Rep. Gohmert: Government Will "Snuff" Your Life Out "A Little Early"

During the past several months, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) has repeatedly taken to the House floor to make incendiary comments on a myriad of issues, including health care reform.  In October, for example, Gohmert baselessly claimed that proposed health care reform legislation would allow seniors to "die off more quickly."  Not content with having his statements lambasted for their inaccuracy and absurdity, Gohmert took to the House floor last night to once again argue that under health care reform, the government would "snuff" out lives deemed unproductive.

Gohmert: And we're supposed to have, under our constitution, as was mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, this right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Whether you're an unborn child, or whether you're an old geezer like some of us, you actually have a right to life.  And here, the federal government is saying "we're going to snuff yours out a little early because we just don't find that you're all that productive."  Where's that line drawn once they're allowed to say "now you buy a product or you don't get to live here?"

                        

Gohmert's outlandish claims reinforce the belief that those on the extreme right flank of the Republican Party are not only dishonest, but are doing irreparable harm to political discourse in America.  But with the rise of an equally reactionary and misinformed Tea Party movement gaining national prominence, it is unlikely that Gohmert's comments will be challenged by the increasingly minimized moderate segment of the Republican Party. 

How else can one explain that after having accused Democrats of welcoming terrorist attacks on the homeland, Gohmert is still allowed to spew such vitriol on the House floor?  Gohmert is further proof that while Republicans ask Democrats to come to the center, they themselves have no interest in doing the same.