July 21, 2009

(h/t Heather)

Rachel Maddow speaks to Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family, about Tiahrt's membership in the C Street House and his own peculiar obsession with the idea that Muslims are having more babies than Americans (presumably, he meant Christian-Americans) and that we must stop abortions to win the birth war. Even more frightening is that his spiritual counselor and leader of "The Family" Doug Coe encouraged him to think even bigger--and wait to you hear the kind of "bigness" he should aspire to: Pol Pot, Hitler. I wish I was joking.

You may recall last week's offensive and racist rant by Kansas Republican Todd Tiarht when he said the following about taxpayer funded abortion:

"If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother may have taken advantage of it?" Tiahrt asked. "Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court Justice, if those circumstances were in place, is it possible that we would be denied his great mind? The opportunity to have tax-funded abortions, a financial incentive, is something that I think most of us want to oppose in America and it's certainly deserves a clean up or down vote."

Something that offensive would normally bring about a chorus of criticism and demands for an apology - but Tiahrt is a member of today's GOP. Not only is nobody within his party calling for him to apologize to the president, they're promoting it and using it as a political talking point. More from Media Matters:

Now, the House Republican Conference, chaired by Rep. Mike Pence, is actively promoting Rep. Tiahrt's remarks. What was a situation solely involving Rep. Tiahrt now taints every Republican in the House of Representatives. What could have been written off as an impassioned rant by an over-zealous member is now being embraced and promoted by the Republicans' official government website.

As John Perr pointed out to me last week, President Obama's parents couldn't even have legally married in many states until the Loving vs. Virginia case of 1967. And imagine the outcry from the right if the same question had been asked about the mother of say, Ronald Reagan or Bush Sr. or Jr.? The Kansas Democratic Party still has a petition posted, demanding Tiahrt apologize to the president. You can sign it here if you like.

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