Outgoing Rep. Paul Broun (R-Not Soon Enough), got his name in the paper today for saying something ignorant and outlandish on the Rick Wiles radio program. Rick Wiles is a conservative wingnut welfare recipient who has dedicated his life and career to goading reality-challenged conservatives to spout extremist idiocy on air. Rep Broun is a regular there.
This time, Rep Broun, himself a physician, held forth on his evolving views on the Ebola "crisis" in America:
Barack Obama’s using the military to actually expose them which could expose further people across this country.
The military should have told Obama, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and all the military leaders should have said, ‘Mr. President, this is not a military function, do not do this, we’re not going to send our troops into harm’s way,’ because they have a responsibility to the troops and they could have told the president, ‘no, we’re not going to do this,’ and they should have.
Gee, I wonder why that never occurred to the Joint Chiefs? maybe it had to do with the
military's actual mission?
The U.S. military has already committed to building a 25-bed portable hospital in Liberia, but Obama is expected to announce the construction of 17 Ebola treatment centers in the region, with some 1,700 treatment beds. Along with building facilities to quarantine and treat Ebola patients, the U.S. military will train up to 500 local health workers a week to handle the disease and the crisis.
During the course of his ramblings on Ebola, Dr Broun managed to call CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden an “incompetent boob” who “needs to be removed ASAP."
I'm sure that came as a devastating blow to Dr Frieden's integrity and future job prospects. After all, the Honorable Paul Broun is not only an esteemed Congressman, he is also Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology's subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight [way to go, Republican leadership!] and he is a physician and Dr Frieden's colleague, to boot.
Given all of that, I'm sure that we can all agree that Dr Broun is in a unique position of authority to judge who's a boob in American medicine, a subject that he has addressed in greater detail on several other occasions:
But Ebola seems to be on Dr Broun's mind, a lot these days:
Rep. Paul Broun wants Americans to send money to help him stop travel from the Ebola-hot-spot countries of West Africa.
To that end, the congressman has:
. . . circulated an email through the Conservative Action Fund on Friday asking people to sign a petition in support of halting all commercial flights from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
And not just sign, but “please chip in $5 or $10” to help get the petition circulated.
As a doctor I know what a terrible and deadly disease ebola is, and I know that if we do not STOP EBOLA TODAY, we will be in a much worse situation very soon.
All of that fundraising effort despite the fact that Rep Broun lost his senate race primary to David Perdue, and will be leaving Congress promptly on December 31, 2014. Perhaps he's figured out a way to channel those petition-circulating-donations into a legal defense fund? because
this is a thing:
The bipartisan Office of Congressional Ethics has voted unanimously to pursue ethics charges against U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, Republican from Georgia. Broun, a self-styled champion of small government who claims to be guided by “Judeo-Christian Biblical principles”, is alleged to have misused $43,000 in taxpayer money to hire a consultant to coach him in public speaking, media interviews and debate tactics in preparation for his 2014 run for the U.S. Senate.
And this ain't Broun's first rodeo, either . . .
in 2013:
The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has named Senate candidate and U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Athens) to its list of the 13 most corrupt congressmen for his failure to adequately explain hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans to his campaign.
CREW has also named Broun in a
report on nepotism in Congress for reimbursing himself and his wife for $169,573 in campaign expenses, including mileage, dry cleaning, postage, office supplies, direct mail and advertising.
So much for governance guided by "Judeo-Christian principles."
Rep Broun has been howling at the moon from the Capitol rotunda for six years now, embarrassing even Republicans and conservatives. At one point, this year, the Republican Party was in a state of extreme agita over the possibility that Broun would wind up being nominated the Republican Senate candidate for Georgia:
. . . establishment Republicans—or whatever you want to call the collection of strategists, donors, and leaders who value retaking the Senate above all else—aren't forgetting what lies beneath. Because they know two things about Georgia's Senate race: Paul Broun can win the party's nomination, and if he does, the GOP will be saddled with its next Todd Akin.
The party can't bear a repeat, not while facing its last best shot at taking the Senate from Democrats. And not while it tries to rehabilitate its image before the 2016 presidential election, a contest Republicans are desperate to win. So GOP leaders are vowing to step in. And they're not only training their sights on Georgia. Just as Akin wasn't the only ham-handed GOP nominee —think Richard Mourdock in Indiana and Christine O'Donnell in Delaware—Republicans nationwide are on a search-and-destroy mission for candidates they fear could embarrass the party.
And embarrass the party, Broun surely would; here are just a few
highlights from his six years of contributions to the national discourse:
Broun: “There was absolutely no reason, whatsoever, for this administration to block access to the World War Two Memorial or the Lincoln Memorial. It’s never ever been done in a government shutdown prior to this administration doing so.”
Real World: Lincoln Memorial was indeed closed down during 1995 shutdown. WWII Memorial, built in 2004, didn't exist during any other shut down.
Broun: Our Constitution was written by men that believed that! And in fact, the Constitution’s written on Biblical principles — in fact, the three branches of government come right from Isaiah, Isaiah 33:22, go look it up!
Real World: Actually, no.
Broun: “There are a lot of scientific data that I’ve found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young earth, ”
Real World: Care to name a few, Congressman?
Broun: Funding NPR and Planned Parenthood is “Unconstitutional”
Real World: Which constitution would that be?
Broun: They used to talk about global warming — y’all might remember a few years ago they were talking about an ice age was coming. It’s the same folks, the folks who want to change America, want to rule America. They want to change us to a New World Order. President George Herbert Walker Bush, remember, very openly said he wanted to have a New World Order. And all of these things are a progression of their outward efforts to destroy America, to destroy our freedom … The John Birch Society is trying very hard to get the right people elected to Congress. There are very few of us –very few.
Real World: nuff said?
During an appearance on a radio job, he shrugged off the firing of 250,000 public employees that would’ve resulted from failing to hike the debt ceiling. He said they should get a “real job.” Does Broun not realize he is one? [6/7/2011]
Broun: The Civil War Was A “War Of Yankee Aggression,” Which Is Just Like Health Reform
Real World: Categorically and historically BS
Broun: We Should Repeal The 16th And 17th Amendments To Stop The “Socializing” Of America.
Real World: huh?
Broun: It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he’s [Obama] the one who proposed this national security force. I’m just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism.
"That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did," Broun said. "When he's proposing to have a national security force that's answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he's showing me signs of being Marxist."
"We can't be lulled into complacency," Broun said. "You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I'm not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I'm saying is there is the potential.
Real World: Yep. does sound a bit crazy. That civilian force that Obama was referring to? was an expansion of federally-funded Americorps-type public service programs that would perform shady functions like giving tuition vouchers to college students who tutor school children, feed the homeless and assist the elderly. Obama uber Alles, for sure, Dr Broun.
Fortunately, elections do have consequences and Dr Broun is on his way out [much to the relief of the Republican party, I'm sure]. Unfortunately, the constituents of Broun's old district have ferretted out an even nuttier piece of work to succeed Broun. That would be one Jody Hice . . . a story for another time.
Meanwhile, it looks like Broun will be out of office but still having quite a bit to say about keeping America exceptional:
The Americus camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans has announced that Broun will be putting his taxpayer-subsidized communications skills to work as their guest speaker on Nov. 9 at their annual memorial service for Capt. Henry Wirz, whom they describe as a Southern hero and martyr.
Wirz was commandant of the infamous Andersonville Prison Camp, where 13,000 Union soldiers died from malnutrition and disease. He was later convicted of murder and other charges and hung as a war criminal.
My point? please, please, please vote. It's the only way to innoculate our society against the Dr Brouns of the world. And, Dr Broun? really? glass houses? stone-throwers? leave poor Dr Frieden alone -- he's actually trying to do something constructive.