Stupid Thing of the Week: Skip Stam

This week, picking the Stupid Thing of the Week wasn’t easy. First, you had the two GOP congressmen equating themselves with the Iranian protesters because, hey, we’ve used Twitter, too! You also had the County Commission passing a budget that is like something out of a Dickens novel. And, of course, we had the school system, which, after having fired a slew of teachers, ran want ads for over 250 positions. But then, we also had Paul “Skip” Stam, the House Minority Leader in the General Assembly in Raleigh. Stam is from the old-line, ultra-conservative school, and as such he spouted all kinds of goofball statements in opposition to the School Violence Prevention Act, also known as the “anti-bullying bill,” which finally passed in the House this week. Stam at first said that the bill would encourage pedophilia, which was stupid enough. Then he thought it would lead to same-sex marriages in North Carolina (and God knows, that’s the worst thing that could ever happen). This week, ol’ Skip took our prize by arguing in the House chambers that same-sex parents are more dangerous than second-hand smoke — and saying it to the legislature’s only openly gay member. So, for making arguments that don’t even come close to making sense — much less common sense — and letting his homophobic fever get the best of him, we give the Stupid Thing of the Week Award to Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam.

This article appears in Jun 16-23, 2009.