Rep. Louie Gohmert defends use of the word ‘lunatic’

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Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Wednesday defended his vote against removing the term “lunatic” from all federal laws by insisting the word could be applied to Congress.

Gohmert was the only lawmaker to vote against the bill, which was aimed at reducing the stigmatization of mental health conditions.

“The last vote we took today was to eliminate the word ‘lunatic’ from our federal law and I don’t have a problem with ‘lunatic’ being used in the federal law, and apparently I was the only one here on the floor that didn’t have a problem with using the term ‘lunatic,” he said on the House floor.

“In fact, it occurred to me that not only should we not eliminate the term ‘lunatic’ at a time when we are facing national bankruptcy if we don’t get serious about our issues, but we should also use the term to identify those who want to continue doing business as usual around this town. It is time we got serious.”

Gohmert then attacked Obamacare for nearly 30 minutes, repeatedly imploring the President to read the law. He claimed health care reform raised taxes on the poor and downtrodden though the individual mandate. Gohmert concluded his speech by saying that if Obama wanted everyone to pay their “fair share” then he should support a 15 percent flat tax on capital gains and income.

“Look, you talk about wanting Warren Buffett to pay what his secretary does, and yet you haven’t made one proposal that will bring Warren Buffett to paying what his secretary does,” he said. “That’s crazy. That’s why we shouldn’t eliminate the word ‘lunatic.’ It really has application around this town.”

Watch video, courtesy of CSPAN, below: