SALON

Thursday, Mar 14, 2013 7:22 PM UTC

Louie Gohmert treated like rock star at CPAC, of course

Longtime crank with no actual accomplishments very beloved at conservative conference

By

Topics: Politics, Louie Gohmert, CPAC, conservative movement,

Louie Gohmert treated like rock star at CPAC, of courseLouie Gohmert (Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

We’ve probably reached the point where coverage of the Conservative Political Action Conference, which is going on now in D.C., finally outweighs the actual influence and importance of CPAC. But the conference remains a useful glimpse at the state of the hardcore conservative movement.

That’s why it’s so fun to read this Betsy Woodruff story about how Texas congressman Louie Gohmert is being treated like a rock star at CPAC. Because Louie Gohmert is not just a nutjob — he is a singularly useless and unaccomplished nutjob. The man has been in the House of Representatives since 2005 and in all that time all he’s done is generate hundreds of outraged blog posts.

Gohmert is the perfect spokesperson for the modern conservative movement, because his congressional record is made up of an endless series of inflammatory, stupid and outrageous public statements, instead of any legislative accomplishments whatsoever. He has done nothing at all since he arrived in Washington besides repeatedly say degrading and insulting things about gay people and Muslims and immigrants. He doesn’t really seem to take any issue remotely seriously and has no apparent interest in actually advancing conservative policy goals. He’s done nothing for conservative causes beyond rile up liberals and repel sensible people.

At CPAC he is Elvis:

CPAC sometimes feels like the Grammy Awards of movement conservatism. And if that’s the case, then Gohmert is Willie Nelson — accented and outspoken. And faced with hordes of fans, he’s enamoring. It’s not just a CPAC thing — his staffers tell me that they’re always juggling media invites — but here, Gohmert might as well be Elvis. Nobody doesn’t want a piece of Louie.

Blond Tea Party media babes love him!

He finally makes it down to the Tea Party Patriot radio booth, where Gina Loudon, another blonde in stilettos (she’s sporting a necklace with a pistol on it) wants to chat him up on the air. She mentions that he’s “a big-time celebrity” and he says, “You’re intimidating me!”
“I’m the one that’s intimidated!” she retorts. And she tells him that she talks about him on her show all the time, and that he’s “so much fun” and “so cute.”

Louie Gohmert is a beloved “big-time celebrity” solely because the sort of people who vote for Barack Obama — that is to say, a majority of voters — find him abhorrent and consider the ease with which he is always and will always be reelected to be a damning indictment of the entire American political system. That is the only reason.

He’s another conservative huckster, feeding on the enthusiasm of the right-wing rabble and giving them nothing in return but regular satisfying jolts of hate. If I were an actual conservative I’d be appalled to see Gohmert treated with anything besides the contempt he himself brings to his job. As a lefty I guess I can’t complain if conservatives want to make themselves into a permanent marginal minority of cranks.

Alex Pareene

Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 33 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations