WTF Friday, Inaugural Edition: Beautiful Women on Tall Stools

In Texas, we are blessed with wide open spaces, great food, friendly people and some of the craziest politicians to ever fall off the turnip truck. Laugh or cry, these guys and gals—especially our excitable tea party friends—say some pretty funny, weird and disturbing things, just about every day. Sometimes they’re speaking on the floor of the Legislature or Congress; sometimes they’re talking to a reporter; sometimes they’re caught on a “hot” mic or recorded by one of their staff or on a cop car camera.

Sometimes the remark is a classic “gaffe”; other times, they might just be speaking from the heart, God bless ’em. Every Friday we will round up some of our favorite doozies, curveballs, gaffes, head scratchers, political glossolalia and goofball statements. Our only criteria is that the quote provokes a “WTF” reaction. TGI…WTF?

1) “What is the Fox formula? Beautiful women who wear skirts not behind a desk. I mean really…you know? They cross their legs very tightly and sit on a tall stool. That’s part of the presentation. And, uh, very conservative opinion makers and good guests. You know? That’s its 1, 2, 3. That’s how Roger Ailes built his empire.”
—State Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) speaking on his talk radio show this week

2) U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tyler) today, at the annual Value Voters Summit, referred to Sen. John McCain as “a guy who’s been to Syria and supported al-Qaeda and rebels.”

3) “That’s one of the reasons Japan didn’t attack us with ground forces, is because they saw all the guns here. And Chairman Mao, they asked him once, ‘how do you control the people?’ And he said, ‘take away all their guns.'”
—Jollyville chiropractor Mike VanDeWalle, Republican candidate in the House District 50 special election