Representative Bob Good—a Virginia Republican who describes himself as a born-again Christian and a "biblical conservative"—was mocked online after he issued remarks on the House floor that refused to acknowledge other people's genders, a sign he still hasn't gotten over Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson not providing a definition for the word “woman” during her recent SCOTUS Senate confirmation hearing.
When asked for a definition for the word "woman," Jackson, who is Democratic President Joe Biden's nominee to replace the outgoing Associate Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, told Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn that she could not because "in this context, I’m not a biologist.”
Good, apparently still miffed by the exchange, took a shot at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, saying he does not "feel qualified" to refer to her by her title, which is "Madame Speaker."
You can hear Good's remarks in the video below.
Rep. Good: Thank you Person Speaker. I say Person Speaker because I\u2019m not a biologist\u2026pic.twitter.com/0sWkfpBgTQ— Acyn (@Acyn) 1648755444
Good, beginning his speech, said:
“Thank you, Person Speaker. And I say ‘Person Speaker’ because I’m not a biologist and, out of respect to our Supreme Court nominee, I don’t feel qualified to say ‘Madame Speaker.'”
Good's preoccupation with the word "woman" and gender overall is a further example of how transgender issues have recently galvanized the far right, taking a spot at the forefront of attacks conservatives have directed toward the LGBTQ+ community in what has become one of the more defining elements of the culture wars.
Good, who assumed office in 2021, ran an often incendiary campaign, during which he sponsored meetings with clergy members that attacked legislation in Virginia prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Most notably, his campaign sent invitations that read, “What happens when a male member of your congregation goes on vacation and returns four weeks later as a female?” and attacked the idea of "a man dressed as a woman."
Good was criticized for his display on the House floor.
Clearly, Bob is not Good. He's actually a schmuck.\n#GOPhttps://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1509615866224132102\u00a0\u2026— SnarkTank\u2122 (@SnarkTank\u2122) 1648824462
The @VA_GOP handpicked Congressman is a bigot and a racist. They knew that when they engineered his nomination.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1509615866224132102\u00a0\u2026— Fred Wellman (@Fred Wellman) 1648771393
transphobes thinking "person" is an insult will always be weird and funnyhttps://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1509615866224132102\u00a0\u2026— DO NOT ASK (@DO NOT ASK) 1648773074
.@RepBobGood-FYI: you refer to a person however he or she or they identify THEMSELVES. I'm sure you know this, but you'd rather be a bigoted, ideological jerk.\nExample: I call myself a woman.\nI guess you're a man.\nMy transgender friend is a woman.\nSome people are "they."\n#LGBTQhttps://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1509615866224132102\u00a0\u2026— Liztalk \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Liztalk \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1648776155
Rep. Good may not be a biologist but he is a complete idiot.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1509615866224132102\u00a0\u2026— David Weissman (@David Weissman) 1648778569
When the folks in D.C. are functioning at the level of a petulant high school dud.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1509615866224132102\u00a0\u2026— Mindful Heretic Prof (Dr.) \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udcda\ud83d\udd8b\ud83e\uddd8\ud83c\udffe (@Mindful Heretic Prof (Dr.) \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udcda\ud83d\udd8b\ud83e\uddd8\ud83c\udffe) 1648797460
OMG @RepBobGood HOW FUUUUUUUNY...\nUnfortunately you never cared about being qualified before when it was about REAL problems. But nice to see you care now in this tremendously important issue\n\n- can anyone be more embarrassinghttps://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1509615866224132102\u00a0\u2026— Jim Miller (@Jim Miller) 1648813319
This is what the @GOP has reduced themselves to, childish performative actors, with fake outrage. They have no plans to help this country, they would literally burn it down just so they can rule over the ashes. They are a deplorable bunch.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1509615866224132102\u00a0\u2026— PantherSoul (@PantherSoul) 1648815811
That's @RepBobGood. He's not a biologist, but he is a prick.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1509615866224132102\u00a0\u2026— The Rude Pundit (@The Rude Pundit) 1648821295
Good isn't the only Republican bothered by Jackson's refusal to respond to the question.
The week of Jackson's confirmation hearings, Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, was accused of grandstanding after he mocked transgender people's identities by asking if he as a Hispanic man could "decide" to be Asian, and inquired whether he would "have the ability to be an Asian man and challenge Harvard’s discrimination" in a dig at affirmative action policies designed to improve employment or educational opportunities for underrepresented groups.
Jackson responded she was unable to answer the question because Cruz was asking her about "hypotheticals." Cruz was chastised by Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, for going over his time limit.
After sparring with Durbin, Cruz sat back, took out his phone, and checked his Twitter mentions to see if the moment had begun to trend online, a move that was confirmed by reporters tasked with covering the hearings and that exposed him to widespread mockery.
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