It’s the end of the year and, as usual, the media is publishing lists of the best this and best that of 2014. Men’s magazine GQ tried its hand at listing America’s 20 craziest politicians. Unsurprisingly, the left-leaning magazine found that most of its 20 crazy pols were Republicans and had a hard time finding many Democrats to add to the list.
Out of 20 crazy politicians, GQ could find only three Democrats who it felt were qualified enough to be labeled “crazy.” The magazine understood its motives would be questioned — the author insisted that he isn’t indulging media bias. In fact, in an addendum to the article, author Stephen Sherrill proactively protested against accusations of liberal shilling.
“Look! A Democrat! Yes, this list is Republican-heavy,” he wrote, “and while that may seem like standard liberal-media bias, the reality is that Democrats just aren’t keeping pace right now in the crazy department.”
Two of the people the author attacks as “crazy” happen to be two leading 2016 GOP presidential hopefuls: Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY). One wonders if the true purpose of this “crazy” list was to smear the two Republicans ahead of the primary season.
As to the Democrats on the list, certainly the crazy is heavy with these three. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) was the fellow who thought a Caribbean island would over tip if too many people stood on one end of it. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) was the genius who thought the U.S. landed men on Mars. And top Democrat gaffemaster Vice President Joe Biden doesn’t open his mouth without making some stupid comment or another.
Left off the list were dozens of whacky liberals who easily qualify as crazy.
The list could have included Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), the Congresswoman and Democratic National Committee chairwoman who insisted that the wipeout midterm election her party suffered, the election that gave the GOP more statehouses, more governors and more representation in Washington than its ever had in history, was not an indication that the American people had rejected the Democrats.
Or how about Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA,) who wanted to raise the minimum wage to $26 so poor people could move to rich neighborhoods?
Democratic House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) thinks it’s a good idea for Congress to vote on bills to “find out what’s in them” instead reading them before voting on them.
And where is Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), the politician who abandoned his own family, forcing his wife and kids to go on government assistance?
Or Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) who thinks that people don’t create their own businesses and that only government can build a business?
How about adding Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the crazy woman who, among other things, thought that sequestration would cause the loss of “over 170 million jobs?” (There are less than 150 million jobs in the whole country.)
GQ could also have added State Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) who wanted to ban high-capacity rifle ammunition magazines because she was unaware that the magazines could just be reloaded — she thought they were single-use only.
We also have President Barack Obama himself. Or is “you can keep your insurance plan and doctor if you like them,” less “crazy” and more just a flat-out lie? Then again, he did say he visited 57 American states during his campaign. And just last week he claimed that race relations have gotten better since he was elected to the White House and that America is less divided.
The author’s disclaimer is a cop-out: He did not predicate his list as the “craziest politicians of 2014.” Since he didn’t limit the “crazy” to this year, he had no basis to claim that Democrats weren’t “keeping up.” Crazy is timeless, after all.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter: @warnerthuston. Email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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