Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, has a history of saying things that are, um … colorful, shall I say?
On Wednesday, he continued in his foot-in-mouth tradition when he ranted about Russian President Vladimir Putin and special counsel Robert Mueller.
As the Washington Examiner’s Al Weaver reports, Gohmert described the sense of hilarity that washed over him as President Trump congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his election victory last Sunday. Gohmert stands apart from most members of Congress here, who believe that Putin’s authoritarian tendencies and predispositions against U.S. interests mean he deserves no democratic praise.
But for Gohmert, even though Trump failed to raise concerns over Russia’s poisoning of former British agent, Sergei Skripal, during his call with Putin, all is amusing.
And then came the cruncher: “I think Mueller should be fired, he should be,” Gohmert said, continuing, “he should never have been appointed and he should never have accepted. He should be fired.” Stumbling slightly, Gohmert then explained why he thinks Mueller hasn’t been fired.
“Because we have some establishment Republicans in the House and Senate who say, oh gee, if he were to fire Mueller then we might have to impeach the president… because we have so many people who have not bothered to do their homework on who Robert Mueller is and the damage he has done, especially to the FBI as director….the thousands of years of experience [Mueller] ran off that might, could have, helped guide some of these wayward FBI agents away from the path they took. But he’s done enough damage, he needs to go.”
The United States is nothing if not a democracy of laws bound to the independence of the judiciary. This is what insulates us from Putinism: from political whims towards corruption or unjust usurpation of power.
Gohmert, however, evidently thinks that usurpation of power is … funny. And in that sentiment, the Texas congressman shows he has very read few history books and no philosophy.
