Paul Broun-- Another GOP Sociopath Straight From The Pit Of Hell

In the latest gerrymander by the Georgia state legislature, Paul Broun's 10th CD moved south. It's still a solidly red district-- in 2008, Obama got 38% under the old boundaries and 39% under the new boundaries-- carefully skirting any cities like, Atlanta, Augusta and Macon, while still holding captive poor captive Athens (home of the University of Georgia). In 2008, when Broun won reelection with 61% of the vote, he won every one of the district's 20 counties except Clarke (37%), home of Athens, and Richmond (47%), whose county seat is Augusta and is no longer part of the district. When we talk about parts of the country that haven't reconciled themselves to the Emancipation Proclamation and the outcome of the Civil War, it's places like Georgia's 10th CD we're talking about. Our hearts bleed for our friends in Athens and Clarke County, but Paul Broun, Congress' only known John Birch Society member, is a near perfect fit for their prejudices, superstitions, paranoias and resentments. In November there is no Democrat running against Broun. Athens Democrats who would have liked to have run have learned from past experience that the DCCC, the DNC and the Georgia state Democratic Party won't help them so the exercise in futile and thankless-- even if Paul Broun ins widely acknowledged to be one of the worst and most ineffective Members of Congress.

Three divorces in quick succession, a life-threatening history of severe alcoholism, bizarre religious fanaticism, and a virulently racist perspective haven't held back Paul Broun after his first 4 or 5 electoral defeats in Republican primaries. An accidental congressman, he only finally won one (a 2007 special election primary) because his opponent insulted Athens as a liberal bastion that should be eliminated except for the football team. Clarke County gave Broun 90% of it's vote. He won by 0.8% (394 votes) and Athens has regretted it ever since.

Broun, a member of the Tea Party Caucus, is widely considered even more extreme and crazy than better known fringe clowns like Allen West, Joe Walsh, Michele Bachmann, Ed Royce, Joe Pitts, Steve King and Louie Gohmert. He may or may not be a medical doctor-- he claims to have been a resident at University Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama but wasn't affiliated with any hospitals during his years of drunkenness, and only made house-calls-- but the keen understanding of science demonstrated in the video up top was enough to inspire doddering and completely senile Science Committee chairman Ralph Hall (age 90) and John Boehner to appoint him chairman of the Science Committee's subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight.

As Nick Kistoff pointed out in a NY Times OpEd about chemical companies working with politicians to hide the dangers of carcinogens in household items yesterday, the American Chemical Council is the lobbying front for chemical giants like Exxon Mobil, Dow, BASF and DuPont. And they got their friendly anti-science shill on the Science Committee, Paul Broun, to hold up a scientific report on the dangers to consumers using he products manufactured by... well, who else... Exxon Mobil, Dow, BASF and DuPont.

Broun has taken in $4,920,087 in campaign cash since 2008 much of it from special interests with business before Congress. As we said, this cycle he has no opponent and he's already scooped up $1,161,355. This year he took a fat $5,000 legalized bribe from Exxon Mobil (up from the two grand he got in both 2010 and 2008 before he was chairman).

You think there's something wrong with a political system that puts a crackpot-- and a corrupt crackpot-- like Broun, on the Science Committee? Just watch that video up top again and listen to what this freak is telling his constituents. That's today's Republican Party speaking. Other anti-Science fanatics Boehner thought would be funny appointing to the Science Committee include Todd Akin (R-MO), the specialist in lady parts, Sandy Adams (R-FL), the weather expert, Brock Landers (R-AZ), and the internet porn specialist. Of the 22 Republicans on the Science Committee, 7 have officially joined the vehemently anti-Science Tea Party Caucus, Sandy Adams, Todd Akin, Roscoe Bartlett, Paul Broun, Randy Neugebauer, Steven Palazzo, and Lamar Smith. Chairman Hall joined but later quit. Anyone thinks this may have a little something to do with why there's been no progress at all on Climate Change issues in the past two years? Broun has no Democratic opponent... but plenty of terrible Republicans who enable him do. Want to help replace deranged crackpots with responsible public servants?

And it's not even Halloween yet!