Theodore Scott Yoho was the U.S.Representative from Florida’s 3rd congressional district from 2013 until histerm limit in 2020 (his viewsontaxes and national debtis a likely reason he kept getting reelected).

Though itis unlikely that he himself actually bought intobirther conspiracy theories, he has certainly promoted them, includingbacking legislation that would support a formal investigation into the matterand saying that he hoped the investigation would bring down the government: “Theysaid if it is true, it’s illegal, he shouldn’t be there and we can get rid ofeverything he’s [Obama’s] done, and I said I agree with that.” One exampleof things that could be undone is, of course, Obamacare, whichYoho hasdenounced as “racist” because it taxes tanning beds, which meansthat if Yoho goes tanning he will be “disenfranchised because I got taxedbecause of the color of my skin.”His concern over racism is charming indeed. Yoho alsobelieves that the Civil Rights Act is unconstitutional. Hehas also promotedthe Bilderberg conspiracy theory.

 

Expressingskepticism about immigration reform, Yoho – wholikes to present himself assome kind of anti-immigrant superhero – claimed that he believes the Hezbollah issmuggling potential terrorists over the Mexican border: “I talked to a guythat works with Hezbollah, they call him the 007 of Hezbollah, they call himand find out he’s brought over 1,500 people here illegally that don’t like us,they want to blow us up,”said Yoho. He didn’t name sources. As for foreignpolicy, Yohohas argued that we need God on our side in the fightagainst ISIS; after all, they have their God on their side, so we need a biggerand stronger one; and we certainly need to stop “taking God out of thiscountry”. 

 

Yoho isopposed to same-sex marriage,ostensibly because marriage is “ordained by God” andshouldn’t be “redefined”. He has consistently voted against anythingresembling LGBT rights. Indeed, hehas claimed that gay marriage is a distraction pushed byDemocrats todeflect attention away from the country’s larger problems. Instead of gay marriage,we should apparently focus on theWar on Christmas.

 

And Yohois, unsurprisingly, a climate change denialist. Thoughhe admits that he’s “not smart enough” to determinethe roots of climate change (true), he can nevertheless rule out thepossibility that humans are largely responsible because phenomena like droughtsare“a natural occurrence” and because climate science is “anagenda-driven science” that’s “not right.”

 

Diagnosis: In many ways your standard crazy-uncle-at-Thanksgivingwingnut figure, and as wingnuts in general, Yoho is heavily pushing conspiracytheories across the board. Congress has plenty of these, but that doesn’t –needless to say – make it any less frightening.