#569: Warren Chisum

Warren Chisum is a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives hailing from the Panhandle, and member the Texas Conservative Coalition, a consortium of rightwing nut jobs.

He is nationally known for his opposition to same-sex marriages and adoptions, as well as to hate crimes legislation – he fought tooth and claw to keep the sodomy laws on the books (and to emphasize his vileness, see this). In a similar vein he has repeatedly tried to establish requirements that parents have to provide their signatures in order for their children to take part in sex education (which would, one suspects, kinda defeat the purpose of such education), and in 2008, he announced that he would introduce a bill to prolong the waiting time in Texas to finalize a divorce. All in the spirit of liberty, of course.

Chisum’s abysmal levels of delusional ignorance is very much in evidence in the memo from Georgia state representative Ben Bridges he delivered in February 2007 attacking “the evolution monopoly in the schools,” and claiming that in teaching evolution, schools are indoctrinating students in the beliefs of the ancient Jewish Pharisees sect. In more detail, the memo claimed that “Indisputable evidence – long hidden but now available to everyone – demonstrates conclusively that so-called 'secular evolution science' is the Big-Bang 15-billion-year alternate 'creation scenario' of the Pharisee Religion ... This scenario is derived concept-for-concept from Rabbinic writings in the mystic ‘holy book’ Kabbala dating back at least two millennia,” and for good measure Chisum’s memo directed readers to the Fair Education Foundation Inc., an organization claiming that the Earth is not rotating or orbiting the Sun. Of course, Chisum didn’t read what he advocated before he advocated it (what would you expect), but his response when he finally read it wasn’t much less loonsome.

His dominionist leanings are rather well-documented as well (also here). And to continue in the same vein: with one Charlie Howard he submitted the act “relating to voluntary student expression of religious viewpoints in public schools” discussed here (also here).

Chisum didn’t seek reelection in 2012, trying instead to get elected for a seat on the Texas Railroad Comission, which he failed.

Diagnosis: Blatant, shameless Liar for Jesus with strong dominionist leanings, who wouldn’t hesitate to use every fallacy in the book to get his way. Hopefully neutralized, to an extent, by now.