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August 13, 2014 12:10 PM UTC

Randy Baumgardner: Native Americans Liked their Water to be Burning

  • 23 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
FireWater
Hooray!

The Western Conservative Summit in Colorado is an annual event hosted by Colorado Christian University in which conservative Republicans of varying degrees of partisan fame descend on Denver to say weird things about important issues. The Summit never fails in producing gems of ridiculousness, and the conversations and events that take place in Denver are so multi-layered that they often provide stories for the media and blogs long after the event has ended.

It is from July's Western Conservative Summit that we bring you, via Raw Story, this absurd discussion between State Sen. Randy "The Mustache" Baumgarder (who was an honest-to-goodness candidate for U.S. Senate for a time) and Republican activist (and likely the newest Representative from HD-15), Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmitt. Baumgardner was a guest on Dr. Chaps' "Pray in Jesus' Name" radio show, and this happened:

“I’ve been doing a lot of the fracking seminars,” said Baumgardner, “and if people haven’t been, then they really don’t understand it.”

“They talk about methane in the water and this, that, and the other,” Baumgardner went on, “but if you go back in history and look at how the Indians traveled, they traveled to the ‘burning waters.’ And that was methane in the waters and that was for warmth in the wintertime.” [Pols emphasis]

“So a lot of people,” he said, “if they just trace back the history, they’ll know how a lot of this is propaganda.”

Randy Baumgardner.
Randy Baumgardner and Mustache
Um, what?

We're not sure what this particular line of "thinking" has to do with fracking, but it is one of the dumbest things we've heard on the topic in quite some time. Sure, maybe the "Indians traveled…to the 'burning waters,'" but what the hell does that have to do with fracking? The fracking argument is primarily about the safety of DRILLING for oil and gas on lands that are surrounded by homes and schools, which has nothing to do with Native Americans and burning lakes and whatever else The Mustache is talking about.

What is most disturbing here is that we have an elected State Senator (and former State House member) who is wandering around Colorado talking about 'burning waters' and 'Indians.'

Why is Baumgardner doing "fracking seminars" when he obviously has no idea what he's talking about?

Or did we just answer our own question?

Comments

23 thoughts on “Randy Baumgardner: Native Americans Liked their Water to be Burning

  1. Don't give Randy grief over this.  His history is spot on.  In fact, the Native American tradition of taking a vase full of burning water to the dwelling of a host as a gift of light for the evening is the direct ancestor of our classic flaming poop sack prank.

    1. And that drinking fracking fluid, I think that was the Utes who originated that — key secrect ingredient of their Flaming Moe predecessor . . . 

  2. So Randy, 

    Really informative, and educational too!  Tell me more, please.  Anything we dumb libs should know about home heating with buffalo dung??

    Burning to know in DougCo,

     

    (PS.  You would have made a great Senator. Never stop your continuing education.)

  3. One of the funniest things about it is that this has been picked up by Salon.com, Wonkette.com, ThinkProgress, Gasland's FB page, ProgressNow Colorado, and who knows who else. Randy's getting the attention he's always wanted, and he probably doesn't get (or care) that it's negative attention.

  4. Was Jesus pro-gun? Dr. Chaps thinks so.

    Here's more wacky Dr. Chaps. This time, Klingenschmitt explains that the gun legislation did nothing good, and was a big waste of money. He brings in the brain trust to back him up, including Greg Brophy and Randy Baumgardner.

    Klingenschmitt put up this pearl of wisdom, which I screen-captured:

    Now, nobody I know would say that I'm a Biblical scholar. But I was raised an Episcopal alien, and I did pass my Catechism and have listened to lots of sermons, and I just don't recall this particular piece of scripture.  I'm assuming Chaps misrepresented it, or took it out of context. What say those of you who actually do read the Bible?

     

     

    1. Having listened over fifty years now to far too many of god's conduits on earth speaking in behalf of god, I used to think that the only thing that god lacked and needed much, much, much, much, much, much, more of was money!?!

      I now must add guns and ammunition to that list of things that god requires today.

      (Wouldn't you think that with all that money, the divine could simply buy plenty of his own goddam guns?  Maybe he has some background check issues?)

    2. You mean Jesus never actually said, “A well-armed Christian militia being necessary to defend a righteous Christian nation, the right to draw swords shall not be infringed upon.” I could have sworn that was the Second Commandment. Or Amendment. Or something.

    3. I suggest reading and THINKING about what the various Bible commentaries say about this passage.  It occurs at the Last Supper.  Jesus is warning his disciplines that things are going to be tough for them after his death, that they are going to have to suffer and fight….but they take him literally about the swords and he cuts them off, as he doesn't have the time to cut through their literalist thinking.  As usual, Jesus is speaking in metaphors.  He isn't telling them to go get swords and teach all Christians for centuries to wield swords and guns and automatic weapons.   That is TOTALLY inconsistent with everything that Jesus stands for.

      There are other places in the Bible where Bible writers use metaphors about weapons to tell followers to be brave, steadfast, and strong, to be prepared for disapproval, even violence exercized against them for the sake of their God.

      Perhaps ALL the NRA's baby authoritarians should read some Bible commentaries on weaponry.   It might make them question their love of violence.

       

       

       

      1. Thanks, all, for weighing in. Obviously, Chaps is being absurd, as usual.

        His blatant politicking during a "religious" show should be of great concern to the IRS.

    1. The best explanation of the sword quote is in Hyam Maccoby's classic "Revolution in Judea: Jesus and the Jewish resistance.   " You can get it at the Denver library or used from Amazon  since it was published in 1980.  Essentially, Maccoby argues Jesus was a Jewish patriot who led a revolt against Rome.   Why just two swords?: Drawing on the tale of Gideon, Maccoby thinks Jesus counted on God to answer the prayers of the Jews for deliverance.  Because just two swords couldn't defeat the occupiers, everyone would know the glory was God's.  It is the best explanation I've seen of the Jesus trial and execution from the perspective of a Jewish scholar.

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