Our review of what we heard from the far right in 2012 ends with a last bit of potluck nuttery. You can read more quotes from 2012 and previous years here. Stay tuned — we expect to hear much more like this in 2013.
Happy New Year!
“It’s horrifying some of the things that they’re teaching high schoolers.”
— Glenn Beck, telling an audience of his plans to launch a show to compete against “Glee”
“Wouldn’t it be interesting to do a study between those that are on welfare and see how much and how often they read the Bible. You know, if Booker T. Washington is right that Christianity and reading the Bible increases your desires and therefore your ability for hard work; if we take that as an axiom, does that mean that the people who are getting government assistance spend nearly no time in the Bible, therefore have no desire, and therefore no ability for hard work? I could go a lot of places with this. I would love to see this proven out in some kind of sociological study, but it makes perfect sense.”
— David Barton, musing about a supposed link between welfare and failure to read the Bible
“I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up, and we start all over again.”
— Mitt Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, when asked whether he is concerned that Romney might be forced by his Republican opponents to take extreme positions during the ongoing primary fight
“It is a parent’s responsibility to educate their children. It is not the government’s job. We have sort of lost focus here a little bit. Of course, the government wants their hands on your children as fast as they can. That is why I opposed all these early starts and pre-early starts, and early-early starts. They want your children from the womb so they can indoctrinate your children as to what they want them to be. I am against that.”
— Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum
“I understand why Barack Obama wants to send every kid to college, because of their indoctrination mills, absolutely. The indoctrination that is going on at the university level is a harm to our country.”
— Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, in an interview with conservative radio host Glenn Beck
“She said, ‘If we just say it’s about investigations, we can defund Planned Parenthood and no one can blame us for being political.’”
— An unnamed source at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, pinning the blame for Komen’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood on former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel
“I want to put a godly leader in the White House.”
— Jeff Blackard of the McKinney-based Blackard Group, one of Texas’ leading real estate developers, on his support for Rick Santorum
“It’s a Biblical principle. If you double a teacher’s pay scale, you’ll attract people who aren’t called to teach.”
— Alabama Republican state Sen. Shadrack McGill, offering a novel argument against raising teacher salaries. But McGill, who was speaking at a prayer breakfast, defended a 62 percent pay hike Alabama legislators approved for themselves in 2007.
“I think it’s unnatural. I think it’s wrong that people touch other people’s private parts outside of special covenantal relationships.”
— Texas state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, on airport security pat-downs by Transportation Security Administration agents
“I can’t help but feel that to some extent, we’re reaping what we’ve been sowing as a society. We said to God, ‘Get out of the public arena.’ Lawsuit after lawsuit, often by misguided ‘civil libertarians,’ have chased away any fear of God in the land — at least in the hearts of millions.”
— Jerry Newcombe of the group Truth In Action, talking about the mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater
“Sometimes I say Muslims can’t build cars but they can sure blow them up.”
— Mark Coppenger, vice president for extension education and director of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary extension center in Nashville, Tenn.
“And I wish some of these numb nuts would go out and read the letter before they make these horrible allegations about the horrible accusations we’re making.”
— Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert, lashing out at Sen. John McCain for criticizing him and his fellow conservative members for suggesting that a senior aide to Secretary of State Clinton is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood
“You follow me around the world. You see me hugging Muslims around the world, because the ones I hug are our friends.”
— U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, saying he does not make unfounded accusations against certain people because they are Muslim
“My remarks at the Republican Conference following the Supreme Court decision were thoughtless.”
— Republican Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, after he likened the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
Gee whiz. TFN brought the candied fruit and nuts. Now all we need is some flour, milk, and eggs. We could make another fruitcake for New Year’s Day!!!!!