The crazy is pouring out of Colorado. CPAC might consider holding their next conference in the Centennial State.
SEN. DAVE SCHULTHEIS, R-Colorado Springs, on Wednesday voted againt Senate Bill 179, which requires pregnant women to undergo HIV testing to ensure steps can be taken to reduce transferring the disease to the baby if the mother is infected.
* What he said during the debate: “This stems from sexual promiscuity for the most part and I just can’t go there. We do things continually to remove the consequences of poor behavior, unacceptable behavior, quite frankly. I’m not convinced that part of the role of government should be to protect individuals from the negative consequences of their actions.”
* What he said afterward: “What I’m hoping is that yes, that person may have AIDS, have it seriously as a baby and when they grow up, but the mother will begin to feel guilt as a result of that. The family will see the negative consequences of that promiscuity and it may make a number of people over the coming years … begin to realize that there are negative consequences and maybe they should adjust their behavior. We can’t keep people from being raped. We can’t keep people from shooting each other. We can’t keep people from jumping off bridges. People drink and drive, and they crash and kill people. Poor behavior has its consequences.”
Looks like the Republican Party has found its Hope message. “What I’m hoping is that yes, that person may have AIDS, have it seriously as a baby and when they grow up, but the mother will begin to feel guilt as a result of that.” Add this bit of genius to Rush Limbaugh’s hope that Obama fails.
More Colorado insanity after the jump.
Not to be outdone by Schultheis fire and brimstone performance, another bible thumping crazy weighs in:
SEN. SCOTT RENFROE, R-Greeley, on Monday opposed Senate Bill 88, which extends health care benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian state employees.
* What he said during the debate: “Leviticus 18:22 says, ‘You shall not lie with a man as one lies with a female. It is an abomination.’ Leviticus 20:13 says, ‘If there is a man who lies with a male as though to lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act, and they shall surely be put to death. … ‘ We are taking sins and making them to be legally OK, and that is wrong. … And I’m not saying that this is the only sin that’s out there. Obviously, we have sin, we have murder, we have all sorts of sin. We have adultery … and we would never think to make murder legal.”
* What he said Wednesday: “I don’t mean to be hateful. I don’t think I’m hateful. People have accused me of that. I’m just voicing my opinions on what I believe and trying to speak what I think is the truth. Our First Amendment allows freedom of speech and I should be allowed to say what I want on any issue. I wasn’t probably eloquent enough in saying that all people sin and there are many different sins and they are all the same in the eyes of God. But to make laws to make sins legal is where I think it crosses the line, and we shouldn’t go there. That’s the destruction of our society.”
And where does the Republican Leadership (I know, it’s an oxymoron.) stand on these statements?
Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry responded he is not going to muzzle his caucus, although he has reminded his colleagues “we should never lose sight of the humanity of people on the other side of an issue.”
“People are entitled to their opinions,” the Grand Junction Republican said. “It’s not my job to go around and censor people and tell them what to say.”
I’m really becoming angry over statements like those above. First, there’s simply not enough hours in a day to blog on all the hate and nonsense Republicans are spewing these days. And second, I’m starting to feel nostalgic for the days the men in little white coats whisked these nut cases away. But, what really infuriates me, is the silence emitting from people in the Republican Party who know better. And for all their talk about new ideas and rebuilding, the truth is they got nothing.
Not only has the GOP cornered the market on irrelevance and a complete lack of credibility, they’re now aiming for total self-destruction… and they’re succeeding.