‘You want me to name ’em all?’

June 16, 2006

The very first lawmaker to appear on The [tag]Colbert Report[/tag]’s “[tag]Better Know A District[/tag]” segment was Georgia Republican Jack Kingston. In the subsequent months, not a single Republican wanted to play along, prompting Kingston to send a note to his colleagues, encouraging them to be interviewed (and at least mildly humiliated). If last night was any indication, the GOP might just give up on the idea altogether.

In case you missed it, last night’s interview may have been the best yet. Colbert sat down with Rep. [tag]Lynn Westmoreland[/tag] (R-Ga.), who happens to be one of only two members of the House not to introduce a single piece of legislation in two years. (Colbert got Westmoreland to call himself a “nothinger.”)

But that wasn’t the real treat. Colbert noted that Westmoreland co-sponsored a measure that would require Congress to post the [tag]Ten Commandments[/tag] in both chambers. Asked why that was important to him, Westmoreland said, “The Ten Commandments is not a bad thing for people to understand and to respect…. I think if we were totally without ’em, we may lose a sense of our direction.”

Colbert said he agreed — and then asked Westmoreland what the [tag]Commandments[/tag] actually are. Westmoreland, with a puzzled look on his face, said:

“You mean all of them? You want me to name ’em all? Um, (long pause) don’t murder, don’t lie, don’t steal, uh, (another long pause) I can’t name ’em all.”

To appreciate the humor, you really have to see the video.

For what it’s worth, I used to debate this issue quite a bit when I worked for a certain organization, and I found the question — “can you name the Ten Commandments?” — to be very valuable. Every time I’d do a radio show with someone who wanted the government to endorse and promote the Decalogue, I’d just ask them to name each of the Commandments. They never could. I always wondered why they just didn’t bring a copy with them, but it apparently never occurred to them. (They’d sometimes turn the question around and ask me if I could. I kept a copy on my desk.)

In any case, Westmoreland will probably start getting copies in the mail now, which might be helpful for the poor guy. If he needs a “sense of direction,” he should probably try and memorize them.

The video is absolutely breathtaking.

I am literally in awe of this guy’s stupidity.

  • I’d never heard of this guy, and the first time I saw the video (I didn’t see the actual show) I thought it was a bit. This clown is too good to be true!

  • I am literally in awe of this guy’s stupidity.

    That’s kind of what I was thinking. I actually watched the clip a couple of times, saying, “This guy’s in Congress?

  • When I saw this live on the Colbert Report, I missed the introduction and didn’t realize that this man is a real Congressman. I thought is was just a funny skit.

    Later, when I learned that he is indeed a Congressman, I couldn’t believe how stupid he is. Talk about dumb and dumber. Don’t know which is which – the Congressman or the people who elected him.

    It is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.

  • It is a reflection of political cynicism. They understand the idea that the sheep are emotional little creatures and can be led very easily. It doesn’t take much depth of knowledge to move the electorate…

  • I have to admit that I am blown away by this video. Is this guy really a Congressman? He was being toyed with. I would never have allowed that interview to go off in that direction.

  • How about when he asked him if he could think of a more appropriate building to hang the 10 Commandments in?

  • right Mark. A church. Yet Congressman Westmoreland couldn’t even make that connection. A true conservative if you ask me.

  • I can’t believe these people keep misunderestimating Colbert. How can they not get his satrie yet? Are they really that stupid?

    Oh well, I’m off to eat some babies, population to control and all.

  • It reminds me of the pilot episode of “The West Wing”, which NBC reaired recently before the final episode. Some religious conservatives get into an argument with the white house staffers over the ten commandments and noone in the room can name them until President Martin Sheen comes in and shows everyone that he knows them. I had thought it was ludicrous, especially since one of the conservatives was supposed to have been some kind of theologian (pastor, reverend?), but I guess maybe not…

  • Re: misunderestimating Colbert

    They just don’t do their homework. It’s the same thing as Reagan citing “Born in the USA” as his type of patriotic song.

    I’m a Conservative (if you can’t tell), but I’m not tied to party politics. I’m also not a right-wing Christian Conservative, even though I’m a Christian. I believe in the separation of Church and State. I believe that government screws most things up and religion is no exception.

    A real Conservative understands the 1st Amendment.

    It’s funny to see the government (read Republicans) fighting to save Christianity. I guess if it’s all a hoax, then we need man-made support to save “God.” But, if God is really there, then the government can’t change that.

  • Brutal. I couldn’t believe it while I watched this last night.

    If this guy a representative sample of your average R congressman, our Nation is in even more trouble than anyone realized.

  • Isn’t it a nice day? The air is a little sweeter, the sun a little brighter . . .

    I am literally in awe of this guy’s stupidity.
    That’s kind of what I was thinking. I actually watched the clip a couple of times, saying, “This guy’s in Congress?
    Carpetbagger

    It just proves that America is the Land of Opportunity. Even someone as stupid as Lynn Westmoreland can make it to Congress.

    Makes me proud to live in Georgia.

    😉

  • I see an opportunity for some political Jujitsu here.

    The good Congressman is probably not aware of this, but there are actually multiple interpretations of how to divide Deuteronomy 5:6-21 into 10 commandments, and the differences split along confessional lines. Some Roman Catholic Dem could propose an amendment to the proposed bill that would spell out the 10 Commandments exactly as they are to be posted, that is, in the Catholic fashion (with no separate commandment against idolatry and two separate prohibitions of coveting).

    Most protestant denominations in the U.S. delineate the Commandments separately, so this should get them good and agitated. The whole move would stir up some animosity among various conservative christian groups that have otherwise learned to paper over their theological differences in the face of a common political enemy.

  • Hard to even imagine the IQs of those who elected do-nothing, know-nothing like Kingston. I can’t really blame him for not knowing the Ten Commandments (we have no religious test for public office), but if he does in fact have a brain he can be accused of hypocrisy for expecting of others what he fails to do himself. The Wikipedia article “Ten Commandments” states:

    The passage conventionally considered to include the commandments in chapter 20 of the book of Exodus contains more than ten imperative statements (while Jewish law sees each as representing a separate commandment), totalling 14 or 15 in all.

    Nonetheless, the Bible itself assigns the count of “10”. The Hebrew phrase ʻaseret had’varim – translated as the 10 words, statements or things Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 4:13 and Deuteronomy 10:4.

    Religious groups have divided the commandments in different ways. For instance, Catholics and Lutherans see the first six verses as part of the same command prohibiting the worship of pagan gods, while Protestants (except Lutherans) separate all six verses into two different commands (one being “no other gods” and the other being “no graven images”). The initial reference to Egyptian bondage is important enough to Jews that it forms a separate commandment. Catholics and Lutherans separate the two kinds of coveting (namely, of goods and of the flesh), while Protestants (but not Lutherans) and Jews group them together.

    And further:

    According the Jewish understandings, the Torah includes 613 commandments, of which those listed in the decalogue count for ten. Most authorities thus do not automatically ascribe to these ten commandments any greater significance in observance, or any special status, as compared to the remainder of the canon of Jewish law.

    The article goes on to list many more interpretations, sources, etc. Maybe it’d be a good idea to just leave the Ten Commandments out of secular government altogether, as the Founding Fathers intended.

  • I went to law school in Macon, GA, and called some friends who live in his district to see if this was just an act or whether Westmoreland is really that naive and ignorant.

    To a person, they said that was the best appearance that Westmoreland has made….he’s actually much more naive and ignorant than he appears.

    Talk about having no luck: I’m fortunate enough to no longer live in Westmoreland’s district, but cursed that I now reside in Louis Gohmert’s district.

    Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

  • Somehow, whenever these people talk about putting the Ten Commandments in public, they always seem to forget about the “no other gods before me” stuff, and emphasize the “No murder, no lies” stuff. As if the world had never had rules about these things until Moses brought them down. And as if atheists and non-Christian religions don’t also have rules about these kinds of things. The only purpose of putting up the Ten Commandments is to reinforce the parts that these people pretend doesn’t exist.

  • “As if the world had never had rules about these things until Moses brought them down.” – Dr Biobrain

    Some of the oldest laws ever written down were Babylonian or some such and dealt with beastiality. And the funny thing was, the punishments listed were all over the place. Death for sex with this animal, fines for sex with that, lashes for sex with another. It was clearly just a compliation of judical precedents from ruling monarchs from over time, but it was very amusing.

  • Just curious, which version did you use?

    All of them. I literally kept a sheet with all three versions on the same page, with their differences highlighted. I also memorized where they appear in Scripture (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5).

    You’d be amazed how often that piece of paper came in handy.

  • For what it’s worth, I used to debate this issue quite a bit when I worked for a certain organization,

    Used to do the same thing when I debated for a different certain organization, but I had them memorized! I would also ask if they wanted the catholic or protestant version;>

  • I will say, I would be interested in seeing the uncut feed from that interview, just to see if he COULD say anything more or, better yet, if he said something really incriminating while trying to figure it out.

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