a.k.a. “The Exterminator”Delay is the relatively notorious politician who blamed the Columbine shootings on the fact that the school taught the students about evolution. Seems to be a fair anniversary loon.
DeLay is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district until 2006. He was the GOP House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when legal problems forced him to step down (he was charged with but never convicted of criminal violations of state campaign finance laws and money laundering). He claimed that the legal prosecution bears striking resemblances to the strategies of certain infamous regimes: “It’s the same process. It’s the same criminalization of politics. It’s the same oppression of people. It’s the same destroy people in order to gain power. It may be six million Jews. It may be indicting somebody on laws that don’t exist. But, it’s the same philosophy and it’s the same world view.” His nickname stems from his former employment in pest control.
More accurately, DeLay is a huckster, a born-again Christian with a martyr complex, who claims that he and other Christians are persecuted in today’s US. He doesn’t believe that there is anything such as a valid separation between church and state.
DeLay has also given voice to the birfer conspiracy, although one suspects that he doesn’t actually believe it (rather, he panders to the most delusional of GOP’s wingnut supporters). His view of evolution is summarized by his shock that some scientists could claim that man is descended from pond parasites (“Our school systems teach the children that they are nothing but glorified apes who are evolutionized [sic] out of some primordial soup.”). And, as already pointed out, he also claimed that the Columbine shootings were to be blamed on the fact that the school was teaching evolution.
Calls the Environmental Protection Agency “the Gestapo of the government” and rejects AGW for what appear to be religious reasons.
Some quotes here and here.
Diagnosis: Widely renowned for his questionable moral behavior and general punditry, this guy is also a real, unhinged loon (rather than merely spineless like his invertebrate forefathers). He still has some bite, although he can probably be considered relatively neutralized by now.
You can't forget the Abramoff scandal, in which DeLay stopped legislation banning sex shops and sweatshops that forced employees to have abortions in the Northern Mariana Islands.
ReplyDeleteQuestion is to what extent this is an example of lunacy rather than vileness - being vile isn't sufficient to be a loon. For example, Karl Rove and Dick Cheney aren't loons, really (I'm uncertain about Ann Coulter - her political views is one thing, but she has said nice things about Dembski).
ReplyDeleteAt least he seems to be neutralized for good now - he fancies himself some kind of martyr, but I do suspect even the far reaches of the right wing will be hesitant about associating themselves with him
ReplyDeleteThis is truly something to be thankful for.
ReplyDeleteLike Chuck Colson before him, DeLay seems to try to gain recognition as a voice of morality. At the same time he has joined forces with Jerome Corsi ...
ReplyDeleteHe also claims that God created the Constitution (apparently to get around the point that its writers were deeply immersed in secular morality and humanist ideals - they were really guided by God without knowing. Or he may go a full Barton and just deny that the Founding Fathers based the Constitution on Enlightenment, humanist principles.)