The Worst Haircut in Congress- A metaphor for Republican ineptitude and evil

Ignorant, dishonest, malevolent...and built to stay that way

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI), an honorable mention in this year’s America’s Dumbest Congressperson competition, speaking in favor of a ban on trans youth in sports of their gender identity at the House Government Oversight Committee hearing on Biden’s Title IX policy.

Once you believe a lie to be the truth, you are now in the rather unfavorable position of having to change every truth that you encounter in order to support the lie that you now believe. And given the wildly proliferating progression that now ensues due to the fact that you must do this for every lie that you create, it becomes exceedingly apparent why the truth might be painful, but why it’s a whole lot easier.

• Craig D. Lounsbrough

It would be difficult to underestimate the depths of Rep. Glenn Grothman’s intellectual vacancy. The man’s ignorance, arrogance, and lack of self-awareness make him a poster child for the Dunning-Kruger Effect. He expounds prodigiously on topics he’s profoundly ignorant about as if he’s a Nobel laureate. Worse, he proposes solutions that, in most cases, will solve nothing and only make things far worse than they already are.

In short, he’s a prototypical Trump Republican- insensitive, racist, dumb as a box of hair, and built to stay that way.

Known for possessing The Worst Haircut in Congress ©, Rep. Grothman is a throwback to when troglodytes solved problems by clubbing one another until only one remained upright. This quality was displayed during a House Oversight Committee hearing, whose collective IQ Rep. Grothman drags down when he’s in attendance.

Yesterday, the House Government Oversight Committee held a hearing on Biden's Title IX guidance, which aims to protect the rights of transgender students to participate in sports according to their gender identity. The hearing, occasionally raucous, showcased misinformation that has been propagated in state houses across the United States. In virtually every state with a Republican supermajority, there have been bans passed on transgender individuals' participation in sports. Numerous Republican representatives and witnesses made disparaging remarks about transgender people. Perhaps the most revealing moment occurred when Republican Representative Glenn Grothman stated the underlying reason for transgender sports bans is that, if trans individuals are allowed to play sports, “they might never switch back” to their assigned sex at birth. This indicates a belief that national transgender sports bans and other anti-trans laws should be enacted to persuade transgender people to detransition.

The idea that transgender people will never “switch back” if allowed to play sports is perhaps one of the dumbest and most intellectually bereft comments a Congressperson has made on the subject.

Then again, this hearing was never intended to shed light on this subject or to find solutions. Like so much of what happens in this Republican House, it was intended to demonize a particular demographic that has no voice, in this case, the transgender community.

It was despicable but typical for today’s GOP and about what one might expect from Rep. Grothman, who’d be well served to check his knuckles for scabs.

The hearing featured 3 anti-trans witnesses and one in favor of transgender rights. It included Riley Gaines, the swimmer who finished in fifth place, tying with Lia Thomas, who has since become a major conservative influencer on the issue. Also appearing was Kim Russell of Independent Women’s Forum, which similarly lobbies against transgender rights. Likewise, Sarah Parshall Perry from the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, which has called for a plan that would declare the existence of transgender people pornographic and obscene, also spoke against the Title IX policy. Fatima Goss Graves of the National Women’s Law Center was allowed to speak in favor of transgender participation.

How do you even consider declaring an entire class of people “pornographic and obscene?” The very act of considering such a thing is in itself obscene.

I’m not a constitutional lawyer, but I fail to see how one could, in a way that would comport with the Constitution, declare an entire class of people “pornographic and obscene.” It’s a proposal that’s prima facie disgusting and flies in the face of everything this country stands for.

Perhaps the worst part of Grothman’s questioning was that he had no idea what he was talking about. Pulling statistics out of thin air, he claimed that “80-90%” of those who transition “eventually snap back,” a number that’s nowhere near correct.

During an exchange with Perry, Representative Grothman posed a question aimed at justifying a ban on transgender individuals in sports. He inquired, “I sometimes wonder if we normalize the idea of guys playing in women’s sports, are you kind of wondering if we are creating a system which would be tragic if it is true, that some of these guys will never switch back?”

He further commented, “I think it would have been too bad if they would have been one of the 80 or 90% who snap back, but because of this, they won’t.” This statement refers to a discredited claim that a majority of transgender people detransition, whereas only about 1-3% actually do.

This statement uncovers a hidden agenda behind anti-transgender legislation. Bills that target transgender individuals in sports are frequently presented as measures to “protect women,” citing presumed advantages these individuals might possess. However, this rationale becomes questionable when considering that these sports bans fail to account for the effects of testosterone suppression. Moreover, the scope of these bans extends beyond elite physical sports, targeting transgender participation in activities like chess, fishing, pool, darts, disc golf, beauty pageants, and more. Ultimately, the true objective of these sports bans becomes apparent: like many anti-transgender bills, they aim to make life sufficiently difficult for transgender individuals, hoping this pressure leads them to detransition.

Forced detransition is clearly a goal when considering other bills Republicans have put forward in stated across the United States this year. Republican supermajorities in 21 states have passed bans on gender affirming care for transgender youth. Many of these states have clauses which tell doctors to “systematically reduce [trans youth’s] hormones” until they are forced to medically detransition. Ohio is hearing a bill today that would immediately pull transgender youth off of their medication. Likewise, Missouri has seen several bills prefiled which remove the grandfather clause for trans youth who have already started care.

For reasons only they can fully explain, Republicans like Grothman and his ilk want to make life as difficult as possible for transgender children. No method is too hurtful, hateful, or mean-spirited for them to pass on. If it hurts a transgender child and makes their already challenging life more difficult, they’re all over it.

Causing pain to vulnerable children, as reprehensible as that seems, is just another day at the office.

But what’s to be gained by being so thoroughly awful to children struggling to define who they are and find their place in the world? What do these hateful, ghastly adults gain by making the already difficult existence of a transgender child that much more challenging and arduous? They claim to be trying to protect children, yet everything they propose would have precisely the opposite effect.

Are they trying to drive children to suicide? Do they want transgender children to grow up hating themselves?

The hearing featured several other significant moments. During one exchange, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez highlighted that sports bans are resulting in privacy violations nationwide. She expressed concerns about the enforcement of these bans, including forced medical examinations on both transgender and cisgender youth. Additionally, she noted that some states are contemplating monitoring the menstrual cycles of all female athletes to enforce anti-trans policy. This issue not only impacts the privacy of young athletes but could also potentially be used to target them with anti-abortion legislation.

Another notable moment came when Republican Congressman James Comer stated to Riley Gaines that she “worked so hard to be the best” and that she was “the best at female swimming, there was no question about that.” Riley Gaines has never won a national title and has no conceivable claim to being “the best” female swimmer. She finished in 5th place, tying with trans swimmer Lia Thomas, which is what launched her anti-trans lobbying career.

At one point, the hearing became contentious. Representative Summer Lee, in her opening statement, expressed apprehension that the testimony might turn transphobic. Subsequently, Riley Gaines labeled her a misogynist during her testimony. Rep. Lee sought to have the comment stricken from the record, citing Gaines’ "engaging in personalities," a term for personal attacks, which violates the committee's rules. In response, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene retorted, “men disguising themselves as women are engaging in personalities.”

Despite this, Greene faced no disciplinary action, and Rep. Lee's motion was not upheld.

Anti-trans hatred is easy. The entire transgender community represents less than 1% of the US population. The trans community has no lobby in Congress; there’s no voice to represent and argue on their behalf.

The problem of “biological men” in women’s sports is even less of an issue, numerically speaking. Despite this, it represents a hot-button issue because of people like Rep. Marjorie Trailer Greene (R-GA), who are willing to demagogue it to score political points.

Haters like Reps. Grothman, Comer, and Greene have nothing to show for their time in Congress but culture war issues, in this case, shamelessly demagoguing an issue that isn’t worth the time or taxpayer dollars they spend flogging it.

Rather than honestly looking at the issue and determining if there are problems needing to be studied, Grothman, Comer, and Greene would instead turn a hearing like this into a dog-and-pony show that accomplishes nothing.

Then again, “accomplishes nothing” is a metaphor for this Republican Congress.

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