It was one year ago that we published our original “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile of Justin Harris, a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives who we covered not so much for his radically socially conservative record or that he was a theocrat who wanted Bible studies to be an actual elective course in Arkansas schools, but for the fact that he was involved in a scandal where he adopted two girls, then decided they were afflicted by demons, tried performing exorcisms on them, and then “rehomed” them with a former employee who he had fired who then started molesting the girls (all the while, collecting subsidies on his adopted children, who he no longer had in his home). Revoltingly, nobody registered on the ballot against Harris, and this story broke almost literally at the deadline to file for the 2014 elections… so he won another term in office unopposed. Because “rehoming” adopted children was legal at the time in Arkansas, he was not found to have committed a crime, but ignored calls to resign from office during the scandal. In fact, the self-righteous tool got on social media to quote scripture about being unfairly accused, and the Lord would “laugh at the wicked”, showing us all that he felt HE was the real victim, here.
Our update on Harris at least contains good news… he is not running for re-election in 2016.
However, Republicans and conservatives in Arkansas seem way too comfortable with his sordid history, as somehow, don’t ask me how, Harris was given the its “Power Of Courage” award by “The Family Council Action Committee” for how he “demonstrated courage by standing strong in faith when situations were tough at the State Capitol and they did so with grace“ and was ”consistently a model of Christian values in his home, community, and church.”
Unless the FCAC was giving this award out ironically, I think they need their heads checked. Let’s just be glad that Harris will no longer be a fixture in government, at least.