Right before leaving for a long weekend today, the House passed legislation that will remove the term “lunatic” from federal law, just as Congress nixed references to “mental retardation” two years ago. The vote was 398 to 1, with Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert as the lone dissenter. He said we should keep using the term “to identify those who want to continue doing business as usual around this town,” and noted that we’re “facing national bankruptcy,” leading many to conclude that he was merely protesting a vote he considered a waste of time. However, this isn’t the first time Gohmert has gone against his fellow lawmakers. Two years ago he declared on the House floor that the U.S. had been infiltrated by “terror babies,” after Obamacare passed he proposed repealing direct elections for U.S. senators, and last month he cast the lone vote to have Newt Gingrich replace John Boehner as Speaker of the House. It’s beginning to look like he’s appointed himself Congress’s troll in residence.
