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Thursday, Mar 21, 2013 8:09 PM UTC

Steve Stockman: The new Michele Bachmann?

The Texas rep's controversial tweets today are part of his campaign to fill the Tea Party void in Congress

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Topics: Steve Stockman, Michele Bachamnn, Tea Party, Oil,

Steve Stockman: The new Michele Bachmann?Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, right, participates in a mock swearing-in ceremony with John Boehner, R-Ohio, Jan. 3, 2013. (Credit: AP/Evan Vucci)

Texas Rep. Steve Stockman is quickly filling the vacuum left in Congress by the departure or silencing of other bomb-throwing Tea Partyers like Allen West. Stockman was the guy who invited Ted Nugent to the State of the Union address (he had to vow ahead of time that he wouldn’t interrupt the speech); he’s introduced legislation to prohibit schools from instituting “gun free zones” in the wake of Sandy Hook; he’s threatened to impeach Obama over gun control; he’s compared Barack Obama to Saddam Hussein; he’s dissed transgender people; he’s mocked a fellow congresswoman’s sartorial choices, etc., etc.

And he seems to relish the role of provocateur, often taking to his Twitter account to dish out conservative red meat or controverisal jokes. Stockman has been around for a long, long time, but he’s been increasingly active lately and seems to be making moves to position himself as a new Michele Bachmann — someone equally loved on the far right and loathed on the left.

Provoking outrage is the path to that particular variety of stardom so, lo and behold, today he tweets this:

Yes, the best thing about the Earth is being able to poke holes it in, because that always works out well.

Alex Seitz-Wald

Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald. More Alex Seitz-Wald.

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  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

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