Louisiana Republican Congressman Clay Higgins received a good brow-beating on Twitter after he sent out a tweet claiming that President-elect Joe Biden’s January inauguration will signify “the first hour of [the] conspiracy to dismantle America.”

“If Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States on January 20th, it will mark the final hour of conspiracy to dismantle the American election process, and the first hour of conspiracy to dismantle America,” Higgins wrote.

If Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States on January 20th, it will mark the final hour of conspiracy to dismantle the American election process, and the first hour of conspiracy to dismantle America.

— Rep. Clay Higgins (@RepClayHiggins) December 20, 2020

It’s hard to believe an elected official can be this stupid, but there you have it. Criticism from the Twitterati was quick to follow, and more than a few folks noticed the obvious dichotomy between his role on the Homeland Security Committee and his comments.

David Corn, the Washington, D.C.-based Bureau of Mother Jones and an analyst for MSNBC, couldn’t help but ask: “Why do you hate America (and its’ elections?)”

Why do you hate America (and it’s elections)? https://t.co/y8QBs9O3dn

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) December 20, 2020

Molly Jong-Fast also had some sharp criticism and got right to the point:

“Oh shut up clay. This is the worst kind of pandering to the base. “

https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1340799996086673411

Lots of notable people had thoughts on this, in fact.

https://twitter.com/Weinsteinlaw/status/1340798303487848448

Including the folks at The Lincoln Project, who were looking for a few ideas:

Looking for a word to accurately describe this Republican Congressman.

Any suggestions? https://t.co/FTln0vWJaK

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) December 20, 2020

Stunning to see this sort of anti-democracy insanity from a sitting member of Congress. https://t.co/9MAjC7PJj0

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) December 21, 2020

Can someone ease this person into the padded room in which he belongs? https://t.co/39WGzNXne5

— Cliff Schecter (@cliffschecter) December 21, 2020

You're literally insane.

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) December 20, 2020

Biden won the election because 7 million more people wanted him and not a dictator wannabe. Get over it. Your guy lost bigly.

— Jon Jahr 🌈 #StrongerTogether (@JahrJon) December 21, 2020

This will come back to haunt you. Lies and disinformation.

— Tricia (@irishsamom) December 21, 2020

What do you mean if..the states have already certified their vote results and sent the electors. Knock it off.

— Foster (@Yo_A_88) December 21, 2020

If I smoked I’d want some of what you smoke. It’s affecting your mind.

— Doug Wells 🌊🌊 (@DouglasWWells57) December 21, 2020

There’s no “IF” to it. @JoeBiden will be inaugurated January 20th. Bet on it. It’s not a threat, it’s a promise.
The American people have spoken.

— BIDEN-HARRIS (@nenavickie) December 21, 2020

Indeed, folks have spoken. I know Biden isn’t perfect and frankly, I don’t know why right-wingers continue to portray him as a Marxist, leftist, communist, socialist, whatever. As I’ve noted before, he’s a centrist. But unlike Higgins, who’s another nutter who claims the election was “stolen,” and other Trump supporters, he’s not insane.

Frankly, America could stand to be dismantled if this is the way Higgins and his colleagues think the situation is. It really seems to me that these people don’t understand, or don’t care how democracy works. The country continues to grind along with two major parties (and yes, I know we have the Green Party and the Independent Party, but neither is really up to much). We need parties that actually represent the will of the people, and I’m not seeing a lot of that these days.

Just saying. Biden will be a return to sanity but I’m hoping there comes a day when those who really care about the people (like say, Bernie Sanders) won’t be viewed as radicals.