Luetkemeyer Brings the Flat Earthers Together

When Blaine Luetkemeyer came out with his legislation to stop funding for the UN's Noble Prize-winning panel of climate change scientists, I assumed no one would sign on to his moronic legislation.  It's only been an embarrassment for Blaine -- he may have excited a few of his fellow radicals, but they'd support him anyway -- and it further undermines any illusion that the man can be a moderate voice in Congress.

Alas, I was wrong -- a dozen times over.

A few days after Luetkemeyer declared it an "honor" to be lampooned for his small-minded legislation, he successfully recruited a whole group of anti-intellectual luminaries to join his cause.  Not every freshman can claim he brought together birthers, lunatics and other members with similar records of misrepresenting and misunderstanding basic issues to take on a group of scientists they know nothing about.

Luetkemeyer's comrades include:

• Todd Akin [MO-2] 
  Akin's brand of extreme conservatism and climate change denials makes most Missourians proud cringe. He recently expressed great excitement at the prospect of sea levels raising so he could surf in front of the US Capitol.
   
• Michele Bachmann [MN-6]
  Where to begin?  Bachmann's casual relationship with reality is well documented, and too mind-boggling to outline here. On climate change, Bachmann believes CO2 is "actually a harmless gas" that can't become a negative force because it exists in nature.
   
• Bill Posey [FL-15]
  Posey is the lead sponsor of federal birther legislation. That's about all you need to know regarding the man's interest in facts, evidence and the truth.

Other consponsors of Luetkemeyer's legislation include Joe Barton [TX-6], Marsha Blackburn [TN-7], Paul Broun [GA-10], Henry Brown [SC-1], Mary Fallin [OK-5], Doug Lamborn [CO-5], Donald Manzullo [IL-16], Joseph Pitts [PA-16]  and Tom Price [GA-6]. Coincidentally, Blackburn is also cosponsor for Posey's birther bill.

Given the fact that Luetkemeyer didn't even bother to read the UN Climate Panel's research before deciding it was "junk science," it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that none of his cosponsors did either before they joined the team on the same day.

Why are all these people afraid of science (that they haven't read and don't understand)? 

Image credit: RCGAdvocate