With the rise of the Tea Partiers, there’s intense competition for the title of Craziest Wingnut Holding Public Office.
But Georgia state Rep. Bobby Franklin, R-Marietta, has to be considered the top contender. He was the one who proposed a law that would require rape and sexual assault victims — but not the victims of any other crimes — to be called “accusers” unless there was a conviction in their cases.
Then Franklin introduced a bill that would do away with drivers’ licenses, arguing that they “are a throw back to oppressive times.” As CBS reported:
In his bill, Franklin states, “free people have a common law and constitutional right to travel on the roads and highways that are provided by their government for that purpose. Licensing of drivers cannot be required of free people, because taking on the restrictions of a license requires the surrender of an inalienable right.”
(More details on both measures here.)
Now Lindsay Beyerstein brings us word of Franklin’s latest:
A Georgia Representative has introduced a bill to investigate all unsupervised miscarriages as crime scenes. Don’t believe me? Here’s the relevant language from HB 1, downloadable from legislature’s website:
When a spontaneous fetal death required to be reported by this Code section occurs without medical attendance at or immediately after the delivery or when inquiry is required by Article 2 of Chapter 16 of Title 45, the ‘Georgia Death Investigation Act,’ the proper investigating official shall investigate the cause of fetal death and shall prepare and file the report within 30 days[...]
Beyerstein adds that the bill “is radical even by the standards of people who think fertilized ova are people.” That’s an understatement — according to MoJo, ”Both miscarriages and abortions would be potentially punishable by death.”
One has to conclude that Bobby Franklin doesn’t need a challenger so much as a decent shrink.
Cross-posted at AlterNet and my butt-ugly personal blog.
Joshua Holland
I write for AlterNet. I've written a book, The 15 Biggest Lies About the Economy, which I recommend. You might also consider following me on Twitter.
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"The world is a rigged game"
Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone: “Word has leaked out that the London-based firm ICAP, the world’s largest broker of interest-rate swaps, is being investigated by American authorities for behavior that sounds eerily reminiscent of the Libor mess. Regulators are looking into whether or not a small group of brokers at ICAP may have worked with up to 15 of the world’s largest banks to manipulate ISDAfix, a benchmark number used around the world to calculate the prices of interest-rate swaps.”
On winning and values
So, right-wingers, you want a society where families are stable, where everybody looks like you and shares your Christian faith, and where the government pretty much stays out of your business? It’s not in some Randian fantasy, it’s right here in the USA.
Does anyone know if this is this guy’s first term, or if he’s been reelected?
My take on our current political morass is that we have gotten the government that they (the WingNuts + others who choose not to vote) deserve.