With all of the coverage of the vice-presidential debate this week, you may have missed some of the controversial – some would say astonishing – statements made by actual Republican congressmen. Here are those various statements, in case you missed them the first time:
- Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) said that the Bible was the “manufacturer’s handbook” and that it “teaches us how to run all of public policy and everything in our society.”
- Rep. Loy Mauch (R-Ar.) said “nowhere in the Holy Bible have I found a word of condemnation for the operation of slavery, Old or New Testament. If slavery was so bad, why didn’t Jesus, Paul or the prophets say something?”
- Rep. Roger Rivard (R-Wisc.) recalled his father’s warning that young women may claim to be raped when they don’t want to admit responsibility after getting pregnant. “Some girls,” Rivard recalled his father saying, “they rape so easy.”
- Rep. Jon Hubbard (R. Ar.) wrote in his new book, Letters to the Editor: Confessions of a Frustrated Conservative, “the institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise.”
- Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) attacked his opponent Tammy Duckworth in a debate by showing a picture of her picking out a dress for the Democratic National Convention.
And who can forget the old classic by the godfather of Bat Crap Crazy Republicans everywhere:
- Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mis.) – “From what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Mr. Akin said of pregnancies occurring from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
As Lawrence O’Donnell said on The Last Word Tuesday night, “Republicans are busy pretending that bat crap crazy Todd “legitimate rape” Akin is not representative of the Republican brand but Republican politicians keep popping up all over to prove that bat crap crazy is the Republican brand.”
