Ron Paul: I'm surrounded by zombies!

The Grumpy Gynecologist from Brazosport, Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, is always good for the blunt quote, and in these trying times, it seems more journalists are getting him on the horn to chew the fat. Paul gives "good quote" as hardbitten journalists like to say when they're talking about the business of newspapering.

Per usual, Paul came through with the goods today, calling his fellow Congress members "zombies."

What does he mean? What is a zombie, vis-a-vis the current American political scene? These are the definitions:

• A snake god of voodoo cults in West Africa, Haiti, and the southern United States.


• A supernatural power or spell that according to voodoo belief can enter into and reanimate a corpse. A corpse revived in this way.


• One who looks or behaves like an automaton.


• A tall mixed drink made of various rums, liqueur, and fruit juice.

Ah-HA! So the congressman is saying there's excessive consumption of fruity rum drinks going on in the corridors of power in Washington when they do things like give millions of dollars in foreign aid to places like Saudi Arabia. SAUDI ARABIA! It makes a little more sense now. It's the whiskey talkin'.

There's a line of demarcation that separates elected leaders who are "outspoken" and are admired for it, and those who are "crackpots" and are ignored because they always say outlandish things.

Ron Paul has not crossed that line yet, but I hope he keeps approaching it.

[pittsburgh tribune review]