He's a science denier, a birther, a proponent of the slippery slope argument that same-sex marriage would lead to legal protections for pedophiles—and he's Donald Trump's nominee to be the chief scientist at the Department of Agriculture. Did we mention that he—Sam Clovis—lacks any science credentials whatsoever? That's got Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer promising to go to the mat over Clovis’s confirmation. Huffington Post's Jennifer Bendery writes:
“President Trump should withdraw the Clovis nomination immediately,” Schumer said in a joint statement with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). “If President Trump refuses to withdraw Mr. Clovis, we will vehemently oppose his nomination and urge our colleagues from both parties to come together and summarily reject him as well.” [...]
“In this time of great division, our nation cries out for healing, unity and clarity on the path forward from our elected leaders,” the two senators’ statement said. “Unfortunately, for Donald Trump to nominate and to advocate for Senate confirmation of someone with views as backwards as Mr. Clovis’s, is not only a signal to the darkest and most evil forces in this country to carry on, but a clear as day message to the world that this administration continues to tolerate hate.”
As a conservative talk show host, Clovis promoted overtly racist theories about President Obama and his "clear narcissism."
Why have the American people not been exposed to his incredible flaws? Could it be that the first African-American president is being given a pass because he is Black?
In 2014, he wondered what might come next after marriage equality.
Are we going to protect pedophilia?
And here's a glimpse of his grounding in science.
“I am extremely skeptical,” Clovis said in a May 2014 interview on Iowa Public Radio, when asked about climate change. “I have looked at the science and I have enough of a science background to know when I’m being boofed. And a lot of the science is junk science. It’s not proven; I don’t think there’s any substantive information available to me that doesn’t raise as many questions as it does answers.”
Just like Trump, he's dangerous. But to block his nomination, Schumer will need to find at least three Republican senators who are sane enough to side with Democrats, assuming they all vote against Clovis. However, in the wake of Trump's grievous Charlottesville reaction and his continued assault on Mitch McConnell and other GOP senators, that just might be possible.