Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Arizona has more than its fair share of embarrassing politicians somehow elected to public office. But a contender for the title of "most embarrassing Arizona politician" is Rep. Trent Franks. This guy is such a rank embarrassment, the rest of Arizona has the right to demand from the constituents of his district "what the hell were you thinking?" Don't make the rest of Arizona come to your district to beat some sense into you. . . get rid of this clown!
Back in October 2009, "A quartet of Republican Congressmen, including Arizona's own Reps. Trent Franks and John Shadegg, convened a press conference this week to demand that the House Sergeant at Arms investigate the organization Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), because this advocacy organization does what every other advocacy organization does, but they do it while being Muslim."
They claimed that "(CAIR) is infiltrating Capitol Hill with undercover interns, and they're basing the charge on a World Net Daily-published book that itself is based on the work of a man who posed as a Muslim to infiltrate CAIR as ... an intern!" Reps. Trent Franks an John Shadegg engage in McCarthyism, religious bigotry againt Muslim-Americans:
Rachel Maddow and Eugene Robinson put this loony right conspiracy into it's proper context:
RACHEL MADDOW: Do you think that the secret ploy to "Islamize" America starts with interns?
EUGENE ROBINSON: (laughing) Yeah, that's where you want to start. You know the interns, they're the one's who control the real power on Capitol Hill. If you get the interns then you've got the whole city, and then you've got the world! You know this would be funny, it actually brings to mind that other great old movie Doctor Strangelove and General Jack D. Ripper and the plot he perceived to zap and impurity all our precious bodily fluids, that's kind of the way they sounded. But it's not funny, because it's dangerous and bigoted...
George Bush after 9/11, from the beginning, tried to make clear to everyone that the war on terror that he was prepared to wage was not a war against Islam, that this was not a religious war, that this was not a clash of civilizations, yet World Net Daily clearly didn't get the memo, and nor, amazingly, did some members of the U.S. Congress, and this is really scary stuff in that sense.
This was the precursor to FAUX News Fraudcasting and right-wing hate radio promoting "Islamophobia Summer" against the so-called "9-11 Mosque" in New York City in 2010. There's nothing like stirring up religious bigotry and hatred of a minority to turn out the GOP base in a mid-term election.
Apparently, someone has decided to do it again (Frank Gaffney, American Bigot). As Michael Bryan posted the other day Arizona Representative Trent Franks Accuses Obama Administration of Being Infiltrated by Muslim Brotherhood:
Trent Franks (abortion criminalizer and American Taliban member) has signed on to a letter with wackadoodle conspiracy theorist and former GOP Presidential Reality Show contestant Michelle Bachman claiming that the Obama Administration has been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood.
The evidence? Well, several agencies have been engaging in way too productive and cordial relations with the Muslim Brotherhood of late, doncha know? Can't have anything to do with the Brotherhood playing a major role in the new government of Egypt... no, gotta be a conspiracy.
The Arizona Republic editorialized today, Muslim brotherhood sham marks a new low:
U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, apparently not content to watch legislators bring scorn upon our state, is finding a new way to embarrass constituents.
He joined former Republican presidential candidate and "tea party" leader Rep. Michele Bachmann in signing a letter alleging the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the highest levels of the federal government in its attempt to overthrow Western civilization.
Haven't we heard this song before, sung by one Joe McCarthy about the Communist Party?
Ah, but Bachmann and Franks have proof. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff, the wife of a former congressman, is related to people who Bachmann and Franks say have ties to the Brotherhood. And that, not an uprising and election, is the only explanation for recent State Department actions in Egypt.
Pressed for any real proof, Bachmann's spokesman said the letter spoke for itself.
What it said is this: If this is the best you can do in spinning a conspiracy theory, go back to aliens in Roswell. At least that one was entertaining.
And it didn't embarrass Arizona.
Well, it's a start. This McCarthyite religious bigot has got to go. A fence post is a better choice than Trent Franks.
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