On October 1, I posted an article about the stealth funding for Art Robinson, who is challenging Rep. Pete DeFazio in Oregon’s 4th Congressional district. Robinson was living on the Social Security while trying to hawk home-school textbooks for the Theocon and InsaniTEA wings of the Republican party. He also published a newsletter in which he pontificates on a wide variety of conspiracy theories. One of his favorites is denying global climate change. That is probably why corporate special interests stood him up as a candidate and are financing him in secret. Last night, he appeared on the Rachel Maddow show, made a complete fool of himself, and demonstrates that it is possible to make Christine O’Donnell look comparatively sane.
But first, this is an excerpt from a letter to the editor by a resident of Oregon’s 4th.
I never heard of Art Robinson until his signs began popping up all over. Who is he? Where does he stand?
I looked up what his position was about education, and found a lot more. And was I shocked!
Here’s a quote from his 1997 Newsletter, Access to Energy: ‘Public education (tax-financed socialism) has become the most widespread and devastating form of child abuse and racism in the United States. Moreover, people who have been cut off at the knees by public education are so mentally handicapped that they cannot be responsible custodians of the energy technology base or other advanced accomplishments of our civilization. These ignorant people vote and their votes are beginning to destroy our way of life. Can this problem be corrected? Yes. Can it be corrected by improving the public schools? No — only by abolishing them."
And he said it again just last year in his speech at the International Conference on Climate Change, March 2009. See the clip on YouTube: Art Robinson: I think the public schools should be abolished… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Coos Bay World>
And that doesn’t even scratch the surface. Move your coffee cups away from your computers, lest you spray your screen and keyboard.
Who could have predicted that we could think of Christine O’Dingbat as the comparatively sane one? Sprinkle radioactive waste? AIDS a government conspiracy? Wacky-doodle-do!!
Note that he kept talking about protecting the environment, but slipped and said what he meant, protecting the environment for exploitation by US companies.
Seriously, if Republicans and their corporate shills will put such a man forward for public office, is there and depth to which they would not stoop?
Vote!
21 Responses to “Republican Art Robinson Makes O’Donnell Seem Almost Sane”
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Have you ever seen Maddow throw her hands up and knock her forehead against her desk? That was the highlight of this buttcheek tirade against having to answer with any honesty of his own when she questioned (tried to question him) on his positions. If he is as he said ” A scientist and a good one too” then the education system IS in pretty poor shape.
She wanted to know what he felt about $150,000 in campaign donations that came from sources that apparently have no-name. And what he would do if he found out they were from organizations which held positions he did not agree with. THAT was the question asked and then he went off on her, calling her in essence the dullest student in the room.
I believe it is Dr. Rachel Maddow isn’t it. Rachel Maddow has a doctorate in political science. She was a Rhodes scholar. Pretty damn dull student if you ask me. Maybe she was just to happy before the interview to finally book a right wing nut on her show for an interview HE did not let happen. Though entertaining to be honest I would have known more about him if they both just said nothing for ten minutes and stared at each other.
He revealed quite a bit about himself. Primarily, he revealed that he’s not fit for public office.
Well, here’s some interesting reading material [PDF}. It’s Robinson’s Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine’s IRS 990 Form from 2007 (latest one I could find). These idiots have a Net Worth of over FOUR MILLION DOLLARS (Part I, Line 21). And a couple of his sons back then were fairly well paid for their “scientific work”.
http://207.153.189.83/EINS/930814898/930814898_2007_044A5FBB.PDF
Thanks, Nameless. In an earlier article, I called him a pocket scientist… one whose opinion dependws on who fills his pocket.
Glad you ran this Tom. When I watched Rachel’s “interview.” She tried to give him time to state his positions, yet all he could say is that she was smearing him. How? She quoted what he’d written.
This person will get a lot of votes, yet he clearly should be in a rubber room somewhere babbling about conspiracies. All he didn’t say he believed in was alien invasion.
Marva, when I received your email, I already had the material for the post stored in One Note. He does believe in an alien invasion… from Mexico.
I couldn’t even watch the whole thing – he wouldn’t answer even one of her questions with any semblance of honesty. He went there to attack DeFazio; she went there to find out his views and ask him about the $150K. The guy is a nut case! 😯
That he is, Lisa. Thanks SCOTUS.
Usually I become embarrassed for people like Robinson because they are making such fools of themselves. But I must admit I enjoyed his “opinions”. He kept repeating that Rachel’s audience knew exactly what she was about and exactly what she was doing. I couldn’t agree more. She was asking him about his views and whether or not he had changed his mind about certain of his published opinions. Scientist?! Science of curmudgeonism? I can only surmise that he thought he was a brave, stick-to-my-guns, I ain’t goin’ to let MADAM outshoot me sort of person and, for whatever reason, thinks he outsmarted her. By the way, he chews too much tobacco and his skin tone reminds me of John Boehner. Is that nicotine oozing through his pores?
Welcome, Lynda. 🙂
I fully agree, except that the substance in question is mist likely insaniTEA.
Thanks for posting this. This is the first time I have heard of this guy!
You’re welcome, Kevin. May he never be heard of again after November.
I watched the entire “interview,” if anyone can call it that. This man, who is supposed to be a scientist, made a total and complete jackass of himself. From the very start, he was defensive, confrontational, and combative. Instead of answering questions she asked, since she obviously had read up on writings of his, he launched into attack mode. If he is the “scientist” that he claims to be,he should be able to dispassionately and objectively voice his views. He’s obviously thin-skinned and doesn’t like being questioned. I would say that is a bad sign for someone who wants to go into politics, since it truly is a brutal “contact” sport. I was ready to scream, “Just stop this so-called interview!! You’re not getting anywhere.” Although Ms. Maddow didn’t get him to rationally discuss his views, she did us a favor by exposing this man in all his belligerence and idiocy. I firmly believe that if he wins, those who voted for him will get a lot more than they bargained for.
Welcome Anne. 🙂
I agree completely. It would be comical were it not such a threat to our nation.
Most of you Maddow devotees obviously know nothing about the scientific process as she well displayed about herself. That nit tried grabbing a sentence from here and a sentence from there from very complicated scientific papers. Those papers are written within rules and protocols for all scientists. They are long, complicated developed arguments substantiated with numerous references from other scientists. Everyone who writes them knows they are then subject to challenge as Robinson is very well accustomed to. Those challenges however, don’t come from the general public or morons who haven’t a clue to what they are talking about. And the challenges if directed towards a particular statement, would be about the logical process, not the statement in and of itself outside of the context of the whole argument being presented.
Robinson tried to explain to that nit and she was too big of a nit to comprehend that she was making an idiot out of herself. No wonder her ratings are so deplorable.
Welcome btdt. 🙂
Maddow was quiting from his newsletter, not from very complicated scientific papers. Your arhument that we are not bright enough to understand does not hold water.
Art Robinson is proof that anyone can succeed at Cal Tech – even a raving moron. So much for the credibility of that institution. Maybe this can be explained by a severe head trauma being inflicted on the good Dr. some time after his graduation from this august institution. If no such explanation exists, perhaps the award of the degree ought to be reconsidered and be “un-conferred.”
All she tried to do was to ask him to explain, agree with or deny his prior words. She passed no judgment on anything he said. His failure to respond appropriately spoke volumes about his lack of faith in his own statements. If he thinks he’s been inaccurate, then he must have been inaccurate in his pronouncements. He is a card-carrying moron – proof that education doesn’t always take you to a better place. If , in fact, it actually did take Robinson to a better place, God help us. He is a great example of just what it means to be a tea-partier. I thank him for that.
Welcome, Nick. 🙂
I think you’re absolutely right.
Holy Frijoles have you ever seen such a jackhole do an interview? The guy just would NOT STOP talking!!!! Babbling, actually- I’ve never seen a guy utter so many words and say so little. Heaven help us if he were to get elected… Proof positive corporate interests and republicans don’t care about running the country, they only want power to destroy the parts of government they don’t like. But first they need to make it look so bad people will be begging to get rid of it.
Welcome, Colin. 🙂
Amazing, wasn’t it? Babbling was his only chance to survive. By answering her questions, which were perfectly reasonable, he would have shredded himself. I agree with your conclusion.