Monday, January 24, 2011

Tea Party Congressman Calls Scalia Shallow, Extreme and Misleading

Lost in the controversy over whether Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia should have appeared before a private gathering of the Tea Party Caucus to speak about the Constitution was the unintentional dissing of the zany justice by a New York congressman, who called his talk "simplistic."


Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY), appearing at a press conference after the Scalia lecture, gushed about Scalia's "unique ability to discuss complex issues in a very simplistic manner, and with an unbelievable and profound respect for being apolitical."


Oops. Here are a few definitions of "simplistic" --


(Disapproving): too simple, not complete or thorough enough; not treating or considering all possibilities or parts...Characterized by extreme and often misleading simplicity, in a manner that simplifies a concept or issue so that its nuance or complexity is lost, or important details are overlooked. (Wicktionary.org).


On second thought, Grimm probably is convinced that being misleading and extreme are praiseworthy qualities - think of those nonexistent Obama death panels and pulling the plug on Grandma, Kenyan socialist birtherism, and anything Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin have ever uttered.


There is still no word on what Scalia actually told the bozos. Let's speculate. Maybe "guns good, government bad?" In any case, he beat a hasty retreat afterward, probably looking for the most simplistic route back to the courthouse.

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