Members of the conspiracy-theory wing of the Republican Party in Arizona, sometimes referred to as the "Black Helicopter Caucus," gathered last week at the Capitol to discuss Agenda 21 and their fears of the plan that appears to have been adopted from Glenn Beck.
Republican State Senator Judy Burges headed up the meeting, which also featured former legislative wingnut Sylvia Allen, and there's a hilarious highlight reel (or depressing, depending on how seriously you take these things) of how it all went down.
See also:
-Judy Burges Claims Agenda 21 Will Turn Arizona Into Commie-Land
-Carl Seel Hates Agenda 21, but Doesn't Know What He's Talking About
This is all about a bill the wingnuts are trying to pass, which says no agency in Arizona can enact any part of the Rio Declaration, part of the United Nations' Agenda 21.
It's been more or less a comedy show watching the wingnuts explain what's so bad about this declaration, and Agenda 21, because it's painfully obvious that they don't know what they're talking about.
Burges called it "sinister and dark." She says Agenda 21 mandates that "people should be rounded up" and removed from land they own, it calls for a "redistribution of wealth," "will destroy Arizona business," and "control every aspect of our lives," Burges said in a committee hearing on the bill.
"I don't know what you call that, but I certainly call it communism," she said, before falsely claiming that Brazil is a communist country that does stuff like this.
Even recently, Democratic Representatives Chad Campbell and Ruben Gallego continued to lampoon Republican Carl Seel, who couldn't explain exactly why he's trying to ban any use of Agenda 21 or the Rio Declaration while he was pimping the bill.
This hearing was no less entertaining.
"Are we going to stand up against the universities that teach these constant other 'isms' to the young people and refuse to teach Americanism?" Allen asked at one point.
(Last time we checked, a bachelor's degree in "Americanism" won't get you too far past the fry machine at Burger King.)
Democratic Senator Steve Farley, who wrote in more detail about the hearing on his website, played the role of pest as the only non-fan of the conspiracy theory.
We're not sure who made this highlight reel, which can be seen below, but bravo to you: