#382: Tom Tancredo

Tom Tancredo is a former Republican Congressman (Colorado). He ran for president in 2008, but didn’t make much of an impact. His main schtick, then as now, was to end all immigration (legal and illegal) to the US (including criticizing the Denver Public Library system for purchasing reading materials written in Spanish on the grounds that putting Spanish-speakers in a ‘linguistic ghetto’ would delay their integration into American society), and for receiving political contributions from the Federation for American Immigration Reform. He has also been linked to The League of the South. During his garbled opposition to the appointmen of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, he managed to claim that she is a racist, citing her Hispanic-American background as evidence. His defense of Robert Bork’s theocratic views is, if possible, even less coherent.

Tancredo is also a notable proponent of torture, and invoked, during the debates in the Republican primaries, Jack Bauer as a model of how to deal with terrorism suspects. He also advocated nuking Mecca in the event of more terrorist attacks against the US. He is a major teabagger, who currently represents the Constitution Party.

These features are arguably not sufficient to qualify him for an entry. So to make it clear to everyone that he is indeed a loon, Tancredo pointed out that “If his wife says Kenya is his homeland, why don't we just send him back?” Yes, he is a birther, and he does claim that Obama is a Muslim. Furthermore, in a 2007 debate among the ten candidates for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination, Tancredo was one of three who raised their hands when asked if anyone did not believe in the theory of evolution. (The others were Brownback and Huckabee.) He expands on his views here (more here).

Tancredo is also the founder of Team America PAC, and a notable abortion opponent, agreeing that the U.S. Supreme Court should repeal the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, adding that it would be “the greatest day in this country's history.” On gay rights, his position is summed up by: “You have to remember that we are always just one kooky judge away from actually having homosexual marriage forced on all the rest of us [no, Tom, no one will force you to marry gay] […] Therefore, we need, we absolutely have to have, a constitutional amendment that defines marriage.”

A list of his most notable achievments can be found here.

Diagnosis: complete moron; dangerous.