Pretty much the only question you need to ask yourself these days when listening to a Republican member of Congress speak is: “Are they lying or just plain stupid?”

Speaking in front of Congress today, Rep. Virginia Fox (R-NC) not only proved herself to be both a liar and an idiot, she also desecrated the memory of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in a horrific anti-gay hate crime back in 1998. Not only that, she did it all in front of Matthew Shepard’s grieving mother!

First, to the question of whether Rep. Foxx is an idiot. Read this story from Gleen Greenwald and figure out the answer for yourself:

The House of Representatives today is debating a hate crimes bill which, among other things, would impose heightened penalties for crimes “motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim.” One of the GOP leaders opposing the bill on the House floor is Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, and — bizarrely and rather amusingly — she decided to feature something I wrote as a basis for her opposition to the bill…

When I began receiving emails earlier today informing me that Rep. Foxx had cited me as an eloquent and steadfast opponent of hate crimes laws, I was rather surprised, since I’m quite certain I’ve never before said or written a word about hate crimes laws. I was therefore confounded that I was being praised for my moving opposition to this bill.

This blogger has solved the mystery. The post that Rep. Foxx is quoting is one which condemns hate speech laws. That is why its title is “The Noxious Fruits of Hate Speech laws.” It has nothing to do with hate crimes legislation. Hate speech laws and hate crimes laws are entirely different, since the former punishes the pure expression of ideas while the latter involves the commission of actual crimes, usually quite violent and serious crimes. One can easily and coherently oppose the former but support the latter.

If the above proves that Rep. Foxx is a drooling idiot, add the following evidence to the pile on the question of whether she’s also a shameless liar and a cruel, heartless political opportunist:

As the House of Representatives debates an expansion of hate crimes legislation, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) has taken the rhetoric to a new level, claiming that those who say Matthew Shepard was murdered in Wyoming for being gay are perpetrating a “hoax” on the American people.

“I also would like to point out that there was a bill — the hate crimes bill that’s called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay. This — the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills,” said Foxx.

To literally add insult to injury, it turns out that Matthew Shepard’s MOTHER was in the gallery when the heartless Rep. Foxx was callously dishonoring her son’s memory:

“Matthew Shepard’s mother was in the gallery yesterday and I believe she was back today — so I’m sorry she had to be around to hear it,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). “It’s an urban myth… And I’d tell her that man did land on the moon and the moon wasn’t made out of green cheese.”

Regardless of Rep. Foxx’s fact-free claims to the contrary, Matthew Shepard was in fact killed in an incident of anti-gay violence:

The New York Times reported in 1998: “According to the local police and prosecutors, the two men lured Mr. Shepard out of a bar by saying they were gay. Then, the Laramie police say, the pair kidnapped Mr. Shepard, pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum, and left him tied to a ranch fence for 18 hours until a passing bicyclist spotted Mr. Shepard, who was unconscious.”

Reps. John Lewis and Debbie Wasserman-Shultz called out Rep. Foxx for her despicable bullshit:

“She should be ashamed,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), himself a victim of a hate crime during the struggle for civil rights. “That is unreal, unbelievable. The law enforcement people and almost every reasonable person I know believes he was murdered because he was gay.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), stared in disbelief before answering a question about the statement. “It’s just sad the Republican caucus has been reduced such a fringe,” she said. “It’s sad they would go out of their way to prevent people from getting justice.”

The fact that we let drooling, cruel barely-sentient idiots like this through the door of the Capitol building never ceases to amaze me.

Update: Not to be outdone, the other members of the Heartless GOP Assholes Brigade stepped up to the plate today and whipped themselves up in an orgy of paranoid, hate-inspired rhetoric:

REP MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN): I feel that this hate crime legislation could be considered the very definition of tyranny.

REP. GRESHMAN BARRET (R-SC): This bill would inhibit religious freedom in our society — a scary thought.

REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): You think a pregnant mother does not deserve the protection of a homosexual? You think a military member doesn’t deserve the protection of a transvestite?

REP. STEVE KING (R-IA): I, Mr. Speaker, oppose and I defy the logic of the people that would advocate for such legislation the very idea we could divine what goes on in the heads of people when they commit crimes.

These people need to be locked away in a padded room — with nothing but gay nurses.