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Is This the Dumbest Moment in Congressional History?At a House committee hearing Tuesday on The Need for Leadership to Combat Climate Change and Protect National Security, the Kentucky Republican thought he could pwn former secretary of state John Kerry. Kerry is an expert on climate change who helped broker the Paris climate accord and recently criticized president Trump for proposing to set up a task force that seeks to counter the scientific consensus on climate change. Massie calls advocates of climate action alarmists and believes that the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is plant food.
The transcript of the literally unbelievable exchange follows:
Massie: Sec. Kerry, I want to read part of your statement back to you: Instead of convening a kangaroo court, the president might want to talk with the educated adults he once trusted his top national security positions. It sounds like youre questioning the credentials of the presidents advisers, currently. But I think we should question your credentials today. Isnt it true you have a science degree from Yale?
Kerry: Bachelor of arts degree.
Massie: Is it a political science degree?
Kerry: Yes, political science.
Massie: So how do you get a bachelor of arts, in a science?
Kerry: Well its a liberal arts education and degree. Its a bachelor
Massie: OK. So its not really science. So I think its somewhat appropriate that someone with a pseudo-science degree is here pushing pseudo-science in front of our committee today.
Kerry: Are you serious?! I mean this is really a serious happening here?
Massie: You know what? It is serious. Youre calling the presidents Cabinet a kangaroo court. Is that serious?
Kerry: Im not calling his Cabinet a kangaroo court, Im calling this committee that hes putting together a kangaroo committee.
Massie: Are you saying it doesnt have educated adults now?
Kerry: I dont know who it has yet because its secret.
Massie: Well you said it in your testimony.
Kerry: Why would he have to have a secret analysis of climate change?
Massie: Lets get back to the science of it.
Kerry: But its not science, youre not quoting science!
Massie: Well, Youre the science expert. You have the political science degree.
Someone's angling after Louie Gohmert's long-held "dumbest mouthbreather in Congress" plaque on the GOP Wall of Shame...
astoundedly,
Bright
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,182 posts)TygrBright
(20,761 posts)mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)hunter
(38,317 posts)Does anyone think Trump could do this without blowing his own head off?
Would Trump ever seek out the smartest guy in the world?
Aristus
(66,386 posts)I'd love to have him on that committee.
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)He literally sought out the smartest person he could find to solve the country's hunger problem. It didn't matter if the person he found was smarter than he was. He WANTED that. His massive ego was unbruised by bringing in someone he thought could get that particular job done.
I would take a President Camacho ANY day over Trump.
ewagner
(18,964 posts)Glimmer of Hope
(5,823 posts)mercuryblues
(14,532 posts)That has to be the dumbest thing I read in 5 minutes. Massachusetts Institute of Technology needs to revoke his degree for that.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,182 posts)Was it Lori Loughlin?
It was Lori Loughlin, wasn't it?
DoctorJoJo
(1,134 posts)zaj
(3,433 posts)It's nuts
PaulRevere08
(449 posts)While at times he came across rational, he lost me when he said that citizens should be heavily armed to protect them from the government. He stated this as if was obvious as the sky is blue.
KayF
(1,345 posts)mcar
(42,334 posts)Atticus
(15,124 posts)some ignoramus showed up with a poster depicting the President as Hitler. Barney spotted it and called him out.
"On what planet do you spend most of your time? Trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table.--- I have no interest in doing it!"
The only problem was that it likely took several hours and explanations before the bagger "got it".
progressoid
(49,991 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Did this guy really go to MIT? Who bankrolled that degree?
DRoseDARs
(6,810 posts)I'm not saying he's stupid, but there appears to be a non-zero chance of him finding dumb and inexplicable ways of killing himself while doing benign tasks.
Shorter Massie: Bless his heart... *sips tea*
Delmette2.0
(4,166 posts)Then the tax payers need to know what they are discussing. Can we have the minutes of their meetings?
paleotn
(17,931 posts)No offense to engineers, but they're not climate scientists. It drives me insane when engineers or anyone else who's out of their depth starts stomping their muddy feet all over a discipline they know little about. More often than not it's engineers, but in fairness I heard some quite uninformed statements by Neil deGrasse Tyson about topics in genetics.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)That is just basic knowledge for most people who have been to college. Is he really this stupid or is he playing to his base?
yardwork
(61,650 posts)kag
(4,079 posts)Louie'll up his game, I'm sure. Fun fact, I grew up in the district that Knuckledragger Gohmert represents. Believe me, he's had plenty of practice conversing with moh-rons where he's from!
Baitball Blogger
(46,735 posts)It's a strategy to mock you, hence your reasoning. God I've seen it done so often. Probably a form of gaslighting.
KayF
(1,345 posts)trying to turn our democracy into a clown show.
Evolve Dammit
(16,743 posts)Kurt V.
(5,624 posts)babylonsister
(171,070 posts)What an insult to John Kerry, to be in his presence.
shanti
(21,675 posts)Jebus....
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(108,033 posts)They take it as a challenge.
tblue37
(65,403 posts)Takket
(21,577 posts)2naSalit
(86,646 posts)he's like a bad acting imitation of some Richard Dreyfuss character while spewing his particular brand of ignorance and lack of decorum.
applegrove
(118,683 posts)Stonepounder
(4,033 posts)This dumb-ass is (theoretically) MY Representative! I'd send him a letter, but I'm afraid he wouldn't understand words like 'dumbshit' and 'shit for brains' and 'you don't have the brains of a Zabrinskian Fotema (sp?)'
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,492 posts)the best and the brightest can be brainwashed by right-wing politics and/or religious dogma. As an engineer, I've seen it happen a number of times to some brilliant people. Like many so-called Republicans, it begins with a resentment toward taxation.
Engineers are taught relentlessly in school to follow logic and reason and to use scientific thinking in analysis. That training should stay with you for life. No matter whether one is an EE or ME or ChemE for example, engineers will normally use reason and thorough analysis in reaching any conclusion, and they will defer to and reference experts outside their area of science.
That's why a normal engineer would not question climate change research because of it's pedigree and history, and considering its conclusions are backed by thousands of the top experts in that field. The main point to make in discussions is that neither Sec. Kerry or Rep. Massie need to be experts in climate science to respect those conclusions.
Therefore, this hearing strongly suggests Massie has totally drank the GOP Kool-Aid and is simply power hungry like most Repugs. He's shoving aside his good education for the thrill and money of power.
Unfortunately, a sizable percentage of humanity is vulnerable to those evils...... ........
keithbvadu2
(36,828 posts)And a PhD can practice medicine.
A woman cannot get a bachelor's degree... it's called a spinster's degree.
A married person cannot get a bachelor's degree.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,182 posts)Mr.Bill
(24,303 posts)and send them to MIT for four years you will then have someone with a degree from MIT and an IQ of 88.