The theme today is N.C. Nutcases in Congress. Members of Congress are rarely anything to be thrilled about, but North Carolina's delegation features a couple of Congresswomen who are, in fact, very entertaining in their own right-wing, showboat-y way.
First up, we're all familiar with Charlotte's Rep. Sue Myrick: she hears messages from coffeemakers (one once advised her to run for mayor); thinks Muslim convenience store owners represent a threat to America; is a loud leader of the "Kick 'em all out" school of immigration reform; and, as a devout, morally superior Christian, broke up her current husband's first marriage. She wrote an op-ed for today's daily paper touting the so-called Fair Tax Act, an ultra-rightwing idea that would eliminate the IRS and all other taxes and replace them with a national sales tax which, according to about 99% of economic experts, would shift tax burdens onto the backs of those less able to afford it. The bill has as much chance of being passed as I do of becoming King of Sweden, but Sue's never been one to let reality get in her way.
As if to prove her off-kilter sense of reality (Hugh McColl, last October, described her as "a slow learner"), she also announced she would take part in a so-called "American Tea Party" on April 4 at Marshall Park, where she will decry "the out-of-control spending in Washington" — you know, the kind of spending she voted for during the entire Bush administration.