God and Louie Gohmert

So here’s my dilemma: I read remarks recently attributed to Louie Gohmert (memorably described by Charles Pierce as “the dumbest mammal to enter a legislative chamber since Caligula’s horse”) that several people had posted to Facebook. Even though it was Louie Gohmert, I was sure it was satire.

But then I read the same quote on a news site I have always found credible. And a search on Snopes came up empty.

It’s hard to believe, but here, presumably, is Louie’s reason for voting against funding for a program to encourage more women to enter STEM fields:

‘And, you know, that’s just not the way God intended us to be treating women. I know that everybody is today talking about equality and we’ve got groups that are trying to make us believe that women are equal to men. However, that’s just not the case. God didn’t make us equal. It is ourselves, we have created this illusion of equality. And you want to know what the most powerful evidence of that there is? Simple biology. We have parts they don’t and vice versa. So right then and there you’ve got proof of God’s master plan.’

Women were created for one thing and one thing alone. We are insulting the Lord by allowing women to act like men. Women are beautiful creatures, no doubt about that. We marry them, we look after them, we provide for them and we love them, but that does not mean they are the same as us. It is the job of a woman to stay at home, to maintain the household, to bear children and look after them after they’re born. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say that women should be chasing after fancy titles and knowledge. The only knowledge they need is the one we men allow them to have.’

And we wonder why Americans tell pollsters that the country is on the wrong track….

I understand that there will people in any large country who are simply retrograde ignoramuses. What I don’t understand is why other people vote for them.

47 Comments

  1. Our Indiana elected officials are not too far behind Louie in the race to the bottom.

  2. We can equate Louie Gohmert’s comments to Archie Bunker’s explanation of God’s creation of woman; “Made from man’s rib, a cheaper cut.”

    There is one good thing about Louie Gohmert; he does not represent Indiana.

    There is one good thing about Indiana; we are not represented by Louie Gohmer.

    We can also be thankful for his wise decision months ago not to run for president; believing the Kennedy/Nixon presidential debates changed America’s perception and they will never again elect a bald president. We can assume he has passed this vital information along to his women constituents…if any of them bother listening to him.

    Sigh; sometimes I get so tired:-(

  3. “I understand that there will people in any large country who are simply retrograde ignoramuses. What I don’t understand is why other people vote for them.”

    One reason is that they are too scared to do otherwise. Those “retrograde ignoramuses” can be extremely dangerous.

  5. This morning I am thankful that I do not live in Texas, but more thankful that I am not married to Louie Gohmert.

  8. Gohmert should pop that festering boil on his head. It’s affecting his brain. Oh, wait! That IS his brain. It was so small I didn’t recognize it.

  9. Ah, yes, East Texas, the buckle of the Bible Belt. Marching Proudly into the Past.

  10. I often see and hear Texans shouting, “And God Bless Texas”. I understand why. If ever there was a place needing every blessing available, it’s Texas.

  11. Amazingly enough, this guy has a wife and three daughters. And for some reason, he “allowed” his daughters to go to college, (or at least the one pictured in the embarrassing Facebook photo from her days as a University of Texas sorority girl, dancing on a table.)

  13. Every time Mr. Gohmert opens his mouth, I revel in the fact that every woman I know is far superior to him.

  14. Chris,

    “One word>>>>Texas.”

    Not a bad word. But it is not specific enough. I would suggest that you might want to read the “Atlas of Cursed Places: A Travel Guide to Dangerous and Frightful Destinations” by Olivier Le Carrer. It can be purchased through Amazon.com.

    States aren’t destinations, but towns and cities are. States like Indiana, Florida, or Texas are not specific destinations. I would recommend Jacksonville. The powers at the Center of Gravity (COG) in Texas publicly anointed it as the “heart of the evangelical movement” back in 1992. They had no other choice since they had the lost the “Battle for Dallas” in 1991. I was the principal strategist in that victory.

    Better said, “Jacksonville” has been the Gound Zero for the spread of hatred throughout the U.S.. The medium for the messages of hate were the pulpits of the Southern Baptist Convention. For over a decade, their ministers received instructions from weekend retreats held at the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville by the leading Baptist ministers in America, all of whom had relocated to Jacksonville from Dallas.

    At my request in 1992, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission convened in Jacksonville in a closed session to hear my lone TESTIMONY and PREDICTIONS as to what would be transmitted throughout the country from this VITAL NODE. Unfortunately, my predictions have been proven to be right.

    Northern Indiana and the towns in Texas surrounding Dallas are only clusters in epidemiology terms. They are not the root but only fractals (branches) within a massive, spreading, “neo-Fascist tree.”

  15. Louie thinks the old ball and chain was put here on God’s green earth to bring her man a beer and a sammich.

  18. I saw that, too. I am pretty sure it was satire after doing a little investigating, but his actual remarks are nearly as bad. As far as I am concerned, he is guilty as charged.

  19. I don’t know Louie but perhaps the model that he’s using to judge all women by is Sarah Palin. If I was a woman I would rejoice in not being defined by that model just like as a man I celebrate not being Trump. Or Pence. Or Louie. Or Ivan, The Impaler.

  21. Ron,

    Ah, yes, East Texas, the buckle of the Bible Belt. Marching Proudly into the Past.

    It’s not that ISIS has been elected to Congress. There’s something that might be worse: EAST TEXAS.

    That was the last stop on my illustrious legal career. Quinlan, Texas. Population 1,000. The building for my law office was the model for the offices of Marvin Kramer & Associates in the movie: The Chamber by John Grisham. As you might remember, Marvin Kramer got his legs blown off by the Klan.

    The Courthouse was in Emory, Texas. There was only one District Judge. Judge Ramsey “the Klan Judge.” Unfortunately, I’m a slow learner. In Raines County, it wasn’t a contest between two attorneys. It was always a contest with the “Klan Judge.” I was a little too cocky since my ex-Baptist wife’s great grandfather was the first attorney in the county. So I decided to go for a win against the “Klan Judge.” I WON.

    However, after a few days of feeling good about myself and a message from Judge Ramsey’s clerk, I thought it was best that I should resign from the State Bar of Texas. That was one of my better decisions as I am still alive at the age of 78. I’m afraid it might have been otherwise.

    Advice for young (also old) attorneys: Don’t tell the Klan Judge “to go to hell.”

  24. Eric,

    “Sheila, you go, girl! Love how you channel your inner Mollie Ivins.”

    I know you meant that as a compliment. But I knew Mollie Ivins. She was a reporter for the Dallas Times-Herald while I was living in Dallas. And one thing in life, that I’m sure of, is that she “couldn’t hold a candle to Sheila Kennedy.”

  25. Reminds me of a lot of people Mark Twain described.

    Can you imagine how a Texan could get so far in life without ever having read the Gospel of Jesus Christ and noting the powerful position God gives to women time and time again?

    I suspect an MRI of Gohmert’s brain would show necrosis in several parts, all of them important to thinking, and telling the truth.

    Do not listen to the clearly insane.

  26. I’ve seen and heard Gohmert on TV and concluded he’s a joke not to be taken seriously. Now, after this blog and postings, I went to Wikipedia, searched “L. Gohmert”, and was dismayed to find he’s not so funny in Texas. I would described Gohmert’s election results as “landslides” as further evidence that at least some of Texas doesn’t fit the image of the America I love.

  28. What the…ever loving *? And what would he consider us barren women? Rape material, throw aways? I just thank my stars I live in Europe again. And TEXAS!

  29. It might be worth the cost if we gathered up the Gohmerts, Palins, Trumps and Cruz’s of the country and gave them south west Texas as a country to govern. The entertainment would be priceless.

  30. OMG,

    “I’ve seen and heard Gohmert on TV and concluded he’s a joke not to be taken seriously.”

    Mollie Ivins was also a humorist but from the Left. The problem with her was that she left out important facts in order to continue to be funny to most of her audience who thought she was being forthright with ALL the facts.

  34. William,

    “That’s an insult to a good horse…”

    Did you know Mollie Ivins? I did. She was a very good writer. I flew to New York in December 2003 to attend the Nations Magazine Annual Dinner. The minimum cost for the dinner was $500.00 plus the cost of airfare and a hotel room in New York. The total cost was about $1,500.00 I did that after hearing Mollie Ivins on Book TV in Jacksonville telling a national audience not to take the Christian Right seriously. While she was talking a woman ran up to the podium telling the audience not to listen to her. She was with the Texas Women’s Caucus. They knew the real facts.

    At the dinner in New York, I was able to discuss her comments about the Christian Right with the Editor Victor Navasky. He was alarmed. I doubt that it did much good. Mollie Ivins was that “gal from Texas.” She must know what she’s talking about.

    The Christian Right was the most important factor in George Bush being elected for his second term. They came through in mass under the radar during the last few months leading up to his re-election. Topping it off was a week long revival with Billy Graham in Jacksonville leading up to the day of the election.

    Mollie Ivins mentor was Jim Schutze, columnist for the Dallas Times-Herald and playwright with two movies to his credit. I was the initial source for his book “Accommodation.” It goes deeper into Dallas and Texas politics more than anyone has ever written.

    How well did you know Mollie Ivins? I didn’t say she wasn’t a good horse. All I was saying is “don’t bet on her.”

  35. Perhaps Caligula was not as mad as Roman history suggests. A horse (say a Mr. Ed with his rational views of life and living) would clearly be superior to the legislative views a close-minded Gohmert would bring to the committee table. (In all events, we now have a political madman on the loose who, if successful, might make the idea of Caligula’s horse look good.) My now deceased wife who was a tenured university professor would be unhappy to know that she wasted her life earning a doctorate and serving a university to retirement when, per Gohmert, she should have stayed home to satisfy her husband’s lust, fix him delicious meals and see that the house is kept clean. Query: Who cares if the cave is clean?

  36. correction: I stated above that Victor Navasky was the Editor of the Nations Magazine. Checking back, he was the Publisher at the time of our meeting. He had previously been the Editor.

  40. Natacha ……

    He’d say, “Make me a sammich and bring me a beer. <>”

  41. Betty,

    “Sheila and Molly together could clean up this political mess in a fast hurry!”

    Eric who I responded too spelled it, Mollie Ivins. So did William Koss. I didn’t check out their spelling.

    Forgive me. I’m not a fan as you can see of Molly Ivins or Jim Hightower. I could care less how she could spell her first name. She’s been dead for some time. They both withheld vital information that could have made a significant difference. However, if they did their books wouldn’t have been published in the U.S.

    I’m sure I’m in the minority, but In my opinion, it is best to tell the truth or you should keep your mouth shut.

  42. To continue on the subject of Molly Ivins. Jim Schutze, Ivins mentor, as I mentioned was the author of “The Accommodation: The Politics of Race in an American City.” The book was to be published by Taylor Publishing Company. However, they pulled out after numerous bomb threats.

    “The Accommodation” was finally published in 1986 by a small publisher in Secaucus, New Jersey named the Citadel Press.

    Shutze was able to communicate the truth but no doubt lost a lot of money in the process by not having his book circulated by a major publishing house. The truth got out. He didn’t pull any punches. And it made a significant difference in the politics of Dallas.

  43. Molly Ivins and Jim Hightower created a story of Texas politics that could be sold at Barnes & Noble. It was both interesting and enjoyable reading. They set the standard for reporting out of Texas to the mass market. Thus making it almost impossible for anyone else to tell an alternative story that was more effective in curbing the influence of the Texas oligarchy or the Christian Right.

    I’m sorry to report it wasn’t just the Gods that put us into this mess we are all now in.

  44. Betty,

    Molly Ivins was not an outsider but a “rebellious insider.” We’re in this terrible mess because you can’t effectively engage the inside from the inside. The inside has to be engaged from the outside.

    Morris Dees and the Clintons are no different than Ivins. Our problem in the U.S. is that there is no sustainable outside like there is in many countries in Europe.

    The Democratic Party, as well as the national press, is fearful of Bernie Sanders because he is approaching from the outside like a European Social Democrat. Hillary Clinton isn’t “off base” with her recent attack on Bernie Sanders when she says he is not a Democrat. Good for him.

    Ivins was born in Monterey, California, and raised in Houston, Texas. Her father, Jim Ivins, known as “General Jim” because of his rigid authoritarianism (or sometimes “Admiral Jim” for his love of sailing), was an oil and gas executive, and the family lived in Houston’s affluent River Oaks neighborhood.[1] Ivins graduated from St. John’s School in 1962. In high school, she was active in extracurricular activities, including the yearbook staff. She had her first pieces of journalism published in The Review, the official student newspaper of St. John’s School, though she never wrote any of the political columns that would become her specialty later in life. Ivins later became co-editor of the arts and culture section of the student paper. In addition, she frequently participated in theater productions and earned a lifetime membership in Johnnycake, the drama club.

    Ivins enrolled in Scripps College in 1962 but was not happy there, and transferred to Smith College in 1963. During that time, she became romantically involved with Henry “Hank” Holland, Jr., a family friend and student at Yale whom she referred to as “the love of my life”. After he was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1964, her friends would later say that she never seemed to find anyone else who could replace his memory. Some say that is why she never married.[1] She spent her junior year at the Institute of Political Science in Paris and received her B.A. in history in 1966. She earned a master’s degree at Columbia University’s school of journalism in 1967.[2][3]
    Professional life

    While at Smith, Ivins spent three summers as an intern at the Houston Chronicle. Her jobs there included the complaint department as well as “sewer editor”, as she put it, responsible for reporting on the nuts and bolts of local city life.

    After graduating from Columbia, she took a job in the Twin Cities at the Minneapolis Tribune, where she covered “militant blacks, angry Indians, radical students, uppity women and a motley assortment of other misfits and troublemakers”.[4]

    In 1970 Ivins left the Tribune for Austin, Texas, hired by Ronnie Dugger, [5] to be the co-editor and political reporter for the Texas Observer.[1] She covered the Texas Legislature and befriended folklorist John Henry Faulk, Secretary of State Bob Bullock and future Governor Ann Richards, among others. She also gained increasing national attention through op-ed and feature stories in The New York Times and The Washington Post along with a busy speaking schedule inside and outside Texas.[1] The Times, concerned that its prevailing writing style was too staid and lifeless, hired her away from the Observer in 1976,[6] and she wrote for the Times until 1982. During her run there, Ivins became Rocky Mountain bureau chief, covering nine western states, although the writer was known to say she was named chief because there was no one else in the bureau.[7] Ivins also wrote the obituary for Elvis Presley in The New York Times for the August 17, 1977 edition. Generally, her more colorful writing style clashed with the editors’ expectations, and in 1980, after she wrote about a “community chicken-killing festival” in New Mexico and called it a “gang-pluck”, she was recalled to New York as punishment. When Abe Rosenthal, editor of the Times, accused her of trying to inspire readers to think “dirty thoughts” with these words, her response was, “Damn if I could fool you, Mr. Rosenthal.” One friend saw her rebellion against the Times authority structure as a continuation of her rebellion against her father’s authority.[1] In late 1981, after receiving an offer from the Dallas Times Herald to write a column about anything she liked, Ivins left New York for Dallas.[1]

    The above was from Wikipedia. REBELLING against your father is not the same thing as putting him “out of business.” Her father was right smack in the middle of the Texas oil and gas oligarchy. She went further than most, but not far enough to make a difference. She wasn’t about to give up her heritage. Consequently, she wasn’t a legitimate outsider. That’s all I have been trying to say.

    No doubt Molly Ivins was an inspiration to many women and rightfully so. The same goes for Hillary Clinton, but the times have changed. And insider politicians have no ability whatsoever of stemming the RISING tide from the Religious Right/Far Right movement no matter who is going to lead them.

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