Fringe Factor: Judges Must Follow Biblical Law

Four years after the Iowa State Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, the majority of the Hawkeye State’s Republican candidates for U.S. Senate have promised to block the appointment of any federal judge who doesn’t follow “natural law” or possess a “biblical view of justice.” An organization called The Family Leader, one of the top financial supporters of the 2010 movement to oust the marriage-equality judges, hosted a forum for the Iowa candidates over the weekend. The moderator, right-wing commentator Erik Erikson, asked the candidates what they look for in a federal judge. Sam Clovis, who thinks the only reason Obama hasn’t been impeached yet is because he’s black, said judicial nominees must be able to “explain to me natural law and natural rights.” Matt Whitaker said judges must be “people of faith” and have “a biblical view of justice.” Not content to be outdone, State Sen. Joni Ernst said judges should have an “understanding [of] where the Constitution came from and our laws, and they all did come from God.”

Glenn Beck: Hillary Clinton Is a Gay Copycat

Glenn Beck accused Hillary Clinton of being both a lesbian and one of those “coward” politicians who only back things like gay marriage once they’ve become popular. One of his radio show co-hosts noted that Hillary Clinton came out in favor of same-sex marriage last year, to which he replied, “What I just heard you say is that Hillary came out last year? Because I didn’t think that had officially…” His attempt at a joke trailed off as his co-host, not laughing, continued what he was saying. But Beck wasn’t done. “I’m telling you, Hillary Clinton will be having sex with a woman on the White House desk if it becomes popular,” he said.

Democratic Rep. Plans to Hand Out KKK Hoods at GOP Convention

Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Brett Hulsey, a Democratic state representative, announced Thursday that he will hand out Ku Klux Klan hoods at the state GOP convention this weekend. Hulsey called the items “Republican Party hats.” While his antics were quickly denounced by the state Democratic Party, Hulsey defended himself declaring, “What I find offensive is Gov. Walker and the Republicans’ racist record. They’re the ones considering the resolution to leave the United States.” Hulsey pointed to state Republicans ending record-keeping on racial profiling by police, cutting back on income-eligibility limits for Medicaid, and voting changes.

Cali Mayor: People Choose to Be Homeless

Temecula, Calif., Mayor Maryann Edwards says homeless people live on the street by choice. She revealed this belief in the comments section of a blog post about her plan to “eliminate” homelessness by basically criminalizing it and discouraging people from giving money to the poor. “Homeless people panhandling on the off ramps are homeless by choice,” Edwards wrote in the comments section of a post on Nonprofit Quarterly’s website that questioned how the mayor plans to provide housing and services for her leafy city’s 80 homeless people without spending any taxpayer money. “They have rejected all forms of help and have chosen instead to play on the sympathy of generous residents.”