The Senate’s Radical Repugs
SAM BROWNBACK – Kansas
Opposed judicial filibusters – then vowed to use filibuster to block stem-cell research. A millionaire, he paid just $600 a month in 2003 to live in a plush D.C. townhouse owned by “the Fellowship,” an evangelical group. Pushing the Houses of Worship Act to allow preachers to endorse candidates from the pulpit. Votes against armored Humvees to protect soldiers in Iraq. PEARL OF WISDOM: “Porn is the crack cocaine of sexual addiction.”
TOM COBURN – Oklahoma
Favors the death penalty for doctors who provide abortions – even though he performed two during his career as an obstetrician. Vows to continue his medical practice in his “free time,” a violation of Senate rules. Hates the “gay agenda,” which he considers “the greatest threat to freedom we face today.” PEARL OF WISDOM: “Silicone breast implants make you healthier.”
BILL FRIST – Tennessee
Family company, HCA, was fined $1.7 billion for fraud. Took $2 million in donations from the health-care industry; opposed patient bill of rights. Didn’t vote until he was thirty-six. Held press conference with minister who compared liberal judges to the Klan. PEARL OF WISDOM: “Activist judges and their allies on the left will not stop until they impose gay marriage on every state in the union.”
JAMES INHOFE – Oklahoma
Only senator to oppose restoring the Everglades. Compares EPA to the Gestapo; called global warming “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American public.” As chair of Environmental and Public Works Committee, accepted more than $1 million from energy companies. More on why he is a dangerous idiot here. PEARL OF WISDOM: “Environmentalists worship the creeping things, the four-legged beasts, the birds and all that. That’s their god.”
RICK SANTORUM – Pennsylvania
Leads the push to teach creationism in public schools. Compares homosexuality to incest and bestiality. Received an A+ rating from the NRA for his opposition to gun control. Supported limits on overtime that benefited campaign contributor Wal-Mart. Pushing for a federal “conscience” law to protect pharmacists who refuse to fill birth-control prescriptions. PEARL OF WISDOM: “When people can’t control their desires…we have to pass laws to stop their desires.”
JIM THUNE – South Dakota
During campaign to unseat Minority Leader Tom Daschle, sent out stickers that read, "Vote for Daschle and Vote for Sodomy." Paid bloggers to attack media for their coverage of Daschle. Voted to ban gay adoption and medical marijuana, and limit corporate liability for cleaning up hazardous waste. PEARL OF WISDOM: “I’m all for compromises, but they must be found right of center.”
And to close out this post, there's this. OY.
--Rolling Stone Issue 976, pgs 46 & 48. (with additional info, hyperlinks from moi)