PrintGOP lawmaker took Onion satire piece seriously
Can anyone in politics be unaware of the fact that The Onion is a parody site? Apparently, there is at least one person who is.
Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) has deleted his Facebook post linking to an article in The Onion about a fictional Planned Parenthood "Abortionplex."
In a Facebook status on Friday, Fleming alerted his followers to The Onion's May 18, 2011 article, "Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex" and wrote "More on Planned Parenthood, abortion by the wholesale." Fleming's spokesman Doug Sachtleben confirmed to POLITICO the post has since been removed from the congressman's Facebook page and said the office had no further comment.
The blog Literally Unbelievable - which posts Facebook statuses from users who think Onion articles are real - picked up Fleming's status before the congressman removed it from the social networking site. Four users liked the post and eight left comments, with one person writing, "The Onion is satire. How exactly did you get elected?"
The May 2011 Onion article details the opening of a "sprawling abortion facility that will allow the organization to terminate unborn lives with an efficiency never before thought possible." The fictional Abortionplex includes more than 2,000 rooms dedicated to the procedure, as well as "coffee shops, bars, dozens of restaurants and retail outlets, a three-story nightclub, and a 10-screen multiplex theater - features intended not only to help clients relax, but to foster a sense of community and make abortion more of a social event."
The Onion's editor, Joe Randazzo, said the publication is proud to count Fleming as a reader.
Even if Fleming had never heard of the Onion, to believe that over the top, clearly satirical article is the mark of a dufus. "A three story nightclub?" C'mon, congressman.
The only requirements for being a congressmen is that you be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for seven years and a legal resident of the state where the Congressional District is located.
Maybe we should add, "and possessing the intelligence above that of a three year old chimpanzee."
