Speaking shortly after he riled up a crowd at Tuesday's Tea Party protest, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) declared that "demons" - yes, demons - have invaded the capital (and likely the souls of Democrats), forcing lawmakers to mislead the public about the content of the health care bill.
"Well it would take a demon to be this dishonest about a bill," the Texas Republican told the Huffington Post. "If they would just read the bill, they would see what they are saying is dishonest."
Asked to expand a bit more on what he meant, Gohmert stepped back a bit from a literal interpretation, though still floating the possibility that Democrats were possessed. "Well, somebody is making people be dishonest and it is a play on words, too," he said.
Moments earlier, the congressman energized an audience in the hundreds who had come to hear him and others protest the possibility of health care's passage. Gohmert insisted that the bill the House was set to consider would appropriate $700 million for abortions -- defying the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal money going to such a procedure.
"I brought an abortion to show you today," he said, hosting a copy of the health care bill in his right hand. The crowd responded with a chant of "Abort the bill!"
And then, out of nowhere, Gohmert began spreading the word that underworld spirits were lurking around the Capitol building behind him.
"There's a whole lot of demon going on," he said. "There are a lot of demons around here apparently."