Entry #130: Bryan Fischer
Another big fish for our encyclopedia, up next is Bryan Fischer, the director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy for The American Family Association. Now it is hard to keep these groups apart, but any organization with “Family” in their name is guaranteed to be, shall we say, over the top. AFA’s mission is to make homosexuality illegal, along with abortion, and possibly even women's voting rights. More information here (they have rather effective strategies, in particular targeting companies that have made statements or policies in favour of gay rights, advertised in gay publications or advertised during a commercial break in a TV show which they find objectionable. They call for members to bombard these companies with complaints, or boycott their products).
But turn to Fischer, an unrepentant theocrat who is known for wanting the government to force gays and lesbians into "reparative therapy" or prison (discussed here).
He has recently fallen out with Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter, since these are not sufficiently against gay marriage for his taste - they associate with organizations that want to destroy the American military and the institution of marriage.
Well, sometimes it seems that “ruining the military” isn’t the goal of the guys - rather, they want to take it over for their own nefarious purposes. Quote Bryan Fischer: “Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews. Gays in the military is an experiment that has been tried and found disastrously and tragically wanting. Maybe it's time for Congress to learn a lesson from history.” (Fischer actually bases his claims on a book by Scott Lively, who will be covered later).
He is apparently completely oblivious to the irony in this one.
Fischer received some flak when he blames a grizzly bear attack at Yellowstone National Park on America for turning their back on God: “History reveals that God's covenant with an ancient nation suggests that one of the consequences for a nation which walks in his statues is that it will have nothing to fear from wild animals”. He phrased the whole incident in a slightly peculiar manner.
The AFA has also called for an end to allowing Muslims to immigrate to the United States, for banning them from joining the military, and for a moratorium on all new mosque building in America.
He is also, unsurprisingly, a staunch creationist, and was formerly the head of the Idaho Values Alliance.
More on Fischer here (we’ve touched on just a small selection).
Nice thing about Fischer is that he always attempts to top whatever he has currently said with something even more sheerly lunatic. This must be something of a world record in hateful lunacy. This is also worth reading for a glimpse into a mind completely insulated from reality. (And his lack of self-awareness is almost epic)
And Fischer just keeps on giving. Someone should actually keep real track of More on unbridled insanity. I know. We should have a pretty clear view of what this guy is up to by now, and adding to it won't change much. But when Fischer says things like this I can't really help but being compelled to inform people about it.
This one speaks for itself.
Having already established that he's an intense moron, it was easy to predict that Fischer's arguments against evolution would be among the dumbest. And true enough. I know I should not continue updating this entry all the time, but Fischer just keeps kicking it up notches. Indeed, despite his history of unhinged lunacy, he still manages to surprise, and this one is actually rather stunning.
Ok. Fischer has long since surpassed Fred Phelps as the most incoherently unhinged hater in the US. This is merely one recent example. Ok. Enough now. But this one must be mentioned as well.
I give up. Fischer's knack for surprising even the most hardened of us by new levels of astonishing lunacy is, well, astonishing. He is also an AIDS denialist, wholeheartedly endorsing Peter Duesberg's lunacy. And you know who is to blame for the recently reported 7% rise in oral cancer? Why, Bill Clinton, of course.
Well, how can one not be fascinated by the lunacy of this creature. His latest claim is so wonderfully surreal that it takes even those of us who have some idea of Fischer aback. Marvelous. And Ellen is to blame for suicide among American girls because she legitimizes being gay, and thereby harassment of homosexuals. In one sense it must be a little comfortable to be so insulated to reason, reality, and self-perception. In fact, Ellen is apparently responsible for everything. You didn't know that lesbianism caused breast cancer, did you?
Here is Fischer claiming that all Muslim immigrants (and all other immigrants?) should be forced to convert to Christianity. Fischer says that an attack on Santorum is an attack on Jesus. I don't know how to respond. Another one to sane people speechless.
Fischer claims that he rejects evolution and global warming because he is "committed to science"; indeed according to Fischer evolution is completely irrational and scientifically bankrupt. Finally, here is Fischer arguing that federal income tax is "flatly unconstitutional". Please try to act on that one, Bryan.
You gotta give him that he has an impressive ability to outdo himself repeatedly. Here's Fischer trying to reclaim the word "discrimination" for the right. Which is, I suppose, kinda like trying to reclaim the word "evil". Here's Fischer coming clean, claiming that women are unfit for public office. At last Fischer is explaining to us why the US exists. I guess you had been waiting for that, hadn’t you? Oh, the reason the US exists? I think you know the answer already.
And here he goes first-class rabid. Again.
Oooh. Fischer is being tasteful again. Fischer comes clean with his belief that Obama may be a closeted Muslim, and in any case, if Obama is reelected, then America has no future. But you knew that, didn’t you. And of course, when Obama did get reelected, Fischer and the AFA summed up Obama’s strategy by his efforts to harness people’s capacity for envy, hate, and greed, which are, coincidentally, traits that Fischer himself is well known for exhibiting (at least hate and greed; “envy” is probably too complex an emotion for a ball of pure rage like Fischer).
Just as unsurprisingly, Fischer continues to claim that gays are like Nazis, even to the extent of claiming that anti-bullying programs are like poisoned Halloween candy with impeccably tortured logic.
Keeping track of Bryan Fischer’s hate-filled lunacy and idiocy is of course beyond the scope of this entry, but it my be useful to peek in now and then.
If you do you will, for instance, see him argue that Hispanics are socialists, an argument which is, as you would expect, founded rather hilariously clearly on racial stereotypes. Or you can see him explain how the 9/11 theorists were agents of God’s wrath. More politics here, which shows once more how sophisticated his analyses are, all in the name of precision and accuracy.
True to himself, he also offers some of the dumbest creationist arguments ever, which is saying quite a bit about those arguments.
Finally, Fischer presents his Grand Unified Theory on Obama. We’ve all been waiting for that one, haven’t we? And here is Fischer, the noted constitutional scholar, arguing that the second amendment is based on Jesus (an argument he seems to have picked up from David Barton). And to top it, here is Fischer, noted (young-earth creationist) genetics expert trying to argue that homosexuality is the result of a birth defect. It is unclear how that is supposed to justify his stance on homosexuality, unless it is supposed to be a “we need to eradicate birth defects by ensuring that only people with good genes reproduce”-argument. Which I suppose it could very well be.
Fischer, a respected fiscal analyst, points out that the fiscal cliff legislation is demonic. And he is assessing other current threats to businesses, in his usual manner.
But of course, economics is not the only area in which Fischer is willing to divulge his wisdom. Theology is another. Hear him, for instance, explain how natural disasters are God’s spankings. He also praises Scott Lively and suggests that his critics are Satanically inspired. Because that could be the only reason for disagreeing with Scott Lively.
It is also worth seeing this for an object lesson in misrepresentation.
And here he plays the victim again.
Fischer is miffed at recent discussions in the media, and claims that Obama is actively trying to make gun-owners seem crazy. Fischer claims that abortion rights lead to terrorist attacks, which is kinda does, but this is not what Fischer is talking about, of course. Yep, Fischer claims that God will send Muslims to kill us all because of abortion. Or for disagreeing with him, which seems to be the general theme in his posts. Taking his cue from David Barton, Fischer has realized that one can just rewrite history to make it support your political agenda. Did you know, for instance, that evangelical Christians ended slavery. I'm pretty sure those liberal college professors didn't know that. Here, he is recycling his arguments against repealing DADT to argue against allowing women in combat. He doesn’t quite get things right, though.
Fischer infamously argues that Akin’s comments on reproduction proves that the GOP is “not the stupid party”. He explodes another irony meter here, with his claim that liberals are the modern day Pharisees. Here he presents his standard theocratic vision, which complements his claim that every secularist is an antichrist. In particular President Obama, of course. Fischer has explicitly declared that President Obama “is our enemy”. He (Obama) is also filled with arrogance and believes that he knows better than God (another irony-meter exploding - Fischer is rather without doubt one of the most extreme SPAGgers in the US). To bolster his claim, Fischer also asserts that Obama has no soul and gays have no place in NFL. Those two claims are apparently related.
Fischer, in a moment of lack of self-awareness that is stunning even for him, has recently claimed that liberal secular "fundamentalists" are the American Taliban (also here). Part of the accusation is surely based on his observation that Obama is a tyrant who would launch drone strikes against the tea party, and he explains "tyranny" here. As for himself, he has argued that adultery and pornography should be against the law. Surely part of what makes liberals just like the Taliban is their lack of enthusiasm for such laws. More staple fare from Fischer here. And there is nothing unusual or unexpected about this, but somehow his way of formulating it makes it more striking than usual. Ben Carson is also a victim of the left's demonic hatred.
Illuminating on how Bryan Fischer sees the world. Fischer fails self-awareness as usual. Here he repeats his claim that liberals and muslims hate America, here he repeats his argument that gays should face job discrimination just as we discriminate against shoplifters, and here he repeats completely debunked rightwing conspiracy talking points. More usual Fischer stuff here. And here.
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Diagnosis: Totally insane, vile and zealous, theocrat and Godbot, hatemonger and crackpot, loon, moron, dumbass, crank. You pick, they all fit. Yet he still seems to enjoy quite some influence. I can’t quite find words.