Senator Says “Dumbest Thing Ever”

In Bill Maher’s funny/scary “Religulous”, Mark Pryor, Senator from Arkansas, had a rare moment of clarity sandwiched by bumbling confusion in response to Maher’s statement that he’s worried there are senators who believe in a talking snake (clip here):

But you don’t have to pass an IQ test to be in the Senate, though.

It’s one of those statements that on the surface seems a stupid gaffe.  A horrible misstep coaxed out of a man of lesser mental faculties by Maher’s lighting quick jabs.   And then you laugh.  And then you realize that it’s funny because it’s true.  The simple and utter truthiness of it brings us full circle to what now looks like a rather intelligent gaffe, indeed.

I bring this up because keeping in mind that no IQ test is required to be in the Senate may save us from confusion and frustration when dissecting Senator Burris’ words to Chicago’s Gay Pride Parade on Sunday.  In what may have been the first time a sitting US Senator has attended the event, Burris sure didn’t go out of his way to make a good impression.  In an argument that transcends bigotry, to lack even the most basic reasoning, Burris has effectively stuck his foot down his throat with one absurd sentence.

My concept of marriage is a male and a female for the perpetuation of the species, for children to be born and identify the bloodline and the heritage.

By Burris’ screwy logic, marriage should be denied to any opposite sex couple who does not desire children, are infertile or sterile, couples who wish to adopt only, women over 50, and the list goes on.  And what of the countless gay couples who do have children, often biological?

Since marriage plays no role in procreation, and procreation plays little role in lasting marital love, this is the dumbest argument against gay marriage… EVER.  It might be one of the dumbest arguments against anything I’ve ever heard.  Was this speech written beforehand, or was this unrivaled specimen of incoherence thought up on the spot?

Just when you think your head is about to explode in a cacophony of idiocy, take a deep breath and repeat this mantra.  ”You don’t have to pass an IQ test to be in the Senate, you don’t have to pass an IQ test to be in the Senate.”  Sometimes, you just have to wait until a seat opens up.