I got nothing today as I’m rushing off, so I’ll entertain you with some craziness. If you think American politics, particularly of the Republican variety, couldn’t get more insane, here’s a clip, presented by Business Insider, showing two of the four candidates in the recent Republican debate for governor of Idaho. Idaho is a well-known depository of loons (no disrepect to “normal” readers), who have their own compounds and collectives scattered throughout the state. It’s also a well-known refuge for “survivalists” and white supremacists, as well as gun nuts.
Have a gander, but first the BI caption:
On Wednesday, four Republicans running for governor in Idaho faced off in one of the best political debates of all time. It included references to a “turd in a punch bowl,” “bondage-type people” who are “picking up strangers at night,” John Wayne, the “evil spirits that are behind the feds,” and dire predictions of coming earthquakes.
In addition to incumbent Gov. Butch Otter, the field of candidates includes a biker named Harley Brown who describes the “overarching theme” of his campaign as “FREEDOM FROM POLITICAL CORRECTNESS” and an epically bearded man named Walt Bayes who is focused on stopping abortion. Naturally, Brown and Bayes were wildly quotable and the debate has become something of a viral sensation. Brown summed up the proceedings in one of his great quips.
“You have your choice folks, a cowboy, a curmudgeon, a biker, or a normal guy,” Brown said. “Take your pick.”
That reminds me of C.S. Lewis’s choice of descriptions of Jesus: liar, lunatic, or Lord.
More from the Los Angeles Times:
Away from the madding crowd of supporters were Walt Bayes, a frequent candidate who runs “to stop abortion”; and Harley Brown, a biker who showed up wearing his leathers and other biker gear and keeps a list of campaign slogans like “Register Communists, not firearms.” Brown introduced himself by saying that at the low point of his life he was called by God to be commander in chief, following that revelation with: “Don’t think I’m crazy, because I’m not.”
“You might find this offensive, but I hit everybody — Jews, Polish people, Irish, Italians, religious jokes and black jokes,” Brown said Wednesday night, responding to a question about bigoted jokes posted to his website. “I don’t like political correctness…. It’s bondage.”
Bayes spent time criticizing the federal government as “a bunch of Eastern idiots” and boasting about killing a wolf that was classified as an endangered species at the time. He also promised to prohibit abortion, saying that “if the Supreme Court goes to hell, I’m not following them.”
Bayes and Brown won’t win, for even a Republican looks good next to them. And I suppose it’s a sign of democracy that even a complete whack-job can aspire for high office in the U.S.
h/t: Jim E.
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Wow. Brags about killing an endangered animal & recommends registering communists. An asshole & totalitarian – he’s the whole package!
Looks like Rob Ford, that guy. Probably also talks like him. Might even *be* him …
Then he’d really be the whole package & more!
What if Rob Ford and Harley Brown are both characters created by the same comedic actor, and this has all been part of an elaborate SNL skit???
Since the Crazification Factor still hovers around 27%, I think we can safely predict the vote total of the two loonier candidates.
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‘BUTCH OTTER’?! Are these native to Idaho? Perhaps Steven Barnard could leave the birds for a day and get a picture of this Butch Otter swimming against the current of history.
Idaho used to have some excellent Democratic politicians; notably Senator Frank Church who sponsored the Wilderness Act, generally had an outstanding environmental record, and was among the first to oppose the Vietnam War, and also Cecil Andrus who was a superb governor for 14 years, was an environmentalist, and served as Secretary of the Interior. What happened?
Regarding our current governor, check this out: http://www.boiseweekly.com/CityDesk/archives/2014/05/17/boise-state-public-radio-idaho-brewery-announces-little-bitch-otter-beer
Kudos (I guess) to any opponent or moderator who could share the same stage with characters and manage to check uncontrollable laughter.
[The net here is biased against YouTube, so video is unwatchable. But I recognise the type.]
Someone who appeared on stage and spent the whole “debate” rolling around on floor, helpless with mirth, would likely greatly enhance their support by presenting themselves as the only sane response.
As I understand it, Governor Otter engineered the addition of the two bearded oddities to the debate as a way to distract any attention from his “more serious” challenger in this one debate he agreed to.
High entertainment for those of us watching from the sidelines, but a major disservice to actual primary voters.
That was my understanding, too. From the Guv’s perspective, it was a smashing Machiavellian success….
b&
That’s pretty bloody clever.
I don’t know why but I love reading about American loons. Maybe it’s because American loons are just so much loonier than our British loons. For those who’ve never had the pleasure, there’s an excellent guide (updated daily) to some of America’s premier loons here:
americanloons.blogspot.com/
Excellent link.
Gratci’ tanto.
Great site…I got lost there for an hour or so; it’s extremely funny and scary. Does anyone have any idea why extreme lunatics are so ubiquitous in America? Maybe there is a good book out there that attempts to elucidate this phenomena. I know “main-stream” religion is a major factor, but we also excel at creating cults…even deadly cults. Oh the humanity!
Ubiquitous in America? Maybe it’s because of the movement in our country to empty out our large mental institutions.
You can thank Ronald Reagan for that one….
b&
He was just broadening the base of the Republican party.
Why didn’t I realize that before? Brilliant tactical move on his part! And it certainly explains how we got the Tea Party movement….
b&
“Does anyone have any idea why extreme lunatics are so ubiquitous in America?”
We’re just “Exceptional” in all respects.
Except humility…
😉
Crazy site. It is infinitely easy to avoid being one of the loons on that site, but it is extraordinary that all those thousands of people have actually gone out of their way to get their name mentioned. We live in the age where stupidity and/or dishonesty = fame.
We have plenty of loons here too, however I think that the American attitude of “every poor person is just an unlucky millionaire… so just try harder” really makes them work for it.
‘ . . . I think that the American attitude of “every poor person is just an unlucky millionaire… so just try harder” . . . .’
I wonder if that is the same attitude they have toward the flower of American youth who join the military to go in harm’s way to preserve, protect and defend their attitude and financial interests, what with it quite obviously-enough being one of those cherished “American Values.”
Sadly, these bozos represent at least 25% of the electorate. They’re lunatics that have been handed the key to the asylum.
As one contemplates the slow progress being made on just about any issue in this country, this assemblage of loons goes a long way in explaining why.
Hello from Australia.
Butch Otter has the weirdest name out of all of them.
I guess he had no choice but to change it from Gay Beaver.
I think a group of loons is actually called a “raft” of loons.
Some animals have more than one collective noun. I think I’ve also heard “a cry of loons”.
I might suggest “an institution of loons”, or “a certification of loons”.
For some reason, when I read that I thought immediately of a “coke float”. Which in the days of my youth was an entirely innocent, if probably unhealthy, treat. But in the days of my disreputable dotage I see the phrase and want to make up a highly illegal drug mixture that fits the description.
As Zebedee said, innocently, “[Boinggggg!] Time for bed, everyone!”
A daft raft.
In north-east scotland a loon just means a boy or young man (“quines and loons”).
Fit like, loon? Fa’s ya doon? a fa’s ye quine too?
“Accent with a trace of English, not English with a trace of accent.”
Brown: We gotta get our land back from the Feds… Here’s my plan of attack. Ok, you go in there and you use spiritual warfare. Everybody talks about the natural. I’m gonna talk about the other realm we exist in. You bind those evil spirits that are behind the feds with the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus, the power of the holy spirit, the power of agreement, the word of God. Take air superiority and then roll in there with your tanks on the ground-
Moderator: [interjecting] Mr Brown, Mr Brown…
Brown: Blitzkrieg!!!!
Moderator: Mr Brown, the question was about taxes…
A longer “funny guys only” version (20 mins) is here.
At the end Hayley Brown starts waving around a piece of paper “signed by an African preacher”, confirming that God really did communicate with him and told him he’ll be president one day.
Actually, in a way it’s kind of nice to see people being honest in a political debate. They spoke surprisingly well in front of the cameras and weren’t nervous and didn’t fluff any lines. They were sincere. Just mad as hatters.
“Moderator: Mr Brown, the question was about taxes…P”
Perhaps he misunderstood and thought he said “Texas.”
This is what happens when one allows fringe candidates to participate. But when they aren’t, people scream about the debate being “exclusionary”.
Not all third-party candidates are wackaloons.
All debates should include all candidates qualified for the ballot. If it’s okay for them to clutter the ballot and thus the vote, it’s just as fine for them to clutter the debate.
b&
If I were holding the debate, I’d limit to “viable” candidates with some threshold of viability.
But that just becomes a self-fulfiling prophecy, with whoever gets to determine viability the one to decide who’s viable.
If you’re on the ballot, the State has determined that you’re a viable candidate. You meet all the legal requirements for candidacy, and only you and the others on the ballot (a minuscule portion of the electorate) do so. That’s the alpha and the omega of reasonable and impartial determinations of viability.
Don’t believe me? Imagine a Republican in a deep red state (or county, etc.) arguing that the Democratic candidate shouldn’t be part of the debate because R outpolls D three to one and therefore D isn’t “viable.” And, of course, swap the party designations for similar effect.
Cheers,
b&
John Huntsman was never a viable candidate and I probably wouldn’t have voted for him in the general election, but he was far and away the sanest and best in the GOP field. (Which is saying very little.) By the same token, I’m betting that there are quite a few who voted for Obama in the last general election, who, faced with platforms explaining positions on all the major issues without candidate names attached who would have chosen Jill Stein’s over Obama’s.
I suspect the majority of registered Democrats would find themselves more in line with Stein than Obama, and significant numbers of both Independents and Libertarians as well. Add it all up, and she likely would have won in a fair (equal airtime, etc.) three-way race with Obama and Rmoney. Expand that to four-way and include Gary Johnson and it’s unlikely either established party candidate would have gotten a plurality, let alone a majority.
Remember, almost half of registered American voters are so disaffected and fed up that they don’t even vote. And then there’re all the disenfranchised, including significant and disproportionate numbers of minorities with non-violent drug felonies….
b&
“boasting about killing a wolf that was classified as an endangered species at the time.” [eyeroll]
The image of you rolling your eyes at that really brings home how awful it is.
Or as I heard Sam Harris say, pulling your eyebrows forward from the back of your head.
James Randi’s let himself go a bit!
“Brown . . . keeps a list of campaign slogans like “Register Communists, not firearms.”
(Perhaps he should also keep a list of those who fancy themselves The Masters of Mankind.)
Brown . . . was called by God to be commander in chief, following that revelation with: “Don’t think I’m crazy, because I’m not.”
(Well, who is anyone to dispute him? He SAID it, so it must be so.)
And I suppose it’s a sign of democracy that even a complete whack-job can aspire for high office in the U.S.
(I wonder if anyone running for or being appointed to U.S. congressperson or higher ought to be required to first pass at least a 5th grade End Of Grade math and/or science test, or, given the coordinates of two points, derive a specific equation of the form y = mx + b.)
BTW. One of the collective nouns for loons is an asylum. Too sweet!