Trent Franks is the U.S. Representative for Arizona's 8^th(previously 2^nd) congressional district since 2003 (to those whoexpected Georgia state representative andreconstructionist theocrat Bobby Franklin,perhaps most famous forthis;he has unfortunately passed away before we reached this stage in theEncyclopedia). To set the stage for a proper characterization of Franks, onecould perhaps start withwhat he said about Sarah Palin: “If every person in the world was like Sarah Palin, thereprobably wouldn't even be need for government because no one would be in dangerof any kind. If every person were like Sarah Palin, this world would be apeaceful, beautiful world to live in.” Yes, Franks says stuff like that (andthis),and seems to mean them. That’s presumably why he becamethe co-chair of Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign (he is also known to be a close ally ofDavid Barton,Tony Perkins,Lou Engle,Clenard Childress,andJanet Porter).

He has argued that the courts are trying “inch by inch” to“take away our religious freedom,” and evenargued that “if Mr. Obama appointsadditional people to the Supreme Court that the Constitution itself will befundamentally abrogated”,because this is the only way to explain why the Courts sometimes come to otherconclusion than the seriously delusional Franks. In fact, he thinks Obama (“we need to realize he is an enemy of humanity”)is “one of the nation’smost dangerous enemies” because he (Obama) is a jihad-apologist who is engaged in a religiouswar against Christianity,and warned, in 2011, thatnational security is at risk if he (Obama) getsreelected.

He opposes same-sex marriage; marriage is aspecial rightthat straight Christians have (alsohere),and giving that right to gay people would be “a threat to the nation’s survival”.Apparently there are lots of threats to the nation’s survival that us ordinarysane mortals would have failed to realize were it not for people like Franksgenerously pointing them out to us.Abortion seems to be another.In a 2010 interview, Franks, while attempting to downplay the legacy of slaveryand social factors in explaining problems among African-Americans, claimed thatabortion was the main cause of contemporary social problems: “Half of all blackchildren are aborted. Far more of the African American community is beingdevastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by the policiesof slavery,” an attempt at an explanation – more teenage parents and childrenthat parents cannot take care of will solve social problems – that someresearchers may suggest is slightly inaccurate.

Indeed, abortion as a threat to the survival of civilizationis a mainstay of Franks’s political efforts (abortion rights will “send America over the brink”.He compares the anti-abortion movement with efforts to abolish slavery and endthe holocaust; whereas abortion rights supporters, on the other hand,are on the “wrong side”of “history and eternity” – whatever that means, though at least abortion rights arebacked by “evil forces” and doomed to “fall like the Soviet Union” because … well, that’s what Frankswould like, soit must happen.He has also made claims stronglyreminiscent of Todd Akin’s,but you never expected a reasonable dialogue based on rational processing ofideas from this source anyways (to boot).And if medical experts disagree with him Franksdoesn’t hesitate to questiontheir legitimacy (I mean,how could experts disagree withhim?).

I guess no one will be surprised to find out that Franks isa global warming denialist, hasseriously toyed with birtherism (he even considered abirther lawsuit),and is on the Board of Advisors forEMPACT America.Science and critical thinking be damned (facts? Well, the facts are sort ofirrelevanthere).

In 2009 Franks was among the Representativescalling for the investigation of CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) over allegations of tryingto plant “spies,” based on a CAIR memo indicating that they “will developnational initiatives such as Lobby Day, and placing Muslim interns inCongressional offices” (how paranoid does one have to be to see a conspiracyhere?) Partially, he was influenced by Dave Gaubatz’s conspiracy theory novelMuslim Mafia (foreword by fellow RepresentativeSue “Terrorists may learn Spanish to pose as Illegal Immigrants” Myrick),which portrayed CAIR as a subversive organization allied with internationalterrorists. Of course, Franks has hadno qualms about expressing his support ofMuslim fundamentalists when it comes to issues of gay rights.