In 2015, in 2016, as well as 2017, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” published profiles of the sitting U.S. House Representative from North Carolina’s 9th District, Robert Pittenger, who first won election in 2012, and has gone on to be one of the worst commenters on LGBT rights in Congress. In September of 2014, Pittenger discussed ENDA, and compared businesses having the ability to fire workers for their sexual orientation to also having the freedom to establish bans on smoking in the workplace. A month later, Pittenger was fretting over the threat of Ebola and calling for a travel ban to Africa (which experts only said would help spread the disease). In 2016, Pittinger discussed protesters in Charlotte upset about the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, and dismissed them by saying they just “hate white people because white people are successful and they’re not”, which is a nice blended cocktail of racism and insensitivity. In February of 2015, Pittenger also teased some Godwin’s Law potential when he gave his opinion on negotiations with Iran over their nuclear program, comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Winston Churchill, and President Obama to Neville Chamberlain. Within a few more months, he went full-on Godwin’s Law, and declared Iran to be “Hitler with nuclear arms”, which is amazing because partly in thanks to a nuclear treaty that Pittinger himself opposed, Iran wasn’t planning on having any. At a July 2015 prayer rally featuring such CSGOPOTD luminaries as Louis Gohmert, Dave Daubenmire, Trent Franks, and E.W. Jackson, Pittenger declared that his “primary mission in Congress is to be an Emissary of Christ”, which probably means he’s not too keen on that whole separation of church and state thing we’ve got. Other than that, Pittenger has had a conservative record that is one of the hardest to the right in all of Congress, including a vote for the 2013 Government Shutdown, attempts to ban abortion at 20 weeks without rape or incest exceptions, and an attempt at defunding Planned Parenthood that saw him take to the floor of the house to claim they profit from the “sale of little baby body parts”. Which were the key words that are believed to have served as a stochastic terror trigger to make Robert Lewis Dear snap and shoot up a Planned Parenthood clinic few months later.
Pittenger’s heartless streak has continued into the new session of Congress, where he tried defending the GOP’s new healthcare plans that would allow insurance companies to refuse to cover pre-existing conditions at the state level, justifying that because “People can go to the state that they want to live in. States have all kinds of different policies and there are disparities among states for many things: driving restrictions, alcohol, whatever. We’re putting choices back in the hands of the states.”
See? It’s easy… just pack up and move to whatever state is left to provide you with good healthcare. Oh, and if you need to speak with your representative about this terrible idea and you’re from North Carolina’s 9th? Well, good luck. He hosted one town hall and decided to hold it over the radio, with calls from angry constituents being screened out for him. Maybe they’ll really have something to talk about, as their Congressman is praising Donald Trump and deriding the media, even after Donald Trump, Jr. posted proof he colluded with Russians on Twitter. His actual take:
”It’s just another story in the media’s neurotic, weekly tabloid obsession of Trump-Russian collusion.”
Yeah, really? Why would ANYONE be upset that the president’s son, his son-in-law, and campaign manager and most of his senior campaign staff were potentially committing treason (and have been confirmed to colluded with Russia)? BIG DEAL, PEOPLE.
Robert Pittenger, however, will no longer darken the doors of Congress come 2019, as he became the first incumbent member of the House GOP to lose in a primary this year back in May. We here at CSGOPOTD wish him the finest “Good Riddance, you bastard,” that we can muster.
One Year Ago, July 15th, 2017: Robert Pittenger (NC)… 2017 Update
Two Years Ago, July 15th, 2016: Robert Pittenger (NC)… 2016 Update
Three Years Ago, July 15th, 2015: Robert Pittenger (NC)… Original Profile
Four Years Ago, July 15th, 2014: Christine O’Donnell (DE)