Egyptian military using Tea Party propaganda to justify coup

The indispensable Charlie Pierce points us to a NYT piece on how the military junta is talking about the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi to the people of Egypt. Turns out they’re talking a whole lot like any random American rightwing radio host; people can no longer trust the American government, because Pres. Obama is secretly in bed with the Muslim Brotherhood and trying to destroy Egypt.

"However crackpot that view may sound," the Times reports, “it is widespread among supporters of the military.”

But Pierce zeroes in on one extremely disturbing paragraph in the piece:

Many Egyptians refer to YouTube clips played repeatedly by the pro-military news media, quoting Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas, who recently equated giving $1.5 billion in aid to the Morsi government with support for terrorists.

"Be proud, all of you who voted in the worst Congress in the history of the Republic," writes Pierce. "Be proud. Republican leadership, which has proven to be unable or unwilling to control the flying monkeys in its midst. You’ve done something remarkable. In the streets of Cairo, the face of American foreign policy is Louie Gohmert, scourge of Terror Babies, and the biggest bag of hammers in the House Of Representatives. This is a blow from which diplomacy may never recover."

Tea Party conspiracy theorizing is finding its way into Egyptian propaganda. How long before other despots, criminals, and dictators follow their lead? How long before the ravings of Louie Gohmert, Michele Bachmann, and Steve King become the voices that speak for America, carefully cherrypicked because of all the helpful lying?

Tea Party BS doesn’t stop at America’s borders, apparently. And it’s not the world’s brightest beacons who find it useful — not people like Nelson Mandela or Aung San Suu Kyi.

No, it’s the killers and the tyrants people like that  fight against who find Tea Party lies most useful. And that tells you all you need to know about the original authors of those lies — don’t trust them any farther than you can throw them, because they are most definitely not good people.

[photo by Gage Skidmore]

Louie said something stupid again

Raw Story: During a Thursday rant about news that the National Security Agency (NSA) had been collecting phone records from millions of Americans, Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) seemed to be a little confused when he proclaimed that freedom of the press is “granted in the Second Amendment.”

Gohmert noted that NSA spying was just the latest example of executive branch overreach because the Obama administration had also gone after the phone records of Associated Press reporters.

“Many times these phones up here are used by reporters to call members of Congress, who have another constitutional privilege, under the constitutional — under the constitution that provides privilege for the information that is provided for — to a member of Congress,” the Texas Republican explained. “It’s not unlimited.”

“But that’s on top of the freedom of the press that’s also granted in the Second Amendment,” he added.

For the life of me, I can’t understand how this clown keeps getting reelected.

[photo by Gage Skidmore]

Gohmert’s latest crackpottery and the vacant spookhouse that is the wingnut mind

ThinkProgress:

As if it weren’t enough that members of the Republican Party spent much of President Obama’s first term accusing him of being a crypto-Manchurian Candidate who was born in Kenya, one GOP congressman is floating a new conspiracy theory: Obama only helped oust former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi so al-Qaeda could take over.

Appearing on Frank Gaffney’s anti-Muslim radio show, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) launched into a lengthy tirade criticizing the Obama administration’s decision to provide air support in the international campaign against Qaddafi last year. Rather than acknowledging that Obama launched the mission to stave off a looming massacre in Misrata, the Texas Republican saw a hidden, pernicious reason for the intervention. “This administration sent planes and bombs and support to oust Qaddafi so that al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood could take over Libya,” said Gohmert.

I’d award the always clownish Gohmert the title of “Congress’s Dumbest Man” if the competition were slightly less fierce. He’s not a shoe-in for the title, but he’s definitely the frontrunner.

And Louie’s value is mostly instructive; he’s got the brain of a talk radio host. He thinks he doesn’t have to prove anything and that whatever crazy-assed conspiracy happens to meander into his otherwise vacant skull was arrived at through unassailable logic. He’s delusional not only in his beliefs, but in that value of those beliefs as arguments. Like a talk radio host, he looks at every issue  and asks himself, “How can this confirm my most basic fears and biases?” and confuses that process with reasoning. Actual logic is a foreign concept to him and evidence is what the foolishly incautious wait for before leaping to action (see Bush, George W.).

This is the right. This is how they think. If you doubt that, then explain how this obviously low-wattage bulb continues to be reelected.

Stories to Watch: 6/12/12

You know how after a long, hard-fought primary campaign, the candidates always come together to show a united front? Yeah, about that...


As always, Republican lies contradict each other.


George Zimmerman's wife is no more trustworthy than he is.


Dem analysts tell the Obama campaign that he needs to take off the kid gloves. It's a story that Buzzfeed gets 180 degrees wrong.


Rep. Louis Gohmert said something stupid again.


David Brooks wrote something stupid again.


The circus chimps on Fox and Friends broadcast something stupid again.


ALEC loses another corporate sponsor.


Finally, a reminder: Jonah Goldberg is a hack.

Related articles

• Rep. Louis Gohmert on Romney: 'I'm Not as Excited as I am Desperate'

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• Blunder Watch

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• GOP Harming America for Political Gain

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News Roundup for 4/17/12

Not a smart man

-Headline of the Day-
"Mitthusiasm: House Conservative Edition."

One of the great pleasures of an all-but certain Republican nomination of Mitt Romney is watching all the wingnuts who'd attacked him as a RINO on the campaign trail squirm uncomfortably as they try to pretend to be happy about their nominee. The excruciatingly forced smiles, the staged excitement -- it's all really entertaining. Especially as you consider the look in their eyes; like they'd just swallowed an entire peeled lemon dipped in vinegar. The crazies are clearly not happy. And when they're unhappy, I'm overjoyed.

This unease with Romney was apparent when the rightest of the right in the House staged a press conference. No reason, just "conversations with conservatives" and an excuse for the election-minded to chase cameras around. It turns out that reporters actually show up to these things, on the off-chance that someone may say something worth repeating. The fact that you hardly ever hear about these common pressers tells you all you need to know about what they're usually worth.

According to Dave Weigel, whose unenviable task it is to sit through these timewasters, "the first question that tripped anybody up, from The Hill's Russ Berman, was whether members were 'excited' about incoming Republican nominee Mitt Romney."

Sure they were, they all said. Because Mittens is gonna beat Barack HUSSEIN Obama and that automatically makes him a freakin' hero. They all took turns agreeing on how important that was -- until it was Louie Gohmert's turn.

"If you're not sure about whether to support Mitt Romney," the dumbest member in the history of congress said, "whether you're liberal, or whether you're very conservative, you ought to be excited, because he's been on your side at one time or another."

OK, so that wasn't the message they were going for. It's probably not a good idea to bring up what a flipflopper Mitt is when you're trying to praise him. "You could tell, in the room, that Gohmert had just created a 'narrative' against Romney," Weigel reports.

Gohmert finally realized that he'd screwed everything up. But luckily he has experience in dealing with that particular problem since -- as I've mentioned -- he's the dumbest member in the history of congress.

"So I'm not completely understood," he said, "I'm not as excited as I am desparate."

Romney 2012. Feel the excitement! (Weigel)


-Desperate housewife-


Click for full comic

And that's not even counting all the doubloons she has to polish. (GoComics)


-Bonus HotD-
"The 'secrecy' card."

Team Romney's latest defense: if you criticize Mitt Romney for admitting to hiding his agenda, it means you hate Mormons. (War Room)

Stories to Watch: 11/18/11

Occupy Congress! An idea whose time had come along time ago. Better late than never.


Have you seen those clips of Occupy Wall Street slogans projected onto the side of the Verizon Building? Meet the projectionist.


David Mooney, chief executive officer of Alliant Credit Union in Chicago and former JP Morgan Chase exec, tells the ugly truth; "I don't say this lightly, but the consumer is simply an income stream and exploiting that is the purpose of the banking organization." They don't work for you, you work for them.


Did Newt Gingrich -- Newt Freakin' Gingrich -- really think he could get away with pretending to be a Washington outsider?


Occupy Memphis and Tea Party members meet. The body count was zero. In fact, they discovered points of agreement.


Herman Cain said something stupid again.


Journalism ain't what it used to be.


Michele Bachmann said something stupid again. Now with extra irony.


The super committee remains super-useless.


Finally, Louie Gohmert did something stupid again.

Related articles

• Why Newt Gingrich Is Surging Now (usnews.com)
• How Can Newt Gingrich Possibly Live Down His Past? (outsidethebeltway.com)
• WATCH: Jon Stewart Mocks 'Zombie' GOP Frontrunners (huffingtonpost.com)
• Being a Washington insider has made Newt Gingrich a wealthy man (csmonitor.com)

Stories to Watch: 9/14/11

Frost warning tonight. Nothing says "summer's going away" like a frost warning. Cover up your tomatoes, people. Now here's the news...


A Bloomberg poll finds that voters aren't very excited about Obama's jobs plan -- 51% are opposed, 41% supportive. Which is weird, because Gallup found people supporting it, 54% - 32%. Likewise, Reuters/Ipsos found that Obama got a little bump from his jobs speech and introduction of the plan. Looks like Bloomberg's results are being outvoted.


Democrats haven't been doing well in special elections. Does that spell trouble for President Obama? Nate Silver has bad news.


Louie Gohmert plays the politics of "you snooze, you lose."


The Pennsylvania GOP tries to game the electoral college to deny Obama a 2012 win.


Rick Perry's claim that he only got five grand from the company that makes HPV vaccine turns out to be mostly bullshit.


Compare and contrast: Ron Paul's vision of American healthcare vs. Barack Obama's.


It's shit like this, Obama: "According to the Financial Times, President Obama is going to propose cuts of 'several hundred billion dollars from Medicare and Medicaid,' when he presents his proposal for deficit reduction next Monday." It's a lot easier to win these fights when you don't start by agreeing that your opponent is right -- especially when they aren't.


Meanwhile, Blue Dogs continue to ignore the fact that they got their asses handed to them in 2010. This time, they're playing "adult" by siding with the GOP against Obama's jobs plan. Your path to electoral victory through Republicanism-lite was a huge failure, people. Deal with it.


Finally, here's a Republican solution to unemployment -- import big ol' Burmese pythons and fabulous wealth will follow. No, really.

Related articles

• GOP NY-9 Victory Should Have Democrats Worried (usnews.com)
• Cutting Through Special Election Spin (politicalwire.com)
• NY9 loss a body blow for Obama? (politico.com)

Stories to Watch: 9/1/11

Still using Firefox 7 beta, still liking it. In fact, other than the slim memory usage, it seems identical to 6. Now here's the news...


Does Barack Obama have a secret plan to win the election by making millions of illegal aliens citizens so they'll vote for him? Wingnut Reps. Mike Coffman and Louie Gohmert think so -- and that should tell you all you need to know.


Mediaite's TOmmy Christopher thinks that John Boehner should resign for putting a Republican presidential debate a presidential address to congress. Maybe he should, maybe he shouldn't, but it's never going to happen in a million years. Roger Simon reports that the White House is "furious" with Boehner, though.


Everyone knows that Mittens Romney has a healthcare reform problem. But what most people don't know is that Rick Perry went above and beyond Romneycare, by proposing a joint healthcare plan with Mexico. I don't know enough about it to say whether it was a good idea or not, but it involves big gummint healthcare and Mexico, so the 'baggers should hate it.


Bonus fun: as Texas Ag Commissioner, Perry also praised Hillary Clinton's healthcare proposal. So Mexico, healthcare reform, and Hillary Clinton.


Condoleezza Rice simply does not care for Dick Cheney's book. NJ Gov. Chris Christie isn't a fan of Eric Cantor's hostage-taking on Hurricane Irene relief.


Surprise: it's illegal for unmarried couples to live together in Florida -- and state Republicans want to keep it that way.


The White House downgrades the 2012 jobs forecast.


Finally, so much for being the "sane Republican" -- John Huntsman's just-released tax plan is as insane and unfair as anyone else's in his party.
Joe Lieberman continues to be a jackass.

Related articles

• How Obama could be the leader in the room (cnn.com)
• WATCH: Bush Weighs In On Dick Cheney's Book (huffingtonpost.com)
• Jon Huntsman tricks billionaires into wasting money on his campaign (salon.com)
• Boehner to deliver his own 'jobs' speech (dailykos.com)

Stories to Watch: 7/18/11

Geez is it hot. And I'm going to grill. Because I'm stupid, I guess. I'm planning on standing out there by a fire in this heat. You could melt lead in the shade. Yeah, I'm crazy -- but it's gonna be so good. Add "guys from Wisconsin" to Noel Coward's "Mad dogs and Englishmen" quote. Now here's the news...


The whistleblower who helped get the phone-hacking scandal ball rolling, former News of the World entertainment reporter Sean Hoare, was found dead in his home today. He had a history of alcohol and drug abuse and police say the death is "not suspicious," but that won't stop a lot of people from thinking it sounds pretty suspicious to them.


Rupert Murdoch and the folks at the very top of News Corp. seemed to think they could manage this scandal -- right up to the point that it all got away from them.


With a CBS poll showing that the GOP has lost the debt limit debate, the rightwing blogosphere does what it always does when confronted with facts it doesn't like -- attack the research. As they say on Mythbusters: "I reject your reality and substitute my own."


President Obama says he'd veto the insane plan for raising the debt ceiling that House Republicans are cooking up. Of course, this is the worst thing ever -- never mind that it would never even get to the floor of the Senate anyway.


Out as a potential head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Elizabeth Warren may take a shot at getting Ted Kennedy's seat back from Scott Brown.


Rep. Louie Gohmert verifies that he's a freakin' moron.


As does Indiana Republican Rep. Todd Rokita.


What the hell, throw everyone in the gay conservative group GOProud on the moron train as well.


Finally, Harry Potter wants to lead American children to Hell. So you want to watch out for that.

Related articles

• Cong. Louie Gohmert Thinks Obama Chose Debt Deadline Date Because Of His Birthday (alan.com)
• Rokita: 'Piggish,' 'Un-American' to Worry About Economy, Gov. Programs in Debt Debate (blogs.abcnews.com)
• Obama To Appoint Richard Cordray To Head New Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (alan.com)
• News of the World Whistleblower Found Dead (mashable.com)

News Roundup for 3/31/11

Rep. Gohmert, deep in what he likes to pretend is thought

-Headline of the day-
"Gohmert: Libya Attacks Are False Flag For Obama To Call Up Private Army Created By Health Care Law."

Yesterday, a member of the House of Representatives concerned other members of that body by having some sort of wingnut talk points stroke on the House floor. Libya was a "false flag" operation meant to deplete our military, so President Obama could call up his secret Obamacare Army and make everyone have abortions or something, argued Rep. Louie "Terror Babies!" Gohmert. Bilderbergers! Secret Muslim! Birth certificate! NAFTA superhighway! Roswell! GAAAAHHH!

Actually, he only said the first part -- out loud, anyway. "[W]hen you find out we're being sent to Libya to use our treasure and American lives there," Louis said, "maybe there's intention to so deplete the military that we're going to need that presidential reserve officer commissioned corps and non-commissioned corps that the president can call up on a moment's notice involuntarily, according to the Obamacare bill."

Is that secret army really in the healthcare law?

What do you think? According to the report, "If this rings a bell, maybe you've seen a chain email peddling the second half of this conspiracy theory. Some on the far-right believe the health care law creates a private army for President Obama to call up and train on U.S. citizens. What it really does is make good on a plan first envisioned by Bush HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson in the wake of the September 11 attack to create a Ready Reserve Corps of several thousand public health professionals -- nurses, doctors -- that can be called up to treat people in the wake of an epidemic or a disaster like Hurricane Katrina."

Louis Gohmert, ladies and gentlemen. The Republican who believes that government should not be run like a business, but by that chain email sent to you by your crazy aunt Trudy.

For all you Gohmert voters out there, I have only one question: what the hell is wrong with you? (Talking Points Memo)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, have you heard? Uncle Mark says everything's all fixed now! Everything! YAY!


Click for animation

OK, now that's just mean... (MarkFiore.com)


-Bonus HotD-
"Today, Rick Scott Will Lay Out Cuts For Developmentally Disabled And Then Attend A Special Olympics Photo-Op."

And that's why Florida's Gov. Scott is the the most popular governor in America. (ThinkProgress)