Why do you think they call him dope?

It would be tempting to call U.S. Rep. Paul Broun the village idiot of Congress, but there's way too much competition to make so bold a statement. Let's just say that Broun, a Georgia Republican, is staking a strong claim to the dunce cap. The nitwit told the AP on Monday that he fears President-elect Obama will set up a Gestapo-like security force in order to impose a Marxist dictatorship. I'm not kidding. The jackass really said that. "It may sound a bit crazy and off base," said Broun. OK, we're in agreement so far. "But the thing is," he continued, "(Obama's) the one who proposed this national security force. I'm just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may - may not, I hope not - but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism." What the dingbat is talking about is a speech Obama made in July in which he called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden from the shoulders of the military. "That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany, and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did," said defender-of-freedom Broun. In his speech, which was centered on expanding the nation's foreign service, Obama said, "We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." The president-elect's transition team declined to comment on Broun's comments. (How do you respond to someone whose tinfoil hat apparently is malfunctioning, allowing those annoying communications from aliens?) But Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor (Does that name sound foreign to you? German?) said the president-elect was referring to a proposal for a civilian reserve corps that could address postwar construction projects such as rebuilding infrastructure. As the AP notes, it's an idea that has been endorsed by the Bush administration. Broun the Loon also noted that he expects Obama to attempt to ban gun ownership if he gets that security force up and running. "You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany," said Broun. "I'm not comparing (Obama) to Adolf Hitler. What I'm saying is there is the potential of going down that road." This probably plays well with some of Broun's home folks. You know, the ones who like to dress up in pointy hats and burn stuff in open fields. But I'm going to read between the lines, and I think what Mr. Broun really is saying is that he desperately needs some mental-health attention. I know a cry for help when I hear one. Somebody, anybody, please get Rep. Broun some meds and a jacket with really long sleeves.