: You know, over the last 12 years, the Democrats have been in the minority, Republicans have been in the majority. The economy boomed in the late-90's. We had this tragic event on 9/11. It should have sent this country in a terrible depression, but this Congress, Republican majority, pushed through tax cuts that has allowed the economy to rebound and be robust and provide jobs and better standard of living. And in two months of talking about raising taxes and more regulation and we are not - one committee chairman talking about how he's going to undermine the President's national security policy - two months! - we have this terrible damage to the stock market, to the economy. Unbelievable. They were saying last night on the news that this is the biggest drop since 9/11. In two months of talking about all these new plans, we are going to cost people jobs. I just encourage my friends across the aisle, be careful. We built a great economy. Don't blow it quite so quickly.
Most analysts, who bothered to read books and articles and some of that hard stuff, have linked Tuesday's stock market drop to the Chinese market, to Alan Greenspan's comments, and, well oil prices that continue to fluctuate due to instability in the middle east.
Louie Gohmert is the worst kind of congressman: smug, uninformed, totally partisan, and uninterested in working for the greater good if it doesn't in some way score political points for him and against his opponents. East Texas deserves better.
Update: Louie Gohmert was named to Keith Olbermann's Worst Person in the World countdown. Gohmert was identified as the "Worser" person of the day for his idiotic comments, bringing the silver medal all the way back to District 1. We're all so proud. Here's the link.
U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert of Tyler met with the Lions Club of Hallsvile in Longview on Monday night. While there, he discussed many of the issues facing the nation and East Texans, including high gas prices, drilling of natural resources in the region, a short time on the war in Iraq, and of course his favorite topic: immigration.
Gohmert found himself in wading in head level waters of his own making while discussing immigration and Mexico in general. I don't know where to start with his remarks, other than to just provide them to you.
Returning to the topic of unused natural resources, he emphasized the importance of tapping into the resources available in the U.S. to make the country less dependent on foreign oil.
He also said the U.S. had become a prosperous nation, while its neighbor Mexico is still considered a third-world country. Gohmert said the natural resources of the two countries aren't that different.
"The difference," he said. "We are a nation of laws. As imperfect as our system is, we are still the most law-abiding nation in the world."
He praised Mexican people for being hard working, but he said they live in a land of lawless corruption.
I guess my first thought is, who wrote this rambling crap for Gohmert? Second thought, wonder if the 2.1 million people in lock up in the United States think we are the most law-abiding nation in the world?
I sure am glad Gohmert could clear up those questions for everyone. U.S. vs. Mexican resources...basically equal. And, since Mexicans are hard working, what could the problem possibly be? Well, its just that while the US is law abiding, Mexico is just a place of lawlessness and corruption. Way to speak in generalities and with such depth. Exactly what you want out of a US Congressman. Paging: Non-idiot to run against this guy.
