Republican Rep. suggests Pelosi is mentally ill for worrying about voter suppression

A Republican South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy on Thursday suggested that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was "mind-numbingly stupid" and possibly mentally ill after she claimed that his party was attacking Attorney General Eric Holder because he was fighting attempts to suppress minority voters.

Pelosi had told reporters that the House Republicans who had voted to hold Holder in contempt "were the very same people who were part of a nationwide scheme to suppress the vote."

"They're going after Eric Holder because he is supporting these measures to overturn these voter suppression initiatives in the states," the former House Speaker explained. "This is no accident. It is no coincidence. It is a plan on the part of Republicans."

During an interview on Fox News, host Greta Van Susteren asked Gowdy to respond to Pelosi's allegations.

"Is that the best you can come up with?" the congressman wondered. "That we got together to suppress votes in -- I'm sure she didn't say southern states, but that's what she meant. It's really beneath the office of a member of Congress to say something that outrageous. And the fact that she was once the Speaker is mind numbing."

"I don't know what was wrong with her yesterday or today or whenever she said that, but I would schedule an appointment with my doctor if she thinks we are doing this to suppress votes this fall," Gowdy added. "That is mind-numbingly stupid."

As attorney general, Eric Holder has opposed voter ID laws in some states. The Justice Department has also ordered Florida to stop purging voter rolls.

Watch this video from Fox News' On the Record via Think Progress, broadcast June 21, 2012.