Even by the lofty standards of the religious right, Gordon Klingenschmitt is pretty far out there. After all, this is the guy who says gay people are “demonic” and who recommends parents spank their children to cure them of homosexuality. Needless to say, such nutty views got Klingenschmitt elected as a Republican (of course) to the Colorado state House of Representatives last month. On top of this, Klingenschmitt is seriously deficient in irony, having nicknamed himself “Dr. Chaps.”
But a federal court has given Klingenschmitt a lesson in the limits of lunacy. Klingenschmitt had been arguing that the military unfairly dismissed him as a chaplain because he was praying to Jesus (really). In a pointed opinion, the court made it clear that Klingenschmitt was canned for deliberately disobeying orders and for being, as the Navy put it, being “professionally unsuited for further service as a naval officer and chaplain.”
No kidding. Klingenschmitt responded to one negative performance review by accusing his superior officer of being a Unitarian.
Besides being a lousy chaplain, he was insubordinate as well. The Navy told Klingenschmitt that he could not wear his military uniform when appearing at a right-wing political event, but Klingenschmitt showed up in uniform anyway. Fed up with Klingenschmitt’s poor performance and disobedience, the Navy eventually showed him the door.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Klingenschmitt sued, demonstrating the unwillingness to take personal responsibility that has become the hallmark of the right. He insisted that he was a victim of discrimination, a claim that the court repeatedly dismissed as meritless. He also said that his freedom of speech was violated. Not so, said the court. Klingenschmitt was free to speak, but not in uniform.
Needless to say, none of this sits well with Klingenschmitt’s supporters, who immediately attacked the judge in the case, Elaine Kaplan. “Lesbian judge takes on Jesus in court,” World Net Daily, the repository for the furthest fringes of wingnuttery cried in a headline.
Klingenschmitt promised to appeal the ruling “if necessary all the way to the Supreme Court.” Well, it’s his money and he can waste it anyway he wants.
Saint Law
Oh look a foetus wearing spectacles.
1EqualityUSA
What a pain in the ass he is. Get lost. NOM could use talent such as yours, go rub elbows with haters of like-mind.
Paul Nadolski
“…who recommends parents spank their children to cure them of homosexuality.”
My dad did spank me as a child, and I’m still gay. So much for that theory!
Ron Jackson
Every shit for brains supporter who voted for this douche bag should have their citizenship revoked. The rest of Colorado not in this nuts district (which I believe is Colorado Springs, home of the Air Force Academy) deserve better representation.
Trippy
I hate to point this out, but he has creepy molester-face, which might explain his insistence that people spank their children. Just a thought.
Jonty Coppersmith
I wonder what this nut case was trying to accomplish by accusing his superior officer of being a Unitarian? Does he think being Unitarian is illegal?
Trippy
@Jonty Coppersmith: He probably had a bad encounter with a Unitarian in a bookstore at some point, so it’s understandable. I mean, seriously, they can be very aggressive when horny. 😉
hyhybt
Klingenschmitt: things that sound like the contents of a Star Trek toilet…
Kathukid
This guy belongs in mental institution, not the Colorado legislature.
Tracy Pope
I really read this entire article as Gordon Klingenschitt. Which makes a lot more sense.
tricky ricky
@Jonty Coppersmith: those benham brother’s father invaded a Unitarian church funeral to tell them their religion was wrong. that ilk can’t stand any church that accepts gays.
tricky ricky
he calls himself dr. chaps. I refer to him as dr. assless chaps. seems more fitting somehow.
russellhm
Although I left Colorado in 1992 after 30 happy yrs there, I am disgusted by the sharp turn to the right the Centennial State has made, from the Tea Party School Board in Jefferson County (where I taught for 20 yrs) in its effort to re-write curriculum for AP U.S. History to only include positive comments about the country’s past–our “exceptionalism,” I suspect, and the election of a Republican candidate to the senate who favors a Federal Bill supporting “personhood” as an anti-abortion strategy but later denied it, and now this ignoramus whose extremist Christian views are the antithesis of Christian tenets. What would Jesus do? Vote Democratic! No Golden Rule or tolerance for differences in this cretin’s philosophy. Not only is his conduct unbecoming to our Navy, thank goodness, but also to humankind. I declare him unfit to be a human. Evolution works in strange ways its miracles to perform. If the idiot has not begotten offspring yet, we can nominate him for a Darwin Award for not passing on his stupidity and arrogance. Pity his constituents unless, perhaps, they all have webbing between their fingers. Sadly, Colorado, like many other densely populated rural—redneck family values voters–versus only a few large urban areas that are progressive.
Bad Ass Biker
Yeah, this kind of nut case is always “discriminated against” and having there “freedom of speech” violated.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
He truly is as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside………….
CodyJ
he runs a ‘site’ called –pray in jesus name?- sht, that ALONE shows hes a nutcase, typical relig CRETIN
jrb236
This guy belongs to an Evangelical cult. Each Evangelicals person is free to their own theological beliefs. That is why there are so many theories among Evangelicals. Most Evangelical have a common hate of gays. But, there are many who do not follow this hate of gays. This guy is one of the far extremist among Evangelicals. Evangelical think they are Christians but they are not Christians. People like this guy are dangerous to true Christian beliefs of love. But his heart is full of hate. He would fit perfectly in the Muslim ISIS hate group. He also wants his religious beliefs to become the law of the land. If given the chance he would kill everyone who doesn’t follow him in his false beliefs. Evangelicals have the same goal like Muslims to take over the world. This guy would kill every true Christian who is not a member of his cult. Like Jim Jones who forced his member to take a killer drink he would do this do other Christians who don’t step in line to his false teachings. This guy is no way a true American but a far out nut who even hates American way of life and freedom of religion. The sad part of the Evangelicals cult members think their hate is good. They would even throw Jesus under the bus to make their religious beliefs law because to them Jesus was too liberal. They are now rewriting the New Testament to take out Jesus so called liberal views. Men like him are a danger to all true Americans and freedom of religion.
Jacob23
Thank you John Gallagher for catching this story. I don’t think it has been picked up on any other blog. I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
Russellhm, you are way off base. Colorado used to be a solid red state. It had hardcore rightwing Republican governors, a US Senator who was famous for introducing anti-gay amendments, a state legislature dominated by Republicans and a large population of evangelicals in the Colorado Springs area. Colorado passed Amendment 2, a vile anti-gay initiative so radical that it was rejected in every other state that voted on it, including Idaho. But after you left, the state changed. Some of the old rightwingers died off. More liberal people immigrated to the state. Progressives became more organized. It is now considered a purple-to-light blue state. Klingemschmitt is from Colorado Springs, and is not representative of the state as a whole.
SteveDenver
KlingingShi† always appears with all his Naval memorabilia in the background and he constantly refers to his “service.” He’s a fraud and disgrace.I live in Colorado and his district is a leaking boil on the right wing anus that is Colorado Springs (home to the Air Force Adcademy Rape Camp and Focus On The Family).
jmmartin
@SteveDenver: And yet the voters legalized weed. How very strange!
connorlarkin19
@Trippy: He is passable as a Kenneth Starr double.
rmthunter
It’s probably not his money — it’ll be a pro bono case by the badly misnamed Alliance Defending Freedom or Liberty Counsel, paid for by their donors.
And, given the track record of both organizations, they’ll lose — again. But he still gets to be a martyr.