I know, I know, I started Inmates of the Asylum to profile and bring to light the whackadoodles in the House GOP caucus that were not so well known to the public. And the subject of today's entry is certainly not an unknown, at least not to those who frequent here. Yet in the wake of his Akin-esque theories on rape pregnancy rates, I feel it's time to remind you all of just how offensive this guy really is. After all, it's easy to overlook him when he hails from a state like Arizona, full of Republicans who are racist, stupid, venal (and stupid), backstabbing cowards, conspiracy-peddling loons and crabby old men who like to blow shit up. But this past week has reminded us how truly offensive Rep. Trent Franks really is.
It's not like Franks is a newbie. He's haunted the House with his presence since 2002, where, thanks to the 2000 census, he won a newly-created and heavily Republican district (after a 1994 attempt at the House ended in a primary defeat at John Shadegg's hands). And ever since getting elected, he's never failed to get less than 59% of the vote. With such a secure seat at hand, is anyone surprised that he feels no sense of restraint or shame at saying offensive or asinine comments? (Or being one of the most conservative Republicans in the House during his tenure?) Because his list of bad behavior is rather extensive, especially on matters of abortion. To name just a few:
- His long and rather torturous love affair with the Birthers. This included plotting to sue Obama to release his birth certificate, then backing off and whining on Red State that it was all false and that he believed Obama was a citizen, but then saying he Obama still "acts un-American" even if he is one:
FRANKS: That solved the issue for me. I said, you know, I can’t — I believe he’s a natural born citizen of the United States under the Constitution. And therefore, even if he acts un-American and he seems to go against American interests, I’d still believe he’s a natural-born American citizen.
To paraphrase a quote from
Game of Thones: "You either embrace the birther game or you don't. There is no middle ground." Nice try, though.
- This further description of Obama from 2009:
"Obama's first act as president of any consequence, in the middle of a financial meltdown, was to send taxpayers' money overseas to pay for the killing of unborn children in other countries," said Frank. "Now, I got to tell you, if a president will do that, there's almost nothing that you should be surprised at after that. We shouldn't be shocked that he does all these other insane things. A president that has lost his way that badly, that has no ability to see the image of God in these little fellow human beings, if he can't do that right, then he has no place in any station of government and we need to realize that he is an enemy of humanity."
His poor spokesperson natural had to
try and cover for her boss and explain he only meant Obama was an enemy of "unborn humanity." Perhaps this should have been a clue that Franks shouldn't talk about abortion.
- But no. Witness his attempt to ban all abortions after 20 weeks in the District of Columbia, which included a hearing where he banned DC's Eleanore Holmes Norton from speaking. Because, you know, an Arizona male knows so much more about the topic than the woman representing the district in question. (This bill failed in the House, but he's since taken it national with his current bill, the one he made his recent stupid comments over. The man never learns.)
- He also has a thing about Muslims, including paranoia over the Muslim Brotherhood, peddling Frank Gaffney's conspiracy theories and backing Michelle Bachmann's inane anti-Muslim witch hunt. I hear he checks under the bed for scary Arabs too.
- And there's a reason why he's not included in the GOP's minority outreach either:
The African American populations has been decimated worse by abortions than by slavery, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) said in video released Friday.
Franks, an anti-abortion rights lawmaker and a staunch conservative, told liberal blogger Mike Stark that he thinks the abortion rate among African Americans is so high that it has a more adverse impact on their population than slavery did.
Here is a partial transcript:
In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long. And now we look back on it and we say "How brave were they? What was the matter with them? You know, I can't believe, you know, four million slaves. This is incredible." And we're right, we're right. We should look back on that with criticism. It is a crushing mark on America's soul. And yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted. Far more of the African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by policies of slavery. And I think, What does it take to get us to wake up?
Again, Trent, perhaps abortions are probably not your best subject. Care to try something else?
- But of course he doesn't, which is why he's in the trouble he's in today. And his response has been to beg for money to stop the mean abortionists from picking on him. But perhaps the GOP has wised up letting him be the point man for abortion, as they have quietly inserted exceptions for rape and incest in the bill and have also yanked the bill from Franks' hands, as he will no longer manage it on the House floor. (However, since the new manager is previous Inmate subject Marsha Blackburn, maybe they haven't learned all that much.)
Yep, that's Trent Franks. An ugly, vile man with a rather colorful history. What will he think of next? (I can't tell, but a safe bet it'll be about abortion somehow.)