In a display of bipartisanship, the House of Representatives voted to strike the word ‘lunatic’ from federal law by a margin of 398 to one. The bill, which passed the Senate in May, is expected to be signed into law by President Obama. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R- Texas) was the lone dissenter.
According to the Washington Post, a number of mental health advocacy groups backed the bill to strike the word ‘lunatic’ from the books, arguing that it was a “simple means of demonstrating respect for individuals with mental health conditions”.
But according to Louie Gohmert, whose beliefs seem to come from the furthest fringes of the right wing, the word ‘lunatic’ is still a necessary descriptor.
While Gohment cited no direct reason for his support for keeping the word ‘lunatic’ in federal code, it may have something to do with government spending.
In an impassioned rant in support of the flat tax shortly after his nay vote , Rep. Gohmert said “Bringing in $2.4,$2.5 trillion and spending over $3.5 trillion, and we want to eliminate the lunatic from the federal code? That’s lunacy!” Video of his statements can be found here.
Viewers of our show will be familiar with the Tea Party favorite, who has a history of making wild, baseless claims. Just last week, in an interview with radio host Frank Gaffney, Gohmert suggested that the Obama administration was being advised by the Muslim Brotherhood. Last summer, he joined Rep Michele Bachmann in calling for an investigation into officials with alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, taking direct aim at Huma Abedin, Deputy Chief of Staff to Hillary Clinton. He is also the chief (really only) proponent of the theory of terror babies—a conspiracy where terrorists send pregnant women to the U.S. to be born as American citizens, allowing future terrorists to return to the U.S . This theory has been supported by absolutely no one. Perhaps the dullest thing about Rep. Gohmert is that he’s a birther.
Ayan Chatterjee
Ayan Chatterjee is a senior producer for MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" Recommended
