Zach Wamp – The Mayor of Crazy Town

When I was young, my parents always told me to not make fun of people with disabilities. If you think about it, there really is nothing lower than using someone’s problems to make fun of them.

But what if they don’t have a disability, but just ACT like they do. That would be an exception. Self-deprecating humor that turns into a light hearted back and forth is another.

Since Representative and Republican Gubernatorial candidate Zack Wamp seems to be the former of these exceptions, I feel ok with what I’m about to say.

During the SCORE Gubernatorial forum last month, someone dubbed Zach Wamp the Mayor of Crazy Town. While I believe that even the citizens of Crazy Town have better sense than that, I have to remind myself that the citizens of TN-03 have sent him to Washington several times. Maybe it was just to get him OUT of the district. (Sorry, I did a twitter search to give credit where credit was due that returned nothing.)

So, by now you must be asking yourself, “Why is he writing about this?” Well, a couple of reasons: 1. This statement, reported at Pith. 2. As well as this one, and 3. This resolution Honoring Wamp, that more Democrats signed on to than Republicans…which says something else that I’m not entirely comfortable with.

Now look, I understand that science denial is one of the largest planks of the far right platform. Science is the business of “those people” who aren’t like you and think they’re soooooo smart. We gotta put these brainiacs in their place by calling into question their hypotheses and “theories” and all that stuff that is provable if we would only inconvenience ourselves and take the time to read the proof. Like those guys are really going to put down their pocket protectors and slide rules and defend themselves anyway.

Nope, it’s easier to genuflect to “Big Coal” companies that like blowing up stuff to get at other stuff that’s more valuable to them than the stuff they’re blowing up than it is to take a position that maybe, just maybe, all that blowing up of things might not be such a good idea after all.

It’s easier to point at snow and say “Global Warming sure is working” with a snort and chuckle than acknowledge that “Global Warming” is really about “Climate Change” that is exacerbating the extreme ends of our weather.

For all that, and more you get recognized for your

honorable and astute service to the people of Tennessee and the citizens of the United States.

Congratulations!

I understand it’s customary to confer meaningless memorials to people who are in the public eye, regardless of how much they deserve it. I understand that since Representative McCormick has endorsed Zach Wamp he might want to do his buddy a favor and give him some ridiculous and ultimately, meaningless fluffery to help legitimize him and his Gubernatorial campaign. Seriously, I get it.

I also, surprisingly enough, understand why Democrats wouldn’t stand in the way of such fluffery, lest they are deprived of the “right to fluff”. I mean, seriously, who is it hurting anyway?

All that said, I think that perhaps, since these things are ceremonial and basically useless, that they should ALL BE HELD until the end of the session and agreed to as part of the final consent agenda, rather than being dealt with onesie, twosie, and taking time, no matter how short, away from the real business of the legislature, which is to pass a budget and get some stuff done that actually benefits people other than the “honored”. But that’s another post for another day.

Anyway, back to Wamp.

Since science denial, showboating, and “gubament busting” seem to the be things he, and many of his Republican colleagues enjoy doing most, maybe it’s time that someone start collecting all the crap he’s said and make a book of it or something. Maybe it’s time to have some real “Oppo Research”, not that much research would be necessary, of these guys statements. They’re handing us comedy and electoral gold after all, we might as well get something out of it other than a shake of the head and roll of the eyes.

Or we can do nothing, and just let it happen. In doing so, ensuring that Wamp will remain the Mayor of Crazy Town, and his comrades in the State Lege, like 10th amendment hearlder Susan Lynn, unconstitutional Medicaid denier Mae Beavers, and one bill passer Stacey Campfield, can talk their Crazy Town talk unabated, further skewing the public discourse that much closer to the real crazy that lurks right around the corner.

Call me crazy, but I think someone’s gotta call these people out.

Image credit – Pith

Tags: Crazy Town, fluffery, science denial, snark, Zach Wamp