House Republicans in Their Own Words
In fact, just take a look at this video for some of the many times Speaker Ryan's House Republicans made similar, outrageous comments – and see below for additional radical statements.
ANTI-MUSLIM
Congressman Peter King (R-NY): ‘Too Many Mosques in this Country,' Muslims Not ‘American' During War, Muslim-Americans ‘Covering Up for al Qaeda,' ‘An Enemy Living Amongst Us'
"We have, unfortunately, too many mosques in this country." [POLITICO, 9/07]
"[W]hen a war begins," King said, every ethnic and religious group unites as "Americans." "But in this case," King continued, referring to Muslims, "this is not the situation. … Whether it's cultural tradition, whatever, the fact is the Muslim community does not cooperate anywhere near to the extent that it should" [ThinkProgress: Rep. Peter King Says Muslims Aren't ‘American' When It Comes To War, 1/11]
"I would say, you could say that 80-85 percent of mosques in this country are controlled by Islamic fundamentalists...Those who are in control…I'll stand by that number of 85 percent. This is an enemy living amongst us." [WND, 2/04]
Congressman Steve King (R-IA): Says Muslim Members of Congress Refuse to ‘Renounce Sharia law'
"Sharia law is incompatible with the United States Constitution and so if they want to demonstrate that they are open to being Americanized, the first thing they should do is renounce Sharia law," King told TPM. "You won't get Keith Ellison or Andre Carson in this Congress to renounce Sharia law, let alone somebody that's just come out of the Middle East that is someone who has been steeped in Islam for a lifetime." [TPM, 12/15]
Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX): On Muslim Immigrants, ‘Evil' Islam
"It appeared that [the terrorists] would have young women, who became pregnant, would get them into the United States to have a baby," Gohmert said. "And then they would turn back where they could be raised and coddled as future terrorists." [NY Daily News, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert warns of baby-making terrorists coming to US, 6/10]
"Islam is evil. We must shout this out so loud that even President Obama and all the other cowards in politics all over the West will hear it." [Huffington Post, 4/16]
ANTI-WOMAN
Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ): ‘Incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low,' Compares Interfering in Women's Private Health Decisions to Defeating Holocaust, KKK
"Before, when my friends on the left side of the aisle here tried to make rape and incest the subject -- because, you know, the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low." [Washington Post, 6/13]
"It took a civil war in this nation to make the 7,000-year-old state-sanctioned practice of human slavery come to an end, and, ultimately, it did so across the world. American women overcame the mindless policy that deprived them of the right to vote in America. Then this nation charged into Europe and arrested the hellish Nazi Holocaust. We crushed the Ku Klux Klan and prevailed in the dark days of our own civil rights struggle." [Vox, 4/16]
Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): Women ‘Don't Want' Equal Pay Laws
"Republican congresswoman Marsha Blackburn said on Sunday that women ‘don't want' equal pay laws." [Huffington Post, 6/13]
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI): Paid Leave for Families An ‘Unfunded Mandate'
"I don't think that – that sticking up for being a person with balance in your life, for wanting to spend your weekends in your home with your family…I don't think that's – I don't think – I don't think that means, therefore, you should sign up for some…unfunded mandate." [CNN, 11/15]
Congressman Markwayne Mullin (R-OK): Protections for LGBT Women in VAWA ‘Unacceptable'
"The language regarding ‘sexual orientation' in the bill's non-discrimination provisions was unacceptable to me…" [Indian Country, Congressmen Explain Their Surprising Violence Against Women Act Votes, 3/13]
Congressman Ryan Zinke (R-MT):
On his position on women in combat: It "doesn't mean that I hate women – I married one." [1/13]
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ): Wrote legislation to redefine rape (‘Forcible Rape')
In 2011, Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey introduced the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" to permanently stop federal funding for abortions…the legislation would allow coverage for such procedures only in cases of ‘forcible' rape. [Mother Jones, 1/11]
Congressman Steve Russel (R-OK): Needed Proof That Standards Weren't Lowered for Historic Female Army Ranger School Attendees
"The training of our combat warriors is paramount to our national defense," Russell wrote. "In order to ensure that the Army retains its ability to defend the nation, we must ensure that our readiness is not sacrificed." [9/15]
ANTI-LGBT
Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX): Compares Gay Rights Advocates to Nazis
"So it is amazing that in the name of liberality, in the name of being tolerant, this fascist intolerance has arisen. People that stand up and say, you know, I agree with the majority of Americans, I agree with Moses and Jesus that marriage was a man and a woman, now all of a sudden, people like me are considered haters, hate mongers, evil, which really is exactly what we've seen throughout our history as going back to the days of the Nazi takeover in Europe." [TPM, Louie Gohmert Compares Gay Rights Advocates To Nazis In House Floor Speech, 5/9]
Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (R-MO): On Gay Marriage – ‘Why Not Allow a 50-year old man to marry a 12-year-old girl?'
"For instance, you know, if you just care about somebody and you have a committed relationship, why not allow one man and two women, or three women to marry? There are a lot of people in this country that support polygamy. Why not? If they're committed to each other, why should you care? Why not allow group marriage? There are people out there who want that. I think it's call polyamory, it's got some big name. But anyway, group marriage, I understand it. Well, is that the best policy? Why not allow an uncle to marry his niece? Why not allow a 50-year-old man to marry a 12-year-old girl if they love each other and they're committed?" [Think Progress, 6/11]
Congressman Tim Huelskamp (R-KS):
"President Obama and I have very different notions of what a family is. For liberals, the family can apparently be everything from ‘Heather Has Two Mommies' to ‘Daddy's Roommate' to Hillary Rodham Clinton's ‘It Takes a Village.' [Washington Times, 4/13]
ANTI-IMMIGRANT
Congressman Steve King (R-IA):
‘Calves the size of cantaloupes': "For everyone who's a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds — and they've got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert," [New York Times, 8/13]
‘Dogs': "You get the pick of the litter and you got yourself a pretty good bird dog. Well, we've got the pick of every donor civilization on the planet." [Huffington Post, 10/12]
‘Livestock': On his plan to build an electric fence on the Southern Border – "…we do this with livestock all the time." [Think Progress, 6/06]
‘Violent Civilization': "Now think what that is," King said to the 60 or so attendees at the rally. "If you bring people from a violent civilization into a less-violent civilization, you're going to have more violence right? It's like pouring hot water into cold water, does it raise the temperature or not?" [POLITICO, 8/13]
Congressman Don Young (R-AK): Calls Latinos ‘Wetbacks'
"My father had a ranch; we used to have 50-60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes," Young said. "It takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It's all done by machine." [Huffington Post, 3/13]
Congressman Mike Coffman (R-CO): Minority language speakers should ‘Pull out a Dictionary'
To minority language speakers: "One thing they ought to do is pull out a dictionary when they are at home, because the ballots have been sent to them a long time in advance…sometimes you have to put a little more effort to assimilate into our culture." [Colorado Pols, 4/14]
Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL): I'll do ‘anything short of shooting' undocumented immigrants
"I will do anything short of shooting them." [CBS, 6/11]
Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-VA): Track Immigrants like Fed-Ex Packages
"Fed-Ex can track packages coming in here all of the time, we can track people who are coming into the country and we can do that right," [MSNBC, 9/14]
Congressman Lou Barletta (R-Pa): Immigrants Turning America Into ‘Sinking Ship'
"Let's not take on any more water on this sinking ship." [Huffington Post, 4/13]
Congressman John Mica (R-FL):
Undocumented immigrants "should not have any rights." [6/15]
BIRTHER CONSPIRACISTS
Congressman Mike Coffman (R-CO): President Obama ‘In His Heart…Not American'
"I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don't know that," Coffman said. "But I do know this, that in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American." [Denver Post, 5/12]
Congressman Ted Yoho (R-FL):
"They said, well, if [the birth certificate] is truly illegal, he shouldn't be there and we can get rid of everything and I said I agree with that." [Huffington Post, Ted Yoho Says He Would Support A Birther Bill, 8/13]
Congressman Blake Farenthold (R-TX):
"Rep. Blake Farenthold, a Texas Republican, says there are enough votes in the House to impeach President Barack Obama should anyone have lingering doubts about the legitimacy of his birth certificate…In an exchange with a peeved constituent who complained about Obama's ‘fraudulent birth certificate' and accused Obama of criminal conduct, Farenthold said he gets asked about impeachment ‘a lot.' ‘… and I'll give you a real frank answer about that,' he said. ‘If we were to impeach the president, we would probably get the votes in the House of Representatives to do it.'" [Newsmax, Rep. Farenthold: House Could Impeach Obama on Birth Issue, 8/13]
Congressman Jeff Duncan (R-SC): Questions the ‘President's validity'
"Let's go back and revisit some of these things because Americans have questions about…the president's validity." [Think Progress, 6/13]
Congressman Bill Posey (R-FL)
On his birther bill (with 11 Republican Co-Sponsors): "Implementing these standards through legislation, which are listed in the Constitution, will help put to rest any future controversies surrounding presidential eligibility." [POLITICO, Posey defends 'birther' bill, 4/10]
Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI): ‘I don't know' if President Obama is American, Muslim
"CALLER: My question is, do you believe this president was born in America? Because I have not seen enough evidence to say he is an American citizen. Do you believe he is a Muslim?
WALBERG: I don't know, you know, I don't know. He has never given a job interview that was complete. But that's not the issue now. He is president. Right now, we need to make sure that he doesn't remain as president, whether he's American, a Muslim, a Christian, you name it." [Think Progress, 9/10]